John A. Girgenti (born August 8, 1947) is an American Democratic Party politician who served in the New Jersey Senate from 1990 to 2012, representing the 35th Legislative District.
[1] Girgenti is a former director of the Passaic County Mental Health Department, to which he was appointed in 1976 and became board president four months later.
[4] Senator Girgenti has sponsored many important pieces of legislation that have become law, including a measure that requires a life sentence of community supervision for certain convicted sexual offenders who have completed their prison terms, and legislation that mandates and provides funding for sprinkler installation in New Jersey college dorms, following the Seton Hall University dormitory fire in 2000.
[5] Girgenti was one of the first Senators to call for enhanced fingerprinting requirements for state employees involved with domestic security, following the September 11 terrorist attacks and proposed legislation to update and modernize New Jersey's background check laws so that towns and communities can identify potential threats and prevent them from obtaining jobs where they could harm residents.
[citation needed] On January 7, 2010, the Senator, along with several other Democrats representing urban areas, voted against a measure that would have permitted same-sex marriages in New Jersey.