ASSEMBLY, No. 2255

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

INTRODUCED JULY 18, 1996

By Assemblymen MALONE, COTTRELL, Wolfe, Doria, DeSopo, Assemblywoman J. Smith, Assemblymen Moran, Kramer, Romano, Assemblywoman Heck and

Assemblyman Garcia

An Act concerning financial disclosure statements for certain public officials and candidates, amending various sections of the statutory law, supplementing Title 52 of the Revised Statutes and repealing sections 1 and 4 of P.L.1981, c.129.

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

    1. (New section) As used in this act:

    "Business organization" means any corporation, partnership, firm, enterprise, franchise, association, trust, sole proprietorship, union, political organization, or other legal entity but shall not include a local school district or any other public entity;

    "Gift" means any money or thing of value received other than as income, and for which a consideration of equal or greater value is not received, but does not include any political contribution reported as otherwise required by law, any loan made in the ordinary course of business or any devise, bequest, intestate estate distribution or principal distribution of a trust or gift received from a member of a person's immediate family or from a relative of the person or the person's spouse or from the spouse of that relative;

    "Income" means any money or thing of value received, or to be received, as a claim on future services, whether in the form of a fee, expense, allowance, forbearance, forgiveness, interest, dividend, royalty, rent, capital gain, or any other form of recompense, or any combination thereof, as defined by the Internal Revenue Service of the United States;

    "Interest" means:

    a. The ownership or control of more than 10 percent of the profits or assets of a firm, association or partnership or more than 10 percent of the stock in a corporation for profit other than a professional service corporation organized under the "Professional Service Corporation Act," N.J.S.14A-17-1 et seq.;

    b. The ownership or control of more than one percent of the profits or assets of a firm, association or partnership or more than one percent of the stock in any corporation which is the holder of, or an applicant for, a casino license or in any holding or intermediary company with respect thereto, as defined by the "Casino Control Act," P.L.1977, c.110 (5:12-1 et seq.); or

    c. The ownership or control of more than 10 percent, in the aggregate, of one or more parcels of real property in the State;

    "Member of the immediate family" means a person's spouse, child, parent or sibling residing in the same household.

    2. (New section) Notwithstanding any other law, rule or regulation to the contrary, the financial disclosure statement required to be completed and filed by school officials pursuant to the "School Ethics Act," P.L. 1991, c.393 (C.18A:12-21 et seq.), local government officers pursuant to the "Local Government Ethics Law," P.L.1991, c.29 (C.40A:9-22.1 et seq.), candidates for the office of Governor and for member of the Legislature pursuant to P.L.1981, c.129 (C.19:44B-1 et seq.), and members of the Legislature pursuant to the Legislative Code of Ethics promulgated pursuant to the "New Jersey Conflicts of Interest Law," P.L.1971, c.182 (C.52:13D-12 et seq.), shall include the following information, which shall specify, where applicable, the name and address of each source and the filer's position or job title during the preceding calendar year:

    a. Each source of income, earned or unearned, exceeding $1,000 received by the filer or a member of the immediate family of the filer. Individual client fees, customer receipts or commissions on transactions received through a business organization need not be separately reported as sources of income. If a publicly traded security or interest derived from a financial institution is the source of income, the security or interest derived from a financial institution need not be reported unless the filer or member of the immediate family of the filer has an interest in the business organization or financial institution;

    b. Each source of fees and honoraria having an aggregate amount exceeding $100 from any single source for personal appearances, speeches or writings received by the filer or a member of the immediate family of the filer;

    c. Each source of reimbursements or prepaid expenses having an aggregate value exceeding $100 for travel, subsistence or facilities provided in kind and received from any single source by the filer or the immediate family of the filer;

    d. Each source of gifts having an aggregate value exceeding $250 from any single source received by the filer;

    e. The name and address of all business organizations in which the filer or a member of the immediate family of the filer had an interest;

    f. The address and brief description of all real property in the State in which the filer or a member of the immediate family of the filer owned, held or had an interest in; and

    g. The ownership, holding or control of an interest in any land or building in any city in which casino gambling is authorized by the filer or a member of the immediate family of the filer, which land or building shall be specified.

