O'TOOLE MAKES MOTION ON RESOLUTION CALLING FOR COOPERATION WITH U.S. ATTORNEY AND ETHICS REFORM February 22, 2007
Assemblyman Kevin O'Toole/973-696-2323
Assembly Republican Office/609-292-5339

Assemblyman Kevin O'Toole today made a motion that the General Assembly pass a resolution agreeing to fully cooperate with the subpoenas served on legislative offices last week by U.S. Attorney Christopher Christie, and that the Assembly act immediately on a series of ethics reform proposals.

"If the events of the past two weeks, with federal agents serving subpoenas on legislative offices, haven't been enough to scare this body into action on ethics reform, I don't know what will," said O'Toole, R-Essex, Passaic and Bergen. "The people of New Jersey are tired of the corruption and the scandal and it is about time that we as legislators clean up this house."

In addition to urging the Legislature to cooperate fully with the U.S. Attorney's investigation, the resolution would have called for consideration of a number of ethics reform bills included in the Assembly Republican Blueprint for a Corrupt-Free New Jersey that would:

- Impose a sweeping ban on dual office-holding;
- Stop pension boosting and tacking by public officials;
- Suspend indicted public officials without pay;
- Require jail time for convicted public officials;
- Require full pension forfeiture for convicted public officials;
- Empower the public by reforming the ethics complaint process, and turn control of the Legislature's ethics committee over to private citizens;
- Revise the Legislative Code of Ethics, including provisions to prevent the future abuse of grant funds.

O'Toole's motion was tabled by the Democrats on a largely party-line vote.

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