Play maze party in nj6/25/2023 ![]() "The lack of transparency here really short-circuits debate, and it's a disservice to the public."Īssemblyman Brian Bergen, R-Morris, railed against the legislation during Thursday's Appropriations Committee meeting, saying the bill takes the state back to the 1980s and undoes protections against corruption. "It's absurd that you would have a bill that's essentially completely overhauling our pay-to-play laws and campaign finance laws with amendments dropped late on a Thursday, after hours, no one being able to see it and then a voting session on Monday," said Philip Hensley, a democracy policy analyst at the League of Women Voters of New Jersey. Republican lawmakers voted no on the bill in committees, and progressive and good-government groups testified against many of the amendments and provisions. "Some of the amendments that came about on Thursday, we're reconsidering." "We want to make sure that the bill is well thought out and passed," Scutari said. Senate President Nicholas Scutari, D-Union, who sponsored the bill, didn't have an estimate on when another vote would be held, but he said the Legislature was working on the amendments. "Over the weekend, we did our due diligence, made a few phone calls, and we had to listen to those issues," Murphy said. ![]() The original bill similarly stalled last June ahead of scheduled votes in the full chambers two weeks after it was introduced.Īssemblywoman Carol Murphy, D-Burlington, confirmed to that the chamber did not have enough votes to pass the measure, and had pulled the bill to take a closer look at the last-minute amendments. ![]() Lawmakers had quietly added significant amendments Thursday to an already extensive “Elections Transparency Act” ( A4372), which would shorten the time in which people could file complaints alleging candidates and committees violated the rules, and would give political parties more fundraising power through new accounts. Watch Video: Jeff Brindle of ELEC on NJ campaign disclosure lawsīoth the Senate and Assembly on Monday postponed votes on a massive overhaul of the state’s campaign finance system that would gut the state’s pay-to-play rules, give the governor more control over the agency that polices election law, and increase what people and companies can donate.
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