Greenstein, Gusciora measures advance.
By: Jennifer Potash
Government ethics reform legislation pushed by two local legislators won recent approval in the state Assembly.
Assemblywoman Linda Greenstein (D-Plainsboro) had two bills approved by the Assembly by a vote of 77-1, with one abstention.
Her first bill, A-23, requires the New Jersey Election Law Enforcement Commission to conduct random audits of the records of lobbyists and special interest groups, including records of gifts, food or drinks given to legislators. The bill also requires records to be kept for three years and permits review only on an annual basis.
Ms. Greenstein’s second bill, A-11, would increase fines imposed by the ELEC on campaign finance law violators. The fines would double from the current levels of $5,000 to $100,000 to $10,000 to $200,000. The increased fines would help fund the ELEC’s enforcement and reporting efforts.
Assemblyman Reed Gusciora (D-Princeton Borough) also had a bill approved by the Assembly by a vote of 78-1. Mr. Gusciora’s bill would require paid fund-raisers for political campaigns to register yearly with the ELEC and file quarterly and annual fund-raising reports. The present law requires fund-raisers for charities and nonprofit organizations to register with the state.
Similar legislation has been introduced in the state Senate.
State Assemblyman Bill Baroni (R-Hamilton) introduced a number of bills aimed at ethics reform including banning relatives of legislators from certain state jobs, prohibiting individuals or businesses seeking state contracts from making campaign contributions and requiring state ethics standards to apply to the governor’s office and governor’s staff. These bills, introduced between January and this month, are pending before the Assembly’s State Government Committee.