Sunshine Law, which made government meetings open to the public. He also championed campaign finance reform, working closely with Thomas H. Kean, then a member of the New Jersey General Assembly. Zimmer then served as treasurer for Kean's reelection campaign. New Jersey Legislature After moving to Delaware Township in Hunterdon County, he was elected to the General Assembly in 1981, serving until 1987. He was the prime Assembly sponsor of New Jersey's first farmland preservation law, resulting in the permanent preservation of 1,222 farms in the state. Zimmer also sponsored the legislation creating the state's radon detection and remediation program, which became a national model. He was chairman of the Assembly State Government Committee from 1986 to 1987. In 1987, following the death of State Senator Walter E. Foran, Zimmer won a special election to replace him in the New Jersey Senate. He was later elected to a full term. In the Senate he served on the Revenue, Finance and Appropriations Committee. U.S. House of Representatives In 1990, Zimmer ran for the United States House of Representatives for the 12th District, then encompassing parts of Hunterdon, Mercer, Somerset, Morris and Warren counties. The seat was open after six-term incumbent Jim Courter decided to not seek reelection after unsuccessfully running for Governor of New Jersey the previous year. In the Republican primary, Zimmer defeated Assemblyman Rodney Frelinghuysen, the early favorite, and Phil McConkey, former wide receiver for the New York Giants. In the general election he defeated Marguerite Chandler, a businesswoman from Somerset County, by a margin of 66 to 34 percent. Zimmer served three terms in the House, winning reelection in 1992 and 1994. As a Congressman, Zimmer is best known for writing Megan's Law (U.S. Public Law 104–145), which requires notification when a convicted sex offender moves into a residential area. It was named after Megan Kanka, a New Jersey resident who was raped and murdered by convicted sex offender Jesse Timmendequas. He also introduced "no-frills" prison legislation, requiring the elimination of luxurious prison conditions. As a member of the Ways and Means Committee, he sought the elimination of wasteful spending and undue taxation. He was ranked the most fiscally conservative member of the United States Congress three times by the National Taxpayers Union and was designated a Taxpayer Hero by Citizens Against Government Waste every year he was in office. Zimmer was also a member of the Committee