LEGISLATIVE MATTERS By Peter Inverso Ways to curb the practice of rewarding campaign contributors.
Over the past three and a half years, editorial boards across New Jersey have been strong advocates for "pay-to-play" reform to end the practice of using lucrative government contracts to reward campaign contributors.
Since 2001, when I introduced legislation to address this vital issue at every level of government, my "pay-to-play" reform bill received endorsements from virtually every state newspaper. As a result, "pay-to-play" and ethics reform are now at the forefront of our state’s political discourse and consciousness.
While I commend the news media for that support, I believe they unintentionally helped stymie and opportunity to advance much stronger reform.
On Feb. 21, Senate Republicans withheld support for a bill which sought to codify into law a weak anti-"pay-to-play" executive order. I was rebuffed in several previous attempts to bring my comprehensive bill to the Senate floor and to improve the executive order legislation that day. Withholding support was a tactical measure aimed at compelling the Senate Democrats to join with us in forging a stronger, more comprehensive reform bill, should they not receive the votes needed for passage.
When the bill failed to pass due to the abstentions of four Democratic senators, Sens. Leonard Lance, Thomas Kean Jr. and I (all Republicans) were optimistic that a giant step toward more meaningful reform was now doable.
However, the suprising shift by the news media to support the lesser reform embodied in the executive order and the cynical editorial criticisms of the Senate Republicans for withholding support, helped close that window of opportunity. It served to embolden the Democrats and doomed any prospects for engaging in negotiations for a stronger bill. Clearly, the editorials altered the dynamics and dealt a devastating blow to comprehensive or, at least stronger, "pay-to-play" reform.
At the Feb. 28 special Senate session, I joined 14 Republican Senators to pass the weaker bill. I voted for this weak measure, primarily and regrettably out of frustration. The shift in the position of editorial boards and "good government groups" had changed the political climate and I believed the weak bill was the best that could be achieved at this time. But the flight to eliminate the corrupting influence of "pay-to-play" must continue.
Since the Feb. 28 vote, editorial boards have renewed their call for comprehensive further reform. However, the Feb. 28 vote has erased the pressure to enact meaningful reform.
Truly comprehensive reform must apply to counties, municipalities and other governmental agencies and entities. The recent arrests of 11 local elected officials in Mounmouth County show that the pervasiveness of "pay-to-play" causes the line between legal and illegal "pay-to-play" to be blurred.
Additionally, we must take action to ensure the existing ordinances, adopted by 40 municipalities and Mercer County, are not preempted by state law in Jan. 2006, when the very weak reform statute passed in June 2004 becomes effective. I have introduced bi-partisan legislation that will validate and protect the local anti-"pay-to-play" measures already enacted and statutorily enable local and county governments to enact even more stringent provisions.
Finally, we must enact a complete ban on wheeling, a term used to describe the transferring of campaign funds between political committees. The practice of wheeling subverts the true intent of campaign contribution limits by allowing contributors, especially those seeking public contracts and wealthy power brokers, to donate well above current limits.
Editorial boards across our state must continue keeping the political pressure on the legislature to ensure that this first step in reform will not be the last.
Accordingly, I appeal to editorial boards and reform minded legislators on both sides of the aisle to join me in restoring the public’s trust and confidence in government, by making comprehensive "pay-to-play" reform a reality.
State Sen. Peter Inverso, a Republican, represents the 14th legislative district, which includes South Brunswick. He can be reached via telephone at (609) 586-1330 or via e-mail at [email protected].