GOVERNOR SIGNS CODEY-SPONSORED ETHICS REFORMS INTO LAW 

Major Overhaul Set for Legislative Ethics Committee, Ethics Training 

            TRENTON – A bipartisan ethics reform measure sponsored by Senate President Richard J. Codey was signed into law today by Governor Jon Corzine, paving the way for a major overhaul of the Joint Legislative Committee on Ethical Standards, a key panel that investigates ethical complaints against members of the legislature and staff.  

            “This ethical overhaul was one of our major agenda goals at the start of this legislative session,” said Sen. Codey (D-Essex.)  “It’s important that we have the right oversight in place to investigate ethical complaints and help eliminate conflicts of interest.  Coming up, we intend to address a number of other ethical priorities, including wheeling and pay-to-play reform.  All of these measures are part of a collective effort to help strengthen the public’s faith in their elected officials.”

            The law that was signed - bill A2452/S2142 - amends the state Conflicts of Interest Law with respect to the membership and operation of the Joint Legislative Committee on Ethical Standards, requiring that the committee be comprised solely of members of the general public. 

            The law also cuts the size of the committee in half, from 16 to eight and stipulates that no more than two members may be former legislators.  The law calls for the majority and minority leaders of both legislative houses to appoint two members each. 

             Furthermore, the law clarifies the procedures for appointing a Chair and Vice Chair, a process that has led to stalemates and inaction in recent years when committee members could not reach a consensus on electing leadership.  Under the new law change, the Chair would be appointed jointly by the Senate President and Assembly Speaker and the Vice Chair would be appointed jointly by the Senate and Assembly minority leaders.  The law also stipulates that the Chair and the Vice chair may not be affiliated with the same political party.

            The law also prohibits complaints from being filed within 90 days of an election to avoid manipulation of the process for political purposes.  However, the law will require that any complaint filed within seven days immediately following an election be expedited.

            Furthermore, the law also gives the committee the authority, when reviewing a complaint, to require the legislator under investigation to submit detailed financial disclosures beyond what is presently required to be disclosed by law.  This additional information would remain confidential unless at least three-fourths of the committee decide that the information should be made public.

            The law also strengthens ethics training for legislators, requiring that in addition to the annual online tutorial currently required, members also must attend a yearly in-person ethics training session.

            In limiting the make-up of the committee to public members, the following shall be prohibited from serving on the committee:  any current lobbyist or governmental affairs agents, any full-time state employees or any officer or director of any entity that is required to file a statement with the Election Law Enforcement Commission.  Additionally, lobbyists and governmental affairs agents will be prohibited from serving on the committee for one year following the cessation of all lobbying or government affairs activities.

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