Bill Text: NJ S3636 | 2016-2017 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Limits reimbursement for out of State travel for certain State officials and members of Legislature; expands list of who may provide such reimbursements.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2018-01-05 - Introduced in the Senate, Referred to Senate State Government, Wagering, Tourism & Historic Preservation Committee [S3636 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2016-S3636-Introduced.html
Sponsored by:
Senator NICHOLAS P. SCUTARI
District 22 (Middlesex, Somerset and Union)
SYNOPSIS
Limits reimbursement for out of State travel for certain State officials and members of Legislature; expands list of who may provide such reimbursement.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act concerning permissible reimbursements or payments for travel by certain State officials and employees and members of the Legislature, and amending P.L.1971, c.182.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. Section 13 of P.L.1971, c.182 (C.52:13D-24) is amended to read as follows:
13. a. No State officer or employee, special State officer or employee, or member of the Legislature shall solicit, receive or agree to receive, whether directly or indirectly, any compensation, reward, employment, gift, honorarium, out-of-State travel or subsistence expense or other thing of value from any source other than the State of New Jersey, for any service, advice, assistance, appearance, speech or other matter related to the officer, employee, or member's official duties, except as authorized in this section.
b. A State officer or employee, special State officer or employee, or member of the Legislature may, in connection with any service, advice, assistance, appearance, speech or other matter related to the officer, employee, or member's official duties, solicit, receive or agree to receive, whether directly or indirectly, from sources other than the State, the following:
(1) reasonable fees for published books on matters within the officer, employee, or member's official duties;
(2) reimbursement or payment of actual and reasonable expenditures for travel or subsistence and allowable entertainment expenses associated with attending an event in New Jersey if expenditures for travel or subsistence and entertainment expenses are not paid for by the State of New Jersey;
(3) reimbursement or payment of actual and reasonable expenditures for travel or subsistence outside New Jersey[, not to exceed $500.00 per trip, if expenditures for travel or subsistence and entertainment expenses are not paid for by the State of New Jersey. The $500 per trip limitation shall not apply if the reimbursement or payment is] made by (a) a nonprofit organization of which the officer, employee, or member is, at the time of reimbursement or payment, an active member as a result of the payment of a fee or charge for membership to the organization by the State or the Legislature in the case of a member of the Legislature; (b) a nonprofit organization that does not contract with the State to provide goods, materials, equipment, or services; [or] (c) any agency of the federal government, any agency of another state or of two or more states, [or] any political subdivision of another state, or a foreign government; or (d) in the case of a member of the Legislature, any other entity that is approved by the presiding officer of the member's House.
Members of the Legislature shall obtain the approval of the presiding officer of the member's House before accepting any reimbursement or payment of expenditures for travel or subsistence outside New Jersey.
As used in this subsection, "reasonable expenditures for travel or subsistence" means commercial travel rates directly to and from an event and food and lodging expenses which are moderate and neither elaborate nor excessive; and "allowable entertainment expenses" means the costs for a guest speaker, incidental music and other ancillary entertainment at any meal at an event, provided they are moderate and not elaborate or excessive, but does not include the costs of personal recreation, such as being a spectator at or engaging in a sporting or athletic activity which may occur as part of that event.
c. This section shall not apply to the solicitation or acceptance of contributions to the campaign of an announced candidate for elective public office, except that campaign contributions may not be accepted if they are known to be given in lieu of a payment prohibited pursuant to this section.
d. (1) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, a designated State officer as defined in paragraph (2) of this subsection shall not solicit, receive or agree to receive, whether directly or indirectly, any compensation, salary, honorarium, fee, or other form of income from any source, other than the compensation paid or reimbursed to him or her by the State for the performance of official duties, for any service, advice, assistance, appearance, speech or other matter, except for investment income from stocks, mutual funds, bonds, bank accounts, notes, a beneficial interest in a trust, financial compensation received as a result of prior employment or contractual relationships, and income from the disposition or rental of real property, or any other similar financial instrument and except for reimbursement for travel as authorized in paragraphs (2) and (3) of subsection b. of this section. To receive such income, a designated State officer shall first seek review and approval by the State Ethics Commission to ensure that the receipt of such income does not violate the "New Jersey Conflicts of Interest Law," P.L.1971, c.182 (C.52:13D-12 et seq.) or any applicable code of ethics, and does not undermine the full and diligent performance of the designated State officer's duties.
(2) For the purposes of this subsection, "designated State officer" shall include: the Governor, the Adjutant General, the Secretary of Agriculture, the Attorney General, the Commissioner of Banking and Insurance, the director of the Division of Business Assistance, Marketing, and International Trade, the Commissioner of Community Affairs, the Commissioner of Corrections, the Commissioner of Education, the Commissioner of Environmental Protection, the Commissioner of Health and Senior Services, the Commissioner of Human Services, the Commissioner of Children and Families, the Commissioner of Labor and Workforce Development, the President of the State Board of Public Utilities, the Secretary of State, the Superintendent of State Police, the Commissioner of Transportation, the State Treasurer, the head of any other department in the Executive Branch, and the following members of the staff of the Office of the Governor: Chief of Staff, Chief of Management and Operations, Chief of Policy and Communications, Chief Counsel to the Governor, Director of Communications, Policy Counselor to the Governor, and any deputy or principal administrative assistant to any of the aforementioned members of the staff of the Office of the Governor listed in this subsection.
e. A violation of this section shall not constitute a crime or offense under the laws of this State.
(cf: P.L.2008, c.29, s.105)
2. This act shall take effect immediately.
STATEMENT
This bill restricts reimbursement or payments for travel or subsistence outside of New Jersey for a State officer or employee, or special State officer or employee, or member of the Legislature to only reimbursements or payments made by 1) a nonprofit organization of which the officer, employee, or member is an active member as a result of the payment of a fee or charge for membership to the organization by the State or the Legislature in the case of a member of the Legislature; 2) a nonprofit organization that does not contract with the State to provide goods, materials, equipment, or services; 3) any agency of the federal government, any agency of another state or of two or more states, any political subdivision of another state, or a foreign government; or 4) in the case of a member of the Legislature, any other entity that is approved by the presiding officer of the member's House.
Under current law, a State officer or employee, or special State officer or employee, or member of the Legislature, is permitted up to $500 in reimbursements or payments for travel or subsistence out of State if the reimbursements or payments are not paid for by the State of New Jersey. The $500 limit does not apply to 1) a nonprofit organization of which the officer, employee, or member is as an active member as a result of the payment of a fee or charge for membership to the organization by the State or the Legislature in the case of a member of the Legislature; 2) a nonprofit organization that does not contract with the State to provide goods, materials, equipment, or services; or 3) any agency of the federal government, any agency of another state or of two or more states, or any political subdivision of another state.
