ACR160

Sponsored by:

Assemblyman ALEX SAUICKIE

District 12 (Burlington, Middlesex, Monmouth and Ocean)

Co-Sponsored by:

Assemblyman Rumpf

SYNOPSIS

Mandates disclosures for State budget resolutions regarding campaign contributions received by resolution sponsors from intended recipients of funds and the organizational classification of the intended recipients.

CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT

As introduced.

A Concurrent Resolution concerning disclosure requirements for budget resolutions and amending Joint Rule 42.

Be It Resolved by the General Assembly of the State of New Jersey (the Senate concurring):

1. Joint Rule 42 is amended to read as follows:

42. a. The chair of the Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee and the chair of the Assembly Budget Committee shall, during their respective committee deliberations on the subject of the Governor's budget recommendations transmitted to the Legislature for the ensuing State fiscal year, and at least 14 calendar days before the House shall pass an annual appropriations bill, accept resolutions made by members of either House and the State Treasurer that propose to add, delete or otherwise change revenues, line-items or language provisions in the Governor's budget recommendations, which resolutions shall be filed with either committee and shall be identified by the sponsor or sponsors. The sponsor or sponsors of a budget resolution shall set forth in detail therein each revenue, line-item or language provision proposed to be added, deleted or changed and append thereto a statement explaining the proposed changes and the reasons therefor. The sponsor or sponsors of a budget resolution shall identify any intended recipients of the funding proposed by the budget resolution and indicate if the intended recipient is a government entity, a for-profit entity or a non-profit entity. The sponsor or sponsors of a budget resolution shall append thereto a personal disclosure statement indicating whether the sponsor or the sponsor's family (the member's spouse, domestic partner or civil union partner, children, parents or siblings) have any employment relationship or business relationship with, or receive any compensation from, the intended recipient of any increased funding proposed in a budget resolution. The personal disclosure statement shall also indicate whether the sponsor has received a campaign contribution from an owner, officer or board member of any intended recipient that is a for-profit entity or non-profit entity within the preceding 36 month period. All budget resolutions shall be filed with the committees at least 14 calendar days before the respective House shall pass an annual appropriations bill, except that budget resolutions may be filed with a committee thereafter in a manner to be determined by the Presiding Officer of each House for that House. All resolutions to be filed with either committee shall be delivered to the Legislative Budget and Finance Officer and shall be made available to the public through the Office of Legislative Services. The annual appropriations bill that shall pass both Houses shall contain only items proposed in the Governor's budget recommendations and items in budget resolutions filed pursuant to this Joint Rule.

b. Nothing in this Joint Rule shall preclude the Presiding Officer of either House from adopting limitations that are more restrictive than the procedures set forth in this Joint Rule or requiring additional information be included in resolutions filed in their respective House.

STATEMENT

This resolution amends Joint Rule 42, budget resolutions, to create additional mandatory disclosures in the personal disclosure statement of each sponsor of a budget resolution concerning whether, in the preceding 36 months, the sponsor received a campaign contribution from an owner, officer or board member of a for-profit entity or non-profit entity that is the intended recipient of any funding. It also amends the joint rule to require that the sponsor identify the organizational classification of each intended recipient of funding as either a government entity, for-profit entity, or non-profit entity.

Past budget resolutions that have resulted in appropriations of taxpayer funds have directed funding to private companies, and others have appeared to have been directed to entities associated with campaign contributors. The sponsor believes additional transparency in the budget resolution process will further educate the public with regard to State spending, and may deter the submission of budget resolutions that contribute more to personal interest than to the public interest.