GOP lawmakers continue to push ethics reform measures

Two Assembly Republican freshman lawmakers, who made ethics reform the mainstay of their campaigns last November, continued to make good on their promise by introducing two more ethics reform bills this week.

In an effort to prevent any potential conflicts of interest for legislators who operate their own businesses, Assemblyman Declan O’Scanlon on Thursday introduced legislation to prohibit a member of Legislature from entering into a contract with any public entity located within that member’s legislative district.

On Tuesday, O’Scanlon and Assemblywoman Caroline Casagrande, both R-Monmouth and Mercer, introduced legislation restricting the amount of sick leave a public employee can use and  “cash out” prior to and upon retirement.
O’Scanlon’s bill, A-2585, supplements New Jersey’s conflicts of interest law to prohibit members of the Legislature from entering into contracts to provide goods or services to, or perform any employment for, any municipal, county, or state public entity located within their legislative districts.

The prohibition would apply to any corporation or partnership controlled by the legislator, and also to any business in which the member owns or controls more than one percent of the stock. Projects started, or contracts in effect before a legislator is sworn in can be completed, but no new for-profit contracts or projects shall be permitted to undertaken.

"While having people with experience in running their own businesses is an asset to the Legislature, we must make sure that these officials are not using their legislative positions for personal gain and are not allowing the operation of their business to conflict with their legislative duties," said O’Scanlon. "This legislation will make the ground rules clear and will ensure that no legislator enters into contracts with any of the public entities in his or her legislative district.

"As someone who operates his own business I understand the importance of avoiding these potential conflicts and have voluntarily imposed this standard on my own business activities," O’Scanlon continued. "This bill would ensure that this standard is mandatory for all legislators."

The two 12th Legislative District lawmakers also introduced bills A-2581 and A-2583 which would limit sick leave usage and payout for public employees. The first bill, A-2581, prohibits the use of six or more consecutive days of accumulated sick leave by a public officer or employee in the12 months prior to retirement without a medical necessity verified in writing by a physician. The legislation seeks to end a practice known as “terminal leave” when a public employee, in anticipation of retirement, is permitted to use up accumulated days of sick leave, often in large amounts of consecutive days off. 

A-2583 limits payment upon retirement to a maximum of $10,000 to state and local public officers and employees for accumulated sick leave respectively. Current law allows a state employee to receive a maximum of $15,000 for unused accumulated sick leave when the employee retires. In June 2007, the Legislature imposed the $15,000 cap to also include elected and appointed local and school district officials, but that limit does not currently  apply to county and municipal employees.

The O’Scanlon/Casagrande legislation would apply the $10,000 limit to all public officials and employees at all levels.

"In a time when the state and local governments are facing a severe fiscal crisis, these measures are designed to reign in abuses of the public benefits system," said O’Scanlon. "Sick time is intended to be used when an employee is too ill to come to work. It shouldn’t be used as a future retirement kitty or for additional vacation or personal time.

"Unfortunately, in the past, we have had state and local employees cash in massive amounts of accumulated sick time for tens of thousands of dollars, putting additional strain on state and local budgets," he explained. "The practice of ‘terminal leave’ also puts additional strain on workers as departments are forced to scramble to cover for the absent employee."

"“When a long-time employee retires and puts in for a six figure retirement payout, it’s a cost that can’t be absorbed in a single year municipal budget," said Casagrande. "Mayors and councils have no choice but to turn to their taxpayers to make up the difference.

"These bills are another step forward in putting our fiscal house in order," she continued. "For far too long, these sick leave benefits have been abused, ultimately costing taxpayers millions of dollars in lost time and cash out payments. If we are going to begin cutting budgets at all levels of government to get spending under control, we have to get a handle on misuse of public employee benefits. This is a good place to start.

BACK