1983 special election, Lesniak won the Senate seat of John T. Gregorio who was forced to vacate his office after being convicted of hiding his ownership of a pair of Linden go-go bars. Lesniak serves on the Economic Growth Committee (as Chair), Commerce Committee (as vice-chair), the Legislative Services Commission, the Judiciary Committee and the Legislative Oversight Committee. Lesniak has also been involved in national politics over the course of his tenure. In 1996, he was Chairman of the New Jersey Clinton-Gore Presidential Campaign, and in 2000 he was a key insider in the Al Gore campaign. Lesniak served as Chairman of the New Jersey Democratic State Committee, and Chairman of the 1997 Jim McGreevey campaign for Governor of New Jersey. Legislation Early in his tenure, he sponsored landmark environmental policies, such as the Environmental Cleanup Responsibility Act (now known as the Industrial Site Recovery Act), the Safe Drinking Water Act, and the Pesticide Control Act, making New Jersey first-in-the-nation to tackle such issues. The laws hold polluters responsible for their actions and have resulted in cleaner drinking water for New Jersey residents. Lesniak has championed the abolition of the death penalty in New Jersey (after having voted for its reinstatement in 1982); the Marriage Equality Act; and environmental initiatives to clean up one of the most heavily industrialized regions in the nation. He has worked with The Humane Society and other animal rights organizations. In 2014, Lesniak announced his plan to pass a bill that would legalize sports betting for racetracks and casinos in New Jersey, challenging the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act of 1992. After the Supreme Court refused the NJ appeal toward PASPA overturn in 2013, Ray Lesniak made revisions to his sports betting bill and got them approved by the US Department of Justice. Even though the new version of the bill was first vetoed by Governor Christie, Lesniak didn't stop revising it until the State Assembly finally passed S.B. 2460, and Christie signed it into law, claiming it to be a “bipartisan legislative effort.” Several more lawsuits and court appeals later, the Supreme Court of the United States overturned the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act in 2018. In October 2016, Lesniak introduced a bill dubbed "Pedals' Law" that would ban black bear hunting in New Jersey for five years. This was in response to the killing of the bipedal bear Pedals by a