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DUAL OFFICE-HOLDING BAN BECOMES STATE LAW

Panter/Greenstein Measure Puts New Jersey in Vanguard of Other States
Restricting Individuals from Holding More Than One Elected Office

(MARLBORO) - Legislation Assemblyman Michael Panter and Assemblywoman Linda R. Greenstein sponsored to ban dual office-holding in New Jersey was signed into law today by Governor Jon S. Corzine.

The lawmakers said the measure (A-4326) enables New Jersey to join the vanguard of other state's that have prohibitions against individuals serving in multiple public elected positions at the same time. The New Jersey ban will be subject to individuals elected to office after February 1, 2008.

"The days of unmitigated dual office-holding are numbered," said Panter (D-Monmouth). "The days of lawmakers pandering against dual office-holding and then never securing the votes to pass any sort of ban are over. Dual office-holding - a practice opposed by 79 percent of New Jerseyans - is finally coming to an end."

"After decades of unsuccessful efforts to ban dual office-holding by both Republican and Democratic controlled legislatures, this is a quantum leap forward," said Greenstein (D-Mercer). "This will help ensure that elected representatives focus on the public's interests while removing the conflict-of-interest perception inherent with dual office-holding."

The new law is part of a four-bill package of anti-corruption and government reform measures that Corzine signed at the public library building in Marlboro, a community that was at the center of a highly publicized corruption scandal involving a politically connected developer from roughly 2002 through 2004.

The dual office-holding ban originally was advanced as part of the Legislature's landmark property-tax reform initiative. While both Panter and Greenstein had advocated for a more immediate ban, they expressed satisfaction that the delayed ban puts a sunset in place for dual office-holding.

According to the sponsors, this bill makes up for decades of lost time on dual office holding, as previous legislatures under both Republican and Democratic control failed to successfully  advance an immediate ban against dual office holding.  In fact, for at least the last 15 years, majority and minority members of both parties have tried to pass an all-encompassing dual office-holding  ban without success.

"After decades of legislators talking about eliminating dual office holding, today a prohibition is finally being put in place," said Panter.

"This helps make up for lost time," said Greenstein. "It finally puts New Jersey on a track to put an end to dual office-holding."

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