James J. Florio (August 29, 1937 – September 25, 2022)

Governor James J. Florio, a Founding Partner of Florio Perrucci Steinhardt Cappelli Tipton & Taylor, was a Senior Fellow for Public Policy and Administration at the Edward J. Bloustein Graduate School of Public Policy at Rutgers University. He also served as Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Federal Home Loan Bank New York, as Chairman of The Pinelands Commission in New Jersey, and on the Board of Directors of NJ Future.  Mr. Florio was the founder and CEO of XSPAND, an asset management company based in Morristown, New Jersey.

Mr. Florio served on the Board of Directors of the NJ Health Care Quality Institute, was Co-Chairman of the Regional Plan Association’s New Jersey Committee, and a member of the Board of Trustees Fund for New Jersey.

Mr. Florio entered public service in 1969 serving three terms in the New Jersey General Assembly. He served as the 49th Governor of the State of New Jersey from 1990 through 1994 and in the United States House of Representatives from the 1^st Congressional District from 1974 – 1990.

As Governor of New Jersey, Mr. Florio’s accomplishments included, among others, the following:

• Signed into law:
  • The Clean Water Enforcement Act (1990) which was one of the strongest environmental laws of its type in the United States
  • The Quality Education Act which provided greater equity in New Jersey’s school finance system
  • A landmark welfare reform package
  • A health care cost reduction program
  • The nation’s toughest assault weapons ban
• Sponsored the Access to the Regions Core Program for mass transit
• Expanded the scope of activity for New Jersey Transit

As a Member of Congress, Mr. Florio’s accomplishments included, among others, the following:

• Authored the Comprehensive Environmental Response Compensation and Liability Act, known as the “Superfund” law, our nation’s primary program for cleaning up hazardous waste sites
• As Chairman of the House Subcommittee with jurisdiction over environmental matters, was involved in the drafting or passage of virtually every major piece of federal environmental legislation
• Cosponsored the Exxon-Florio Amendment, which created the Treasury Department’s Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States and effectively removed Congress from the approval process on foreign takeovers of US industrial concerns (this legislation was a factor in the Dubai Ports World controversy in 2006)
• Served as Chairman of the House Sub-committee on Commerce, Transportation and Tourism of the Energy and Commerce Committee
• Was involved with every piece of railroad legislation passed during his tenure
• Was the prime sponsor of The Staggers Act (railroad deregulation)
• Sponsored all AMTRAK Reauthorization Bills
• Drafted the legislation which privatized Conrail and deregulated US freight railroads
• Served on the U.S. Secretary of Energy’s Advisory Board

In addition, Mr. Florio has a number of other professional, civic, and political accolades. He was an authority on international trade, energy, environment, health care and transportation issues. He served on the Secretary of Energy’s Advisory Board during the Clinton administration. Mr. Florio was a member of the Trade and Environment Policy Advisory Committee (TEPAC) to the U.S. Trade Representative. Mr. Florio also served as a member of The Bretton Woods Committee which is a private bipartisan group committed to international economic leadership.

Mr. Florio holds numerous honorary degrees and was the 2019 recipient of the Distinguished Lifetime Achievement Award at the Hughes Center Honors. In 1993 he received the “Profile in Courage Award” by the John F. Kennedy Library Foundation. In 2008, he was designated as a Lifetime Honoree Member of the New Jersey Short Line Railroad Association.

Mr. Florio is a veteran of the U.S. Navy. He served four years of active duty and 18 years in the Active Naval Reserve and retired with the rank of Lieutenant Commander in 1975.