Bill Text: NJ A2979 | 2014-2015 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Requires State Treasurer to post information about State contracts for legal services on special website.
Spectrum: Bipartisan Bill
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2014-03-24 - Introduced, Referred to Assembly State and Local Government Committee [A2979 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2014-A2979-Introduced.html
Sponsored by:
Assemblywoman AMY H. HANDLIN
District 13 (Monmouth)
SYNOPSIS
Requires State Treasurer to post information about State contracts for legal services on special website.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act requiring the State Treasurer to publish notice of State contracts for legal services on a website and supplementing Chapter 34 of Title 52 of the Revised Statutes.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. The State Treasurer shall publish, on a website with its own address, notice of all purchases, contracts or agreements for legal services from private attorneys, the cost or contract price of which is to be paid with or out of State funds. The notice shall include (1) the name and address of the attorney or law firm contracting with the State; (2) the names of the partners or shareholders in the firm; (3) if the contracting entity is a subsidiary of another entity, the name and address of the parent entity and the names of its partners or shareholders; (4) the specific services provided; (5) the cost or price; and (6) the beginning and termination dates of the purchase, contract or agreement.
The Legislature shall provide on the official website of the New Jersey Legislature a link to the website created by the State Treasurer pursuant to this section.
2. This act shall take effect on the 30th day after enactment and shall apply to any State purchase, contract or agreement for legal services in effect on that effective date or entered into thereafter.
STATEMENT
This bill requires the State Treasurer to publish, on a website with its own address, notice of all purchases, contracts or agreements for legal services from private attorneys, the cost or contract price of which is to be paid with or out of State funds. The notice shall include (1) the name and address of the attorney or law firm contracting with the State; (2) the names of the partners or shareholders in the firm; (3) if the contracting entity is a subsidiary of another entity, the name and address of the parent entity and the names of its partners or shareholders; (4) the specific services provided; (5) the cost or price; and (6) the beginning and termination dates of the purchase, contract or agreement.
The bill also requires the Legislature to provide on its official website a link to the website created by the State Treasurer under the bill.
This bill would take effect on the 30th day after enactment and apply to any purchase, contract or agreement for legal services in effect on that effective date or entered into thereafter.
The purpose of the bill is to provide the public with easily accessible information on State contracts for legal services in order to provide greater transparency in this area of government contracting. Although such information may be available under the Open Public Records Act, this bill is intended to place the onus on the contracting agency to make it easily available without delay. Easier access to this information will allow taxpayers to form their own judgments concerning the necessity or appropriateness of any State contract for private legal services, particularly where State agencies may already employ their own attorneys, or have access to State-employed counsel. In addition, the bill may facilitate identification of possible "pay-to-play" relationships.
