Now that the 2009 gubernatorial election is over, companies that do business with the State of New Jersey and/or wish to remain eligible for contracts with the State need to take inventory of contributions that covered persons and/or entities made during the 2009 gubernatorial election cycle.
New Jersey statewide pay-to-play restrictions cover contributions greater than $300 [...]

Governor-Elect Chris Christie takes office on January 19, 2010.  During the campaign Mr. Christie promised widespread ethics reform to “ensure that we restore honesty, transparency and ethical behavior to this state.”
Among the proposals he has suggested are an expansion of New Jersey’s already extensive pay-to-play laws, which may include:

covering labor unions as “business entities” subject [...]

Pay-to-play reforms take many different forms. For example, in New Jersey, the current restrictions are embodied in state statutes, gubernatorial executive orders, municipal ordinances, and State Investment Council regulations. Now, almost five years to the day after the first gubernatorial executive order limiting political contributions in relation to New Jersey State contracting opportunities, New York [...]

The Securities and Exchange Commission (”SEC“) plans to reconsider a rule it last considered in 1999 to curb political contributions by investment advisers seeking to manage the investment of state pension funds. The new proposal comes in the wake of continuing investigations by New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo (“NYAG”) concerning investments by New [...]

Since April 2007, the New Jersey State Investment Council has subjected firms seeking investment of state pension funds, and associated persons, to a ban on political contributions. The New Jersey regulation makes compliance with the ban a condition of eligibility for State investments. A proposal floated by New York Attorney General Andrew [...]

Businesses with government contracts in New Jersey are subject to an annual disclosure requirement, which is due one week from today.  Here are a few things to keep in mind:

The form is available on the New Jersey Election Law Enforcement Commission’s website and ELEC requires that the information be entered on its electronic form.

Only “reportable” [...]

Pursuant to Chapter 271, a business entity that has received $50,000 or more in government contracts in a calendar year must file an annual disclosure statement electronically with New Jersey Election Law Enforcement Commission.  The disclosure form requires reporting contract information and reportable contributions that the business entity made in calendar year 2008.
The due date [...]

Rebecca Moll Freed discusses Executive Order 117 and its changes to the NJ pay-to-play landscape in her article published in the winter volume of New Jersey Building Contractor Magazine.  

Yesterday, the NJ Supreme Court issued a decision in The Matter of the Appeal by Earl Asphalt Company which upheld the constitutionality of Chapter 51 of the Campaign Contributions and Expenditure Reporting Act.  The Court affirmed an Appellate Division decision and found that “the State’s interest in insulating the negotiation and award of State contracts [...]

The incoming Obama administration and members of Congress are reportedly close to an agreement on the principles of an economic stimulus package.  The costs of the plan have been reported to be anywhere from $800 billion to $1.2 trillion.  So what does this have to do with pay-to-play?
A major part of the plan includes making [...]