Bill targets conflicts of interest
The measure would ban local-level officials from matters they could profit from.
TRENTON - Government officials might soon find it harder to promote issues they can profit from.
Today, New Jersey lawmakers are expected to discuss a bill that would bar local officials from lobbying or advocating for certain matters. The ban would kick in if officials had a conflict of interest with a topic or recused themselves from a related vote.
Sponsors of the bill say it stems from the case of Paul Abrams, a former Tinton Falls Planning Board member. While on the board, Abrams was hired by a developer to consult on a big housing development in the municipality.
Abrams, a real estate agent, resigned from the board in November 2002, a day after he received his retainer for the job, according to a report in the Asbury Park Press. The project was approved in 2005.
The Monmouth County Prosecutor's Office closed an inquiry of the matter last fall without filing charges.
Assemblyman Declan O'Scanlon, main sponsor of the Assembly version of the bill, said that even though Abrams was found not to have broken any laws, the measure aimed to prevent such situations.
Under the bill, "once you recuse yourself, you can't do anything," O'Scanlon (R., Monmouth) said.
The measure will be heard in the Senate Community and Urban Affairs Committee.
Also today, the Assembly Appropriations Committee will discuss a bill that would require state-chartered health-care providers to cover certain treatments for autism. It would cover physical, speech, and occupational therapy, as well as behavioral intervention.