Current New Jersey employees living out of state will be exempt from a proposed residency requirement bill.

Current employees of the state of New Jersey would not have to relocate if a new version of a proposed New Jersey law is passed.

After pressure from Pennsylvania lawmakers and residents, the "New Jersey First Act," proposed by N.J. state Sens. Donald Norcross and Kevin O'Toole, now includes a grandfather clause that would allow current public employees who reside in other states to continue to do so.

The proposed bill would require all newly hired public employees - including public school teachers and municipal employees - to live in New Jersey or to move to the state within one year of taking a job.

Pennsylvania state Rep. Steve Santarsiero, D-31, said he's very pleased with the change. Santarsiero and fellow state Rep. John Galloway, D-140, had been vocal opponents of the original version of the bill, which would have mandated new hires to move to the state within four months of hiring and current public workers to make N.J. their home within 2 1/2 years of the bill's passage.

Santarsiero still would like the bill to further address the issue of promotions and transfers.

The amended bill states that current employees would be exempt from the residency requirement as long as they remained in their existing place of employment or are involuntarily transferred to another agency. However, those who change jobs by choice must move to New Jersey.

"We are looking for the clause to be as broad as possible," Santarsiero said, "but I don't want to lose sight of the fact that this is an important step forward. It was unclear, until now, that they'd agree to include a provision like this."

Norcross said he now believes it would be "unfair" to "punish the public workers who already live out of state."

"After hearing the valid concerns of union representatives and other stakeholders, I agreed that it was appropriate to revise the legislation," he said Thursday in an e-mail to the newspaper.

Additionally, under the bill, a three-member committee would review individual applications for an exemption to the act.

Santarsiero noted, however, that according to the bill, if the panel does not act within 30 days, the exemption is denied.

Last month, Galloway and Santarsiero held a press conference in the State House Annex building in Trenton to speak out against the first edition of the bill. They left behind a petition with the signatures of more than 1,000 Pennsylvania residents who opposed the proposed legislation.

"I am thankful for the residents who've expressed concern," Santarsiero said. "I'll be writing to the sponsors of the bill within the next couple days hoping to broaden the grandfather clause."

The revised bill cleared the N.J. Senate's State Government Committee by a vote of 4-0-1 and now heads to the full Senate for consideration. It then would have to be approved by the House.