A2515

An Act concerning a criminal conviction in a foreign jurisdiction of a person seeking or holding elective public office in this State and the penalty for election bribery, amending R.S.19:34-25 and supplementing Title 19 of the Revised Statutes.

Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:

1. (New section) Each candidate for elective public office shall annex to a petition or written acceptance of nomination for election a statement signed by the candidate that the candidate:

has not been convicted of any offense in a foreign jurisdiction that, if committed in this State, would be a crime of first, second, third, or fourth degree; or

has been so convicted, in which case, the candidate shall disclose on the statement the crime for which convicted, the date and place of the conviction, and the penalties imposed for the conviction.

A candidate may, as an alternative, submit with the statement a copy of an official document that provides such information accompanied by an official translation into English.

If the candidate has been convicted of more than one criminal offense, such information about each conviction shall be provided.

Records expunged and the information therein shall not be subject to disclosure.

If the candidate is nominated for the same office in more than one petition, the statement shall be annexed to one of such petitions.

2. (New section) a. A candidate for elective public office in this State or the holder of an elective public office in this State shall be ineligible to seek or to hold, or shall be required to forfeit or be disqualified from holding, elective public office in this State, if:

the candidate or office holder has been convicted of any offense in a foreign jurisdiction that if committed in this State would be a crime of the first, second, third, or fourth degree; and

that conviction would have resulted, under the laws of this State in effect at the time of conviction, in the candidate or person being disenfranchised, required to forfeit an office held, or disqualified from holding elective public office in this State if it had been a conviction under the laws of this State, another state, or the United States.

b. Upon information of a foreign conviction received by the Attorney General, or by the Secretary of State and transmitted to the Attorney General, the Attorney General shall promptly notify in writing the candidate or person holding office of the receipt of the information.

c. Upon receipt of such information, the Attorney General shall render a formal legal opinion as to whether the foreign conviction if committed in this State would be a crime of first, second, third, or fourth degree and if that conviction under the laws of this State, another state, or the United States, would have resulted, under the laws of this State in effect at the time of conviction, in the candidate or person being disenfranchised, required to forfeit an office held, or disqualified from holding elective public office in this State.

If the opinion of the Attorney General concludes that the foreign conviction would have resulted in a disenfranchisement, forfeiture, or disqualification, the Attorney General shall pursue an action for forfeiture or disqualification in the same manner as provided by the laws of this State, including in Title 2C of the New Jersey Statutes (Code of Criminal Justice) and Title 19 (Elections) of the Revised Statutes, for convictions of offenses under the laws of another state or the United States. The Attorney General shall also pursue a court order for ineligibility to seek or hold elective public office based on disenfranchisement that would have occurred if the offense resulting in the foreign conviction would have resulted in disenfranchisement if the offense and conviction had occurred in this State.

d. The Attorney General and Secretary of State shall take action pursuant to this subsection upon any receipt of a voluntary admission by a candidate or holder of public office or the receipt of information by any other means.

Any forfeiture, disqualification, or ineligibility under any law of this State may be waived by a court, if the court determines, based on the evidence submitted, that the conviction was the result of prosecutorial abuse, judicial abuse, or politically motivated retaliation in the foreign jurisdiction.

e. The Secretary of State shall require and ensure that all disclosure statements provided by candidates for elective public office pursuant to section 1 of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill) shall be forwarded to the Division of Elections in the Department of State within 30 days of receipt. Any statement that discloses a foreign conviction shall be transmitted promptly to the Attorney General.

f. The Secretary of State shall obtain in June and December of each year, from appropriate agencies of the federal government and of foreign governments and of international agencies and institutions the names of citizens of the United States who are known to have been convicted of a criminal offense in foreign jurisdictions. The appropriate agencies shall be identified in consultation with the Attorney General. Upon receipt of the names, the Secretary of State shall determine whether any of the United States citizens named are residents of this State. The Secretary of State shall ascertain at such times as the secretary shall deem appropriate whether the name of a candidate for elective public office or the holder of an elective public office is among those obtained.

g. As used in this section and in section 1 of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill), “foreign jurisdiction” means a country, state, or nation other than the United States or a state of the United States, but shall include the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, or any territory or insular possession subject to the jurisdiction of the United States.

3. R.S.19:34-25 is amended to read as follows:

19:34-25. a. If a person shall, directly or indirectly, by himself or by any other person in his behalf, give, lend or agree to give or lend, or shall offer, promise or promise to procure, or endeavor to procure, any money or other valuable consideration or thing to or for any voter, or to or for any person, in order to induce any voter to vote or refrain from registering for any election, or shall corruptly do or commit any of the acts in this section mentioned because of any such voter having voted or refrained from voting at an election, or registered or refrained from registering at an election, he shall be guilty of a crime of the third degree.

