Bill > S1398

Introduced Session

This bill modifies the current law regulating the awarding of public contracts to business entities that make campaign contributions, commonly referred to as the "pay to play" law. Specifically, the bill provides that political party committees, namely the State committee of a political party or any county or municipal committee of a political party, would no longer be barred from receiving a contribution from a business entity seeking to enter into or holding a contract with the State, or a State agency, a county or municipality. Instead, a business entity seeking to enter into or holding a public contract would be barred from making a contribution to a political committee, or continuing political committee, in addition to candidate committees and legislative leadership committees. In addition the bill would: 1) create one uniform "pay to play" law applicable at all levels of government, including the Executive Branch, State authorities, the Legislative Branch, counties, and municipalities, and to add sections covering local elective boards of education and fire districts; 2) eliminate provisions of existing law that exclude contracts awarded pursuant to a "fair and open process" from "pay to play" proscriptions and provide instead that only contracts that are valued at $17,500 or less will be excluded; 3) increase the amount that may be contributed by business entities from the current $300 to $1,000; 4) modify the definition in the law of the term "business entity" to match the definition set forth in Governor Corzine's Executive Order No.117 of 2008; 5) modify the disclosure requirement for business entity that contracts with a single State agency, or a county, municipality, independent authority, board of education, or fire district for $17,500 or more and makes a contribution of money or other thing of value to an independent expenditure committee to disclose all such contributions; and 6) add a definition of "independent expenditure committee" for the purpose of the reports required to be made by business entities of their contributions. As part of these changes to create a uniform "pay to play" law, the bill repeals sections of law that: 1) prohibit a government aggregator that is a county or municipality from awarding a contract to a licensed power supplier if that supplier has made a contribution to the committee of any candidate for public office; 2) apply "pay to play" in the context of State Executive Branch contracting; and 3) allow local governments to adopt their own "pay to play" ordinances and policies.

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Troy Singleton (D)*, 

Introduced in the Senate, Referred to Senate State Government, Wagering, Tourism & Historic Preservation Committee (on 01/09/2024)

Official Document