    3. (New section) a. No more than three representatives of the School Ethics Commission in the Department of Education, the Election Law Enforcement Commission, the Local Finance Board in the Division of Local Government Services in the Department of Community Affairs and the Joint Legislative Committee on Ethical Standards shall meet no later than the 14th day after the enactment of this act to design a financial disclosure statement form incorporating the requirements for such a form provided for by section 1 of P.L.    , c. (C. )(now pending before the Legislature as this bill) and no less than once every three years thereafter to make certain that the form complies with the current provisions of law.

    b. The form created pursuant to the provisions of subsection a. of this section shall be:

    (1) designed so that copies of the same form, once signed and certified by the person, may be transmitted to the School Ethics Commission, the Election Law Enforcement Commission, the Local Finance Board or the Joint Legislative Committee on Ethical Standards;

    (2) accepted as filling the requirements for financial disclosure statements established in law or a code of ethics for each such board, commission or committee; and

    (3) used when filing the financial disclosure statements that are required to be filed in the year that this act takes effect and each year thereafter.

    4. (New section) The definitions provided in section 1 of P.L.     , c. (C. )(now pending before the Legislature as this bill) shall be applicable only to the financial disclosure requirements provided for school officials pursuant to the "School Ethics Act," P.L. 1991, c.393 (C.18A:12-21 et seq.), local government officers pursuant to the "Local Government Ethics Law," P.L.1991, c.29 (C.40A:9-22.1 et seq.), and members of the Legislature pursuant to the Legislative Code of Ethics promulgated pursuant to the "New Jersey Conflicts of Interest Law," P.L.1971, c.182 (C.52:13D-12 et seq.), respectively. Any other meaning or use of definitions in statutory law that pertain to school officials, local government officers and members of the Legislature and are similar to or the same as those in section 1 of

P.L. , c. (C. )(now pending before the Legislature as this bill) shall continue to be valid within the context of that statutory law.

    5. Section 6 of P.L.1991, c.393 (C.18A:12-26) is amended to read as follows:

    6. a. Each school official shall annually file a financial disclosure statement with the School Ethics Commission. All financial disclosure statements filed pursuant to this act shall [include the following information which shall specify, where applicable, the name and address of each source and the school official's position:

    (1) Each source of income, earned or unearned, exceeding $2,000 received by the school official or a member of his immediate family during the preceding calendar year. Individual client fees, customer receipts or commissions on transactions received through a business organization need not be separately reported as sources of income. If a publicly traded security or interest derived from a financial institution is the source of income, the security or interest derived from a financial institution need not be reported unless the school official or member of his immediate family has an interest in the business organization or financial institution;

    (2) Each source of fees and honorariums having an aggregate amount exceeding $250 from any single source for personal appearances, speeches or writings received by the school official or a member of his immediate family during the preceding calendar year;

    (3) Each source of gifts, reimbursements or prepaid expenses having an aggregate value exceeding $250 from any single source, excluding relatives, received by the school official or a member of his immediate family during the preceding calendar year; and

    (4) The name and address of all business organizations in which the school official or a member of his immediate family had an interest during the preceding calendar year] conform to the provisions of sections 1 through 4 of P.L. , c. (C. )(now pending before the Legislature as this bill).

    b. The [commission shall prescribe a financial disclosure statement form for filing purposes. Initial financial disclosure statements shall be filed within 90 days following the effective date of this act. Thereafter,] statements shall be filed on or before April 30th each year.

    c. All financial disclosure statements filed shall be public records.

(cf: P.L.1991, c.393, s.6)

    6. Section 2 of P.L.1981, c.129 (C.19:44B-2) is amended to read as follows:

    2. Every candidate for the office of Governor and every candidate for the Senate or General Assembly shall file and certify the correctness of a financial disclosure statement which conforms to the provisions of sections 1 through 4 of P.L. , c. (C. )(now pending before the Legislature as this bill), on or before the tenth day following the last day for filing a petition to appear on the ballot, and the financial disclosure statement shall be filed with the Election Law Enforcement Commission in the Department of Law and Public Safety.

