If one thinks of campaign finance and pay-to-play reforms as a tool chest, Connecticut seemed to have a wide-variety of intricately designed instruments adopted in response to corruption scandals that led to the resignation of Governor Rowland. On July 13, 2010, the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit issued two decisions in [...]

Expanded public disclosure is the goal of A-2595: this bill would require “issue advocacy organizations” to disclose contribution and expenditure information and to include disclaimers on public communications comparable to the current obligations of political committees.
The bill aims to reach “stealth PACs” which seek to influence the outcome of elections but do not fit within [...]

In a decision released today Appellate Division Judges Stern, Sabatino, and Harris struck down Executive Order No. 7 (”EO 7″) on the grounds that it violated New Jersey’s separation of powers doctrine.  The Court’s reasoning was premised upon the principle that an executive order must be based upon the advancement of an existing legislative act [...]

Yesterday, the New Jersey Election Law Enforcement Commission (“ELEC”) issued its 2009 Annual report, which calls for uniformity in New Jersey’s pay to play restrictions.
The Annual Report suggests that the time has come for ELEC and the Legislature to work together to overhaul New Jersey’s pay to play system.  The goal is to [...]

Yesterday, the New Jersey Assembly Judiciary Committee held a hearing on the impact of the Citizens United decision on New Jersey’s campaign finance and pay-to-play laws.  Among the expert witnesses was Angelo J. Genova, founding partner of Genova, Burns & Giantomasi.
The general consensus was that New Jersey’s existing campaign finance laws are not directly affected by [...]

No later than March 30, 2010, business entities that received payments of $50,000 or more through New Jersey government contracts in calendar year 2009 are required to file a Business Entity Annual Disclosure Form with the New Jersey Election Law Enforcement Commission.

Contribution and pay-to-play restrictions often allow for refunds to “correct” an over-the-limit contribution. The power of a refund varies by statute. Here are a few examples.

Governor Christie’s Executive Order No. 7 modifies prior executive orders (implicitly Executive Orders 117 and 118 signed by Governor Corzine in 2008) by amending the term “business entity” to include labor unions and labor organizations, and political committees formed by such organizations. The Governor explained that EO 7 would bring unions within the [...]

On his first day in office, Governor Christie signed eight executive orders, including one on pay-to-play. Here is Executive Order No. 7.

We are continuing our series on giving gifts to public officials.
As a general rule of thumb, a New Jersey public official and/or employee may not accept any gift, which is intended to influence the performance of his or her official duties.  Exceptions may exist if you are a relative or close personal friend of an [...]