Bill Text: NJ A251 | 2020-2021 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Limits contributions to legal defense fund of candidate for or holder of elective public office; requires reporting thereof to ELEC.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2020-01-14 - Introduced, Referred to Assembly State and Local Government Committee [A251 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2020-A251-Introduced.html
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
219th LEGISLATURE
PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 2020 SESSION
Sponsored by:
Assemblyman WAYNE P. DEANGELO
District 14 (Mercer and Middlesex)
SYNOPSIS
Limits contributions to legal defense fund of candidate for or holder of elective public office; requires reporting thereof to ELEC.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative Counsel.
An Act limiting contributions to a legal defense fund of a candidate for or holder of elective public office, requiring the reporting thereof, and supplementing P.L.1973, c.83 (C.19:44A-1 et seq.).
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. a. Any candidate for or holder of an elective public office in this State who receives a contribution of money or other thing of value for the purpose of defraying legal expenses resulting from pending or anticipated charges against the candidate or officeholder for the commission of a crime or offense under the laws of this State or under the laws of another state or of the United States of a crime or offense which, if committed in this State, would be such a crime or offense, shall, within ten days of the receipt thereof, file with the Election Law Enforcement Commission a certificate of organization of a legal defense fund on a form prescribed by the commission. The certificate shall identify the name of the fund, which shall be the sole name under which the fund or the candidate or officeholder receives contributions, makes expenditures and otherwise conducts business on behalf of the candidate's or officeholder's legal defense and include such other information as the commission shall require. A candidate or officeholder who establishes a legal defense fund shall designate a bank authorized by law to transact business in this State as a depository for the fund prior to filing the certificate of organization with the commission and shall disclose on the certificate such information about the depository as the commission shall require. Following the filing of a certificate with the commission, a candidate or officeholder shall file with the commission, at three month intervals, a report listing each contribution made to the fund and all other transactions relating thereto including the name, address, occupation and employer of each individual who made a contribution, and of each recipient of each expenditure.
b. No individual, committee, group, organization, corporation or business entity of any kind shall contribute to a legal defense fund established under subsection a. of this section of a candidate or an officeholder any amount of money or other thing of value that is greater than may be contributed per calendar year to a candidate for public office pursuant to the provisions of "The New Jersey Campaign Contributions and Expenditures Reporting Act," P.L.1973, c.83 (C.19:44A-1 et seq.). No candidate or officeholder shall accept a contribution greater than the amount of money or other thing of value that may be contributed per calendar year to a candidate for public office pursuant to the provisions of "The New Jersey Campaign Contributions and Expenditures Reporting Act," P.L.1973, c.83 (C.19:44A-1 et seq.).
c. The provisions of this section shall not apply to expenditures of the candidate's or officeholder's own funds or to contributions to the candidate or officeholder from the candidate's or officeholder's spouse, partner in a civil union, domestic partner, children, siblings, or parents.
d. The provisions of this section shall not be construed as authorizing the acceptance by a candidate or an officeholder of an amount which exceeds the limit on the amount of any gift that may be accepted by the candidate or officeholder that is prescribed by any other statute, regulation, executive order, ordinance, resolution, or code of ethics.
e. A contribution to a legal defense fund of a candidate or officeholder shall be considered to be a contribution to the candidate committee of the candidate or officeholder for the purposes of P.L.2004, c.19 (C.19:44A-20.3 et seq.).
2. This act shall take effect immediately.
STATEMENT
This bill requires a candidate for or the holder of any elective public office in this State to file a certificate of organization of a legal defense fund with the Election Law Enforcement Commission (ELEC) if the candidate or officeholder receives a contribution for the purpose of defraying legal expenses resulting from pending or anticipated criminal charges. The candidate or officeholder must also designate a bank authorized by law to transact business in this State as a depository for the fund and file with ELEC, at three month intervals, a report of all transactions of the fund, including the name, address, occupation and employer of each individual making a contribution, and of the recipient of each expenditure.
No contributions to the fund by an individual, committee, group, organization, corporation or business entity of any kind may be greater than the amount of money or other thing of value that may be contributed per calendar year to a candidate for public office pursuant to the provisions of "The New Jersey Campaign Contributions and Expenditures Reporting Act" (N.J.S.A.19:44A-1 et seq.). The bill would not apply to expenditures of the candidate's or officeholder's own funds or to contributions thereto from the candidate's or officeholder's spouse, partner in a civil union, domestic partner, children, siblings, or parents. The bill also provides that its provisions would not be construed as authorizing the acceptance by a candidate or an officeholder of an amount which exceeds the limit on the amount of any gift that may be accepted by the candidate or officeholder as prescribed by any other statute, regulation, executive order, ordinance, resolution, or code of ethics.
Under the bill, a contribution to the legal defense fund of a candidate or officeholder will be considered a contribution to the candidate committee of the candidate or officeholder for the purposes of the "pay to play" laws of the State.