(cf: P.L.1981, c.129, s.2)

    7. Section 6 of P.L.1991, c.29 (40A:9-22.6) is amended to read as follows:

    6. a. Local government officers shall annually file a financial disclosure statement. All financial disclosure statements filed pursuant to this act shall [include the following information which shall specify, where applicable, the name and address of each source and the local government officer's job title:

    (1) Each source of income, earned or unearned, exceeding $2,000 received by the local government officer or a member of his immediate family during the preceding calendar year. Individual client fees, customer receipts or commissions on transactions received through a business organization need not be separately reported as sources of income. If a publicly traded security is the source of income, the security need not be reported unless the local government officer or member of his immediate family has an interest in the business organization;

    (2) Each source of fees and honorariums having an aggregate amount exceeding $250 from any single source for personal appearances, speeches or writings received by the local government officer or a member of his immediate family during the preceding calendar year;

    (3) Each source of gifts, reimbursements or prepaid expenses having an aggregate value exceeding $400 from any single source, excluding relatives, received by the local government officer or a member of his immediate family during the preceding calendar year;

    (4) The name and address of all business organizations in which the local government officer or a member of his immediate family had an interest during the preceding calendar year; and

    (5) The address and brief description of all real property in the State in which the local government officer or a member of his immediate family held an interest during the preceding calendar year] conform to the provisions of sections 1 through 4 of P.L. , c. (C.       )(now pending before the Legislature as this bill).

    b. [The Local Finance Board shall prescribe a financial disclosure statement form for filing purposes.] For counties and municipalities which have not established ethics boards, the [board] Local Finance Board shall transmit sufficient copies of the forms to the municipal clerk in each municipality and the county clerk in each county for filing in accordance with this act. The municipal clerk shall make the forms available to the local government officers serving the municipality. The county clerk shall make the forms available to the local government officers serving the county.

    For counties and municipalities which have established ethics boards, the Local Finance Board shall transmit sufficient copies of the forms to the ethics boards for filing in accordance with this act. The ethics boards shall make the forms available to the local government officers within their jurisdiction.

    For local government officers serving the municipality, the original statement or a signed and certified copy of the statement shall be filed with the municipal clerk in the municipality in which the local government officer serves. For local government officers serving the county, the original statement or a signed and certified copy of the statement shall be filed with the county clerk in the county in which the local government officer serves. A copy of the statement shall be filed with the board. In counties or municipalities which have established ethics boards a copy of the statement shall also be filed with the ethics board having jurisdiction over the local government officer. Local government officers shall file the initial financial disclosure statement within 90 days following the effective date of this act. Thereafter, statements shall be filed on or before April 30th each year.

    c. All financial disclosure statements filed shall be public records. (cf: P.L.1991, c.29, s.6)

    8. Sections 1 and 4 of P.L.1981, c.129 (C.19:44B-1 and 4) are repealed.

    9. This act shall take effect on January 1 following enactment, except that section 3 shall take effect immediately.

STATEMENT

    The purpose of this bill is to establish in statute a single uniform personal financial disclosure statement form for local government officers, candidates for the office of Governor and for the office of member of the Legislature, members of the Legislature and school officials who must file such forms annually, biennially and quadrennially.

    Under current law, a person who holds two or more such offices must file financial disclosure forms that are similar but not identical to each other with several disclosure entities.

    Under the bill, such a person would need to complete only one such form and file a signed and certified copy of it, as need be, with the School Ethics Commission in the Department of Education, for school officials; the Election Law Enforcement Commission, for gubernatorial and legislative candidates; the Local Finance Board in the Division of Local Government Services in the Department of Community Affairs, for local government officers; and the Joint Legislative Committee on Ethical Standards, for members of the Legislature.

    The uniform form would require the disclosure of the same personal financial information by every local government officer, candidate for the office of Governor and for the office of member of the Legislature, member of the Legislature and school official in the State.

Establishes single uniform personal financial disclosure statement form for local government officers, candidates for Governor and for member of the Legislature, members of the Legislature and school officials.