Bribery of member of election board; acceptance. b. Whosoever shall, directly or indirectly, make or give any money or other thing of value to any member of the district board because of his membership on such board, or when it shall appear that such money or other thing of value is made or given to such member because of his membership on the board, except as hereinbefore provided as his legal compensation for service on the board, shall be guilty of a crime of the third degree.

Any member of a district board who shall, by himself, or by any other person in his behalf, receive any money or other thing of value because of his membership on such board, or when it shall appear that such money or other thing of value is accepted or received by such member because of his membership on the board, except as hereinbefore provided as his legal compensation for service on the board, shall be guilty of a crime of the third degree.

Promising office or employment. c. A person who shall directly or indirectly, by himself or by any other person in his behalf, give or procure, or agree to give or procure or offer or promise to procure, or endeavor to procure any office, place or employment to or for any voter, or to or for any person on behalf of such voter, or to or for any other person, in order to induce such voter to vote or refrain from voting, or to register or refrain from registering, or shall corruptly do any act as above because of any voter having voted or refrained from voting, or having registered or refrained from registering for any election, shall be guilty of a crime of the third degree.

Acceptance of bribe by voter. d. Any voter who shall directly or indirectly, by himself or by any other person on his behalf, receive, agree or contract for any money, gift, loan or valuable consideration, office, place or employment for himself or for any other person for voting or agreeing to vote, or for refraining or agreeing to refrain from voting at any election, or for registering or agreeing to register, or for refraining or for agreeing to refrain from registering for any election, shall be guilty of a crime of the third degree.

Bribery of delegates. e. If a person shall, directly or indirectly, give, offer or promise to give any sum or sums of money or any valuable thing in action, victuals, drink or preferment or other considerations, by way of fee, reward, gift or gratuity, or other valuable present or reward to obtain, procure or influence the opinion, behavior, vote or abstaining from voting for the election of any delegate to any convention of any political party, to nominate any candidate for member of the legislature, for member of congress, for electors for president and vice president of the United States, for governor, or for any candidate for any office in any county or municipality; or if any person being a delegate to any political convention to nominate candidates for any of the offices named in this title shall directly or indirectly, ask for, accept, receive or take any sum or sums of money, or other valuable consideration by way of fee, reward, gift or gratuity, or other valuable consideration for the giving or refusing to give his vote at any such convention, the person so offering, asking, or receiving shall be guilty of a crime of the third degree.

Bribery at election. f. Whoever shall, directly or indirectly, give, furnish, supply or promise, or cause to be given, furnished, supplied, offered or promised, to any person or persons, any money, service, preferment or valuable thing with the intent that such money or valuable thing or any other money, service, preferment or valuable thing shall be given, offered, promised or used, by any person or persons, by way of fee, reward, gift or gratuity, for giving or refusing to give any vote of any citizen, at any election of any public officer, state, county or municipal, to be held therein, or of any member of congress, of electors for president and vice president of the United States, or at any election of any delegate or delegates to any political convention to be held for the nomination of any of the officers above, or by way of gift, gratuity or reward, for giving or withholding the vote of any delegate at any such convention, shall be guilty of a crime of the third degree.

Inducing voters. g. A person who shall, directly or indirectly, by himself or by any other person in his behalf, give, lend, or agree to give or lend, or procure, or agree to procure or offer or promise to procure, or endeavor to procure, any money or other valuable consideration or thing, or any office, place or employment to or for any voter, or to or for any person, in order to induce such voter to vote or refrain from registering or voting at any election, or shall corruptly do or commit any of the acts in this section mentioned, because of any voter having voted or refrained from voting or having registered or refrained from registering for any election, shall be guilty of a crime of the third degree.

Contributions for use in bribing. h. A person who shall give, advance or pay, or cause to be given, advanced or paid, any money or other valuable thing to any person, or to the use of any person, with the intent that such money or other valuable thing, or any part thereof, shall be expended, or used for bribery of voters, or for any other unlawful purpose at any election, or who shall knowingly pay, or cause to be paid money to any person wholly or in part expended in bribery of a voter at any election, shall be guilty of a crime of the third degree.

Receiving rewards. i. A person who shall, directly or indirectly, by himself, or by any other person on his behalf, receive, agree or contract for any money, gift, loan or valuable consideration, office, place or employment for himself or for any other person for voting or agreeing to vote, or for refraining or agreeing to refrain from voting at any election, or for registering or agreeing to register, or for refraining or for agreeing to refrain from registering for any election, shall be guilty of a crime of the third degree.

