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 [...]

An article written by counsel Rebecca Moll Freed on the executive order regulating redeveloper contributions was featured in the latest issue of the NAIOP Government Affairs Digest (at page 5).

In less than two days, New Jersey’s state pay-to-play laws will change again. Effective November 15, 2008, persons and entities doing business with the State of New Jersey will be subject to Governor Corzine’s Executive Orders 117 and 118. We previously discussed these changes here. And here, for the New Jersey Business [...]

Yesterday, Governor Jon Corzine signed four executive orders.  Click here for Genova Burns & Vernoia’s thumbnail summary of the new contribution restrictions in relation to New Jersey State procurement contracts and redevelopment agreements (Executive Orders 117 and 118).  The new restrictions will apply to contributions made on and after November 15, 2008.

Governor Jon Corzine issued three executive orders and a legislative reform package today that addresses pay-to-play, “wheeling,” campaign finance, financial disclosures and other reforms.
Currently, the following laws regulate pay-to-play restrictions and reporting: 1) Chapter 51; 2) Chapter 19; 3) Chapter 271; and 4) Local ordinances enacted by various county and municipal governmental entities.
Stay tuned for [...]

Our final installment looking at restrictions applicable to lobbyists paying for events at the national party conventions discusses New Jersey.  Previously, we’ve covered federally registered lobbyists and officials and New York lobbyists and officials.

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 ELEC. The disclosure form requires reporting contract information and reportable contributions the business entity has made. The due date for the second annual disclosure report [...]

Yesterday was supposed to be the day that non-profit organizations receiving aggregate payments of $50,000 or more through government contracts in New Jersey filed their Chapter 271 Annual Disclosure Statements with ELEC for calendar year 2006. Instead, Governor Corzine signed into law S-3025/A-4660, which exempts non-profit entities from the Chapter 271 Annual Disclosure [...]

Yesterday both houses of the NJ Legislature passed a bill that clarifies that nonprofit entities are not subject to Chapter 271’s annual disclosure requirement. As was previously chronicled here, here and here, the New Jersey Election Law Enforcement Commission has been grappling with this issue for quite some time.  The bill now awaits [...]