Center for Non-Profits - Lobby/Ethics Reform Update

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Legislative/Lobbying Reforms Advance

(updated 3/4/2008)

The Governor and New Jersey Legislature took a variety of recent actions during 2007 designed to combat corruption and make the appropriations process more accountable and transparent, including the enactment of the following bills:

S-2505 (Codey/Kean)/A-4013 (Panter/Schaer) requires registered lobbyists to include in their quarterly reports to the Election Law Enforcement Commission (ELEC) "the particular items in the annual appropriation legislation or appropriation legislation that is supplemental to that legislation," in addition to currently required reporting information. P.L.2007, c.201
S-2506 (Codey/Allen) and A-4014 (Conners/Conaway) prohibits the distribution of campaign funds to any charity in which a candidate or a member of his/her immediate family is a paid officer, director or employee or receives compensation for goods or services provided to the organization. As used in the bill, "member of the candidate's immediate family" means the candidate's spouse, child, parent, or sibling, and the child, parent, or sibling of the candidate's spouse. P.L.2007, c.202
S-1192 (Adler/Karcher)/A-2465 (Cohen/O'Toole) establishes the crime of "corruption of public resources." This bill makes it a crime, with respect to a public resource which is subject to an obligation to be used for a specified purpose or purposes, to knowingly use or make disposition of that public resource or any portion thereof for an unauthorized purpose. "Public resource" means as any funds or property provided by the government, or a person acting on behalf of the government, including: (1) money; (2) transfer of an asset of value for less than fair market price; (3) fees, costs, rents, insurance or bond premiums, loans, interest rates, or other obligations that would normally be required in the execution of the contract, that are paid, reduced, charged at less than fair market value, waived, or forgiven by the government; (4) money loaned by the government that is to be repaid on a contingent basis; (5) money loaned by any entity based upon or in accordance with a guarantee provided by the government; (6) grants awarded by the government or an entity acting on behalf of the government; and (7) credits applied by the government against repayment obligations to the government.

A purpose is "unauthorized" if it is not the specified purpose or purposes for which a public resource is obligated to be used, and the government agency having supervision of or jurisdiction has not given its approval for such use. The bill creates an inference that an actor knew that a public resource was used for an unauthorized purpose if there is proof of a false statement or report or failure to prepare a required report. P.L. 2007, c. 158 (PDF Format)
S-1318 (Karcher / Madden)/A-3005 (O'Toole/Handlin) establishes the "Public Corruption Profiteering Penalty Act," authorizing a court to assess an additional monetary criminal penalty on any person convicted of a crime or attempt or conspiracy to commit a crime involving the negotiation, award, performance or payment of a local, county or State contract. The Attorney General or the county prosecutor would be authorized to bring an action to collect any public corruption profiteering penalties. P.L. 2007, c. 159 (PDF Format)

In addition to the above developments, earlier in 2007, the New Jersey Senate and Assembly adopted new rules governing budget line item requests such as the so-called "Christmas Tree" appropriations for non-profits as well as the overall timing, process and public input regarding the budget overall.

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