Gift, or promise of, for certain purposes. j. No person shall give or agree to give for the purpose of promoting or procuring or for the purpose of opposing or preventing the election of a candidate for public office, or for the purpose of promoting or procuring or for the purpose of opposing or preventing the nomination of any person as a candidate for public office, any money or any valuable thing to be used for any of the following purposes:

1. To provide or give or to pay, wholly or in part, the expense of giving or providing any meat, drink, entertainment or provision to or for any person for the purpose of influencing that person or any other person to give or refrain from giving his vote at any election, or because of any such person or any other person having voted or refrained from voting.

2. To provide for the payment of rent for or for the purpose of providing and fitting up any clubroom for social or recreative purposes, or providing for uniforms for any organized club.

3. To provide for the payment for the insertion in any newspaper or magazine of any article tending to influence any person to give or refrain from giving his vote to any candidate or candidates at any election; or to provide for payment for the distribution of any newspaper or magazine wherein any such article is printed; or to provide for payment of the printing or of the distribution of any circular, handbill, card, pamphlet or statement tending to influence any person to give or refrain from giving his vote to any candidate at any election; but this prohibition shall not be construed to prohibit the printing and distribution of paid advertisements, which advertisements shall be indicated by the words "This advertisement has been paid for by " (inserting the true name and address of the person or persons paying for the same); nor shall it be construed to prohibit the printing and distribution of circulars, handbills, cards, pamphlets or statements which shall have printed on the face thereof the true name and address of the person or persons paying for the printing and distribution thereof, which fact shall be indicated by the words "The cost of the printing and distribution of this circular (or as the case may be) has been paid by " (inserting the true name and address of the person or persons paying for the same).

Accepting gifts. k. No person shall accept any money or other valuable thing, the payment of which is prohibited by paragraph "j" of this section.

Penalty. l. Any person who shall violate any of the provisions of paragraphs "j" and "k" of this section shall be guilty of a crime of the third degree, and shall for the first offense be disfranchised for a period of no less than five years from the date of conviction, and for any subsequent offense shall be perpetually disfranchised, and in addition thereto the court in which such conviction is obtained, may in case of a subsequent conviction, impose upon the person so convicted the punishment now prescribed by law for a crime of the second degree.

(cf: P.L.2005, c.154, s.43)

4. This act shall take effect January 1 next following the date of enactment.

STATEMENT

This bill requires a candidate for elective public office to disclose, in a signed statement at the time of the filing of a candidacy petition, whether the candidate has been convicted of any crime in a foreign jurisdiction. If the candidate has been convicted, the candidate must specify the crime, the date and place of the conviction, and the penalties imposed for the conviction. As used in this bill “foreign jurisdiction” means a country, state, or nation other than the United States or a state of the United States, but will include the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, or any territory or insular possession subject to the jurisdiction of the United States.

Under current law, candidates for the office of Governor and for the Senate and General Assembly must disclose if they have been convicted of a crime under the laws of this State, another state, or the United States.

In addition, this bill provides that a candidate for elective public office in this State or the holder of any elective public office in this State will be ineligible to seek or to hold, or will be required to forfeit or be disqualified from holding, elective public office in this State, if the candidate or office holder has been convicted of any offense in a foreign jurisdiction that if it had been committed in this State would be a crime of first, second, third, or fourth degree and if that conviction under the laws of this State or another State or the United States would have resulted, under the laws of this State in effect at the time of conviction, in the candidate or person being disenfranchised, required to forfeit an office held, or disqualified from holding elective public office in this State.

Upon receiving information of a foreign conviction, the Attorney General must promptly notify in writing the candidate or person holding office of the receipt of the information. The Attorney General must review the foreign conviction and if the Attorney General concludes that the foreign conviction would have resulted in a disenfranchisement, forfeiture, or disqualification, the Attorney General will pursue an action for forfeiture or disqualification in the same manner as provided by the laws of this State, including in Title 2C of the New Jersey Statutes (Code of Criminal Justice) and Title 19 (Elections) of the Revised Statutes, for convictions of offenses under the laws of another state or the United States. The Attorney General will also be authorized to pursue a court order for ineligibility to seek or hold elective public office based on disenfranchisement that would have occurred if the offense resulting in the foreign conviction would have resulted in disenfranchisement if the offense and conviction had occurred under the laws of this State, another state, or the United States.

The bill requires the Secretary of State to obtain, in June and December of each year, the names of citizens of the United States who are known to have been convicted of a criminal offense in a foreign jurisdiction from all appropriate agencies of the federal government and of foreign governments and of international agencies and institutions. This bill also increases the penalty for an election bribery offense.