Bill Text: NJ S598 | 2012-2013 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Prohibits local officer or employee from lobbying or advocating before any body of the municipality where officer or employee serves.
Spectrum: Slight Partisan Bill (Democrat 3-1)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2012-10-15 - Reported from Senate Committee with Amendments, 2nd Reading [S598 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2012-S598-Introduced.html
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
215th LEGISLATURE
PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 2012 SESSION
Sponsored by:
Senator JENNIFER BECK
District 11 (Monmouth)
Senator RONALD L. RICE
District 28 (Essex)
Co-Sponsored by:
Senator Weinberg
SYNOPSIS
Prohibits local officer or employee from lobbying or advocating before any body of the municipality where officer or employee serves.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative Counsel
An Act concerning local government ethics, amending P.L.1991, c.29.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. Section 5 of P.L.1991, c.29 (C.40A:9-22.5) is amended to read as follows:
5. Local government officers or employees under the jurisdiction of the Local Finance Board shall comply with the following provisions:
a. No local government officer or employee or member of his immediate family shall have an interest in a business organization or engage in any business, transaction, or professional activity, which is in substantial conflict with the proper discharge of his duties in the public interest;
b. No independent local authority shall, for a period of one year next subsequent to the termination of office of a member of that authority:
(1) award any contract which is not publicly bid to a former member of that authority;
(2) allow a former member of that authority to represent, appear for or negotiate on behalf of any other party before that authority; or
(3) employ for compensation, except pursuant to open competitive examination in accordance with Title 11A of the New Jersey Statutes and the rules and regulations promulgated pursuant thereto, any former member of that authority.
The restrictions contained in this subsection shall also apply to any business organization in which the former authority member holds an interest.
c. No local government officer or employee shall use or attempt to use his official position to secure unwarranted privileges or advantages for himself or others;
d. No local government officer or employee shall act in his official capacity in any matter where he, a member of his immediate family, or a business organization in which he has an interest, has a direct or indirect financial or personal involvement that might reasonably be expected to impair his objectivity or independence of judgment. Whenever a local government officer or employee has any direct or indirect financial or personal involvement in any matter before any board, commission, authority, or other body of the municipality in which he is an officer or employee, that officer or employee shall be prohibited from any activity that might reasonably be construed as lobbying or advocating for that interest before the board, commission, authority, or other body of the municipality, except in instances where the officer or employee receives a notice of a hearing pursuant to subsection b. of section 7.1 of P.L.1975, c.291 (C.40:55D-12), and shall publicly state the reason for his or her withdrawal or prohibition from participation in the activity. Nothing in this subsection shall prohibit an officer or employee from expressing a personal opinion on matters in which he or his immediate family, or any business organization with which he or an immediate family member is associated, have no direct or indirect financial or personal involvement;
e. No local government officer or employee shall undertake any employment or service, whether compensated or not, which might reasonably be expected to prejudice his independence of judgment in the exercise of his official duties;
f. No local government officer or employee, member of his immediate family, or business organization in which he has an interest, shall solicit or accept any gift, favor, loan, political contribution, service, promise of future employment, or other thing of value based upon an understanding that the gift, favor, loan, contribution, service, promise, or other thing of value was given or offered for the purpose of influencing him, directly or indirectly, in the discharge of his official duties. This provision shall not apply to the solicitation or acceptance of contributions to the campaign of an announced candidate for elective public office, if the local government officer has no knowledge or reason to believe that the campaign contribution, if accepted, was given with the intent to influence the local government officer in the discharge of his official duties;
g. No local government officer or employee shall use, or allow to be used, his public office or employment, or any information, not generally available to the members of the public, which he receives or acquires in the course of and by reason of his office or employment, for the purpose of securing financial gain for himself, any member of his immediate family, or any business organization with which he is associated;
h. (1) No local government officer or employee or business organization in which he has an interest shall represent any person or party other than the local government in connection with any cause, proceeding, application or other matter pending before any agency in the local government in which he serves. This provision shall not be deemed to prohibit one local government employee from representing another local government employee where the local government agency is the employer and the representation is within the context of official labor union or similar representational responsibilities;
(2) No former local government officer or employee shall, for a period of one year next subsequent to the termination of office or employment be permitted to represent, appear for, or negotiate on behalf of any party before any local government agency in which the employee served;
i. No local government officer shall be deemed in conflict with these provisions if, by reason of his participation in the enactment of any ordinance, resolution or other matter required to be voted upon or which is subject to executive approval or veto, no material or monetary gain accrues to him as a member of any business, profession, occupation or group, to any greater extent than any gain could reasonably be expected to accrue to any other member of such business, profession, occupation or group;
j. No elected local government officer shall be prohibited from making an inquiry for information on behalf of a constituent, if no fee, reward or other thing of value is promised to, given to or accepted by the officer or a member of his immediate family, whether directly or indirectly, in return therefor; and
k. Nothing in this section shall be construed to prohibit any local government officer or employee, or members of his immediate family, from representing himself, or themselves, in negotiations or proceedings concerning his, or their, own interests.
