TRENTON, N.J. – Under legislation inspired by former “Jersey Shore” star Nicole “Snooki” Polizzi, no more than $10,000 of state money could go to pay speakers at New Jersey’s public universities.
The Democrat-controlled Assembly is scheduled to vote on the bill Thursday. If approved, it will go to Republican Gov. Chris Christie’s desk.
Republican Assemblyman John DiMaio says he was inspired to write the measure after Polizzi earned $32,000 to speak at Rutgers in 2011. That was $2,000 more than Nobel prize-winning author Toni Morrison was paid to speak at commencement.
The legislation would cap state spending on public university speakers at $10,000.
MTV’s reality show “Jersey Shore” focused on the hard-partying escapades of a group of young Italian-Americans at a shore house and ran from 2009 to 2012.
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This story has been corrected to show that Polizzi was paid $32,000 to speak at a Rutgers event, but not commencement.
