Sponsored by:
Assemblywoman AMY H. HANDLIN
District 13 (Monmouth)
SYNOPSIS
Prohibits awarding of municipal professional services contracts to certain elected officials.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act concerning professional services contracts awarded by municipalities and supplementing P.L.1971, c.198 (C.40A:11-1et seq.).
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. After the effective date of this act, the governing body of a municipality shall not award a contract the subject matter of which consists of professional services to any person serving as a member of the Legislature and who represents the legislative district in which the municipality is located, or holding county elective office in the county in which the municipality is located, or holding municipal elective office in that municipality, or to any partnership, firm, or corporation in which that person holds employment or has an interest.
As used in this section, "interest" means the ownership or control of more than 10% of the profits or assets of a firm, association, or partnership, or more than 10% of the stock in a corporation for profit, or any shareholder interest in a professional service corporation.
2. This act shall take effect immediately.
STATEMENT
This bill would prohibit the governing body of a municipality from awarding a professional services contract to a member of the Legislature, or a county elected official in that county, or a county elected official of that municipality, or to any partnership, firm, or corporation in which such an individual holds employment or has an interest. It would not affect contracts in effect on the bill's effective date. The bill's purpose is to eliminate the risk of actual or perceived corruption that may arise when elected officials perform no-bid professional services contracts for municipalities located within the jurisdiction they serve as elected officials.