(cf: P.L.1991, c.29, s.5)
2. Section 6 of P.L.1991, c.29 (C.40A:9-22.6) is amended to read as follows:
a. Local government officers shall annually file a financial disclosure statement. All financial disclosure statements filed pursuant to this act shall include the following information which shall specify, where applicable, the name and address of each source and the local government officer's job title:
(1) Each source of income, earned or unearned, exceeding $2,000 received by the local government officer or a member of his immediate family during the preceding calendar year. Individual client fees, customer receipts or commissions on transactions received through a business organization need not be separately reported as sources of income. If a publicly traded security is the source of income, the security need not be reported unless the local government officer or member of his immediate family has an interest in the business organization;
(2) Each source of fees and honorariums having an aggregate amount exceeding $250 from any single source for personal appearances, speeches or writings received by the local government officer or a member of his immediate family during the preceding calendar year;
(3) Each source of gifts, reimbursements or prepaid expenses having an aggregate value exceeding $400 from any single source, excluding relatives, received by the local government officer or a member of his immediate family during the preceding calendar year;
(4) The name and address of all business organizations in which the local government officer or a member of his immediate family had an interest during the preceding calendar year; and
(5) The address and brief description of all real property in the State in which the local government officer or a member of his immediate family held an interest during the preceding calendar year.
b. The Local Finance Board shall prescribe a financial disclosure statement form for filing purposes. [For counties and municipalities which have not established ethics boards, the board shall transmit sufficient copies of the forms to the municipal clerk in each municipality and the county clerk in each county for filing in accordance with this act] The form shall include an ethics statement setting forth the limitations on certain activity pursuant to section 5 of P.L.1991, c.29 (C.40A:9-22.5). The ethics statement shall include a certification stating that the local officer has received, read, and understood the ethics statement. The Board shall provide access to the form through the Board's website. The municipal clerk shall make the [forms] form available to the local government officers serving the municipality. The county clerk shall make the [forms] form available to the local government officers serving the county.
[For counties and municipalities which have established ethics boards, the Local Finance Board shall transmit sufficient copies of the forms to the ethics boards for filing in accordance with this act.] The ethics boards shall make the [forms] form available to the local government officers within their jurisdiction. For local government officers serving the municipality, the original statement shall be filed with the municipal clerk in the municipality in which the local government officer serves.
For local government officers serving the county, the original statement shall be filed with the county clerk in the county in which the local government officer serves. A copy of the statement shall be filed with the board. In counties or municipalities which have established ethics boards a copy of the statement shall also be filed with the ethics board having jurisdiction over the local government officer. Local government officers shall file the initial financial disclosure statement within 90 days following the effective date of this act. Thereafter, statements shall be filed on or before April 30th each year, except that each local government officer shall file a financial disclosure statement within 30 days of taking office.
c. All financial disclosure statements filed shall be public records.
(cf: P.L.2008, c.72, s.1)
3. This act shall take effect on January 1, 2011.
STATEMENT
This bill amends the "Local Government Ethics Law," P.L. 1991, c.29 (C.40A:9-22.1 et seq.) to prohibit local government officers or employees who have any direct or indirect financial or personal involvement in a matter from appearing or lobbying before any board, commission, authority, or other body of the municipality in which he is an officer or employee. The bill specifically provides that whenever a local government officer or employee has any direct or indirect financial or personal involvement in any matter before any board, commission, authority, or other body of the municipality in which he is an officer or employee, that officer or employee shall be prohibited from any activity that might reasonably be construed as lobbying or advocating for that interest before the board, commission, authority, or other body of the municipality. The bill also requires that the officer or employee must publicly state the reason for his or her withdrawal or prohibition from participation in the activity. The bill provides an exception to this prohibition in cases where the officer or employee received a notice of public hearing pursuant to the "Municipal Land Use Law," P.L. 1975, c.291 (C.40:55D-1 et. seq.).
The bill also prohibits a former local government officer or employee, for a period of one year subsequent to the termination of office or employment, from representing, appearing for or negotiating on behalf of, any party before any local government agency in which the employee served.
Finally, the bill provides that the Local Finance Board include in the financial disclosure statement annually completed by a local officer pursuant section 6 of P.L.1991, c.29, a summary of the activities prohibited by the "Local Government Ethics Law" and further requires the Local Finance Board to make the financial disclosure form available on its website. The officer would be required to sign and return to the municipal clerk a certification stating that he received, read and understood the ethics statement.
