Ethics panel meets, does little

TRENTON - The newly reconstituted Joint Legislative Committee on Ethical Standards held its first official meeting yesterday, but postponed action on two longstanding complaints.

The committee, formed to investigate complaints against lawmakers that involve possible violations of state ethics and conflict-of-interest rules, has the authority to levy fines, issue reprimands, and recommend expulsion.

But it has long been seen as a toothless entity, having taken action against only a handful of lawmakers in more than 30 years of existence.

In recent years, the committee often let more than a year pass between meetings. And the meetings that did take place were frequently unproductive, according to observers; at one meeting in 2006, the committee spent six hours arguing over procedural matters, including whom to appoint as chairman.

In March, the legislature approved an overhaul of the committee, changing its membership from eight legislators and eight public members to just eight public members, as part of a broader package of ethics reform.

Yesterday, the committee discussed standard operating procedures and adopted a meeting schedule.

It also postponed taking action on complaints filed against Sen. Brian Stack (D., Hudson) and former Sen. Wayne Bryant (D., Camden).

Stack has been accused of violating conflict-of-interest laws because a day-care program directed by his estranged wife received state grants. The committee voted to postpone discussing the matter until its next meeting because Stack was not informed about the meeting until yesterday morning.

The committee also voted to postpone taking action on the complaint against Bryant, who was convicted in November of steering state funds to the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey in exchange for a job there.

The committee opted for the delay pending disposition of his criminal proceedings. Bryant's attorney filed a motion for acquittal in December.

One question that was raised was whether the committee would have the jurisdiction to discipline Bryant now that he is no longer a member of the legislature.

Bryant is among a small number of lawmakers who have been disciplined by the ethics committee. In 1992, Bryant, then an assemblyman, was reprimanded for entering into a $2.86 million lease with the state, using his influence to seal the deal.

Committee Chairman Alan Rosenthal, a Rutgers University professor who has written about ethics in state legislatures, said the role of the committee is threefold: first, to investigate complaints made against members of the legislature; second, to render formal and advisory opinions to legislators; third, to make recommendations to the legislature relating to ethics.

Rosenthal said he intended to advocate for stronger ethics training for legislators.

Rosenthal said he was "optimistic and hopeful" that the new committee would be more effective than its predecessors.

Sen. Bill Baroni (R., Mercer) said he was hopeful that the new structure of the committee would "help us truly fight the culture of corruption in New Jersey."

"This has clearly been a step in the right direction," he said.

Paula Franzese, chairwoman of the state Ethics Commission and a Seton Hall University law school professor, agreed, saying "rendering the committee an entirely public body helps to ensure its independence and helps to promote the public trust."

Those chosen for the committee, she said, bode "very well for the process of enhanced transparency, accountability and nonpartisanship."

Former Republican State Sen. William Schluter, a former chairman of the committee, who contended that he was removed because he had been deemed "too much of a reformer," said he was concerned about the members' being appointed by legislative leaders.

"If the appointees are beholden to those who appoint them in some sort of political manner, there might be no change for the better," Schluter said.

However, he added that it was a good sign that several of the new members are retired judges.

The committee briefly discussed three complaints that had been filed since its last meeting involving Central New Jersey and North Jersey lawmakers, and a request for advice by a lawmaker regarding a bid for contracts.