New N.J. ethics rules advance

TRENTON - Plans to enforce stricter legislative ethics rules received final approval yesterday from the Senate, but Republicans contended the measures didn't go far enough.

The Senate voted, 39-0, to revamp a legislative ethics committee, adopt a new legislative conduct code, and require lawmakers to make public what grants they want in the annual state budget.

The legislation comes after four Democratic lawmakers were indicted or arrested on federal corruption charges last year and a former Democratic senator was indicted on corruption charges this year.

But Republicans said the bills didn't go far enough to stop legislators from lobbying their employers for grants, to require them to detail ties to nonprofit organizations that receive grants, or to impose tougher restrictions on seeking those grants.

Democrats, who control the Senate, 23-17, also blocked Republican efforts to reform state campaign-finance laws.

One measure would tighten restrictions on campaign contributions from government contractors, a practice known as "pay-to-play" in which campaign contributions are allegedly traded for lucrative government contracts.

Another bill would prohibit county political parties from sharing campaign contributions, a practice critics contend helps extend the reach of powerful county political bosses.

The bills approved yesterday by the Senate were approved last week by the Assembly, so they need only the governor's signature to become law.

They would:

Remove lawmakers from the 16-member Joint Legislative Committee on Ethical Standards.

The panel includes eight legislators and has authority to issue penalties ranging from a reprimand to recommending expulsion but has punished only four lawmakers in its 34 years - three reprimands and a $200 fine - and its work has been hampered by partisan bickering.

The bill would give the panel more authority to force lawmakers to disclose financial information and require legislators to participate in annual ethics training.

Create a new legislative ethics code which mainly incorporates existing state laws that, among other things, limit the gifts a legislator or family member may accept from lobbyists to $250 a year. A bid last session to bar legislators and their family members from accepting any gifts failed to pass.

A new provision would prohibit legislators from using their official title to endorse or advertise a for-profit venture.

Make public all requests by lawmakers for grants to be included in the budget. Those grants have typically been placed into the budget with neither public discussion nor indication who was backing them, prompting an inquiry last year by federal investigators.

That investigation led to the indictment of former Sen. Joseph Coniglio on charges that he pushed for grants for a Bergen County hospital that employed him as a consultant. Coniglio has pleaded not guilty.