New Jersey § 19:44a-20

§ 19:44a-20.

The Legislature finds and declares that: In our representative form of government, it is essential that individuals who are

elected to public office have the trust, respect and confidence of the citizenry;

and All individuals, businesses, associations, and other persons have a right to participate

fully in the political process of New Jersey, including making and soliciting contributions

to candidates, political parties and holders of public office; and When a person or business interest makes or solicits major contributions to obtain

a contract awarded by a government agency or independent authority, this constitutes

a violation of the public's trust in government and raises legitimate public concerns

about whether the contract has been awarded on the basis of merit; and The growing infusion of funds donated by business entities into the political process

at all levels of government has generated widespread cynicism among the public that

special interest groups are “buying” favors from elected officeholders; and For the purposes of protecting the integrity of government contractual decisions and

of improving the public's confidence in government, it is a compelling interest of

this State to prohibit awarding government contracts to business entities which are

also contributors to candidates and the holders of public office; and Recent legal and policy changes have led to the proliferation of entities using their

nonprofit tax status to promote candidates and spend money in political campaigns

in an unlimited and unregulated fashion, allowing those entities to raise and spend

significant sums of money in the political process in a manner that is not disclosed

to the public; and Although the right of the public and organizations to participate in the political

process and to support candidates of their choosing is fundamental to a vibrant democracy,

reasonable safeguards on campaign contributions are an important part of the political

process to ensure the public is protected from public corruption or the appearance

thereof; and It is contrary to the public interest to allow unlimited campaign contributions to

be made to entities supporting or opposing candidates for political office that are

not subject to public disclosure; and It is preferable that campaign contributions to candidates, political party committees,

legislative leadership committees, and other committees be regulated and subject to

public disclosure, rather than be unlimited, unregulated, and undisclosed; and Encouraging entities to support candidates for public office in a regulated and transparent

manner is essential to build public trust in their elected officials; and Transparent and regulated campaign contributions serve as an important safeguard against

corruption by ensuring the public has essential information available to make informed

decisions when exercising their voting preferences; and The so-called dark money political committees serve to weaken the trust of the public

in their elected officials, whether those officials are benefitting from contributions

from those entities or not; and Although the right of individuals and businesses to make campaign contributions is

unequivocal, that right may be limited, even abrogated, when such contributions promote

the actuality or appearance of public corruption; and It is essential that the public have confidence that the selection of State contractors

is based on merit and not on political contributions made by such contractors and

it is essential that the public have trust in the processes by which taxpayer dollars

are spent; and It has long been the public policy of this State to secure for the taxpayers the benefits

of competition, to promote the public good by promoting the honesty and integrity

of bidders for public contracts and the system, and to guard against favoritism, improvidence,

extravagance and corruption in order to benefit the taxpayers; and In the procurement process, our public policy grants to the State broad discretion,

taking into consideration all factors, to award a contract to a bidder whose proposal

will be most advantageous to the State; and The operations of the State government must be effectively and fairly managed to ensure

public order and prosperity, and malfeasance, in whatever form it may take, must be

confronted and uprooted; and The Legislature must safeguard the integrity of State government procurement by imposing

restrictions on State agencies and independent authorities to insulate the negotiation

and award of State contracts from political contributions that pose the risk of improper

influence, purchase of access, or the appearance thereof.