During the current session, Senator Kean has proposed legislation aimed at addressing some of the most pressing issues facing New Jersey.  The list below highlights some of the bills he is fighting for in the State Senate:

To view a complete list of the legislation Senator Kean has proposed, Click Here.

ETHICS REFORM

S769– Eliminates provision that permits current members of Legislature who hold more than one elective public office on February 1, 2008 to continue to do so if service is continuous.

Dual office holding is the practice by politicians of coalescing power in more than one elected office to serve different constituencies.  Dual office holders become insulated from accountability, suppress opportunities for other citizen activists to become involved in elected offices, and increase the tax burden through pay-to-play and inflated pork spending.

In 2004, one-third of state legislators held more than one public job, according to the Center for Public Integrity.

It’s time for New Jersey to follow the lead of at least thirty-six other states and ban the corrupting practice of dual-office holding outright.  Recently, some progress was made.  The Legislature passed a watered down ban that exempted all current dual office holders into perpetuity.

If it's wrong in the future, it's wrong now.

S287 – Limits contributions by certain public contractors; limits contributions by county and municipal political party committees.

To break the entrenched political culture of corruption in Trenton, the legislature must pass a comprehensive ban on pay-to-play immediately.  While some progress has been made with new ethics regulations, several loopholes remain.

Pay-to-play is the direct connection between campaign contributions and government contracts.  Under the current campaign finance system, the size of a contribution can outweigh the merits of a contract bid.  The inflated contract costs, passed onto the taxpayers, are a corruption tax, and one of the drivers of increasing property taxes.

Common Cause, a non-partisan citizen’s watchdog group, estimates pay-to-play costs New Jersey taxpayers up to $1 billion annually.

Additionally, this legislation bans the practice of “wheeling,”  the unlimited transfer of political funds between different county and municipal party fundraising committees.  The abuse of this campaign finance loophole allows party bosses to expand their power into regions beyond their organizational boundaries.

Pay-to-play takes on many forms within New Jersey.  Only a true, comprehensive ban like this legislation will restore integrity to our system and promote fair government contracts that save taxpayers money.

REBUILDING NEW JERSEY’S ECONOMY

S281 – Designated “New Jersey’s Economic Development Promotion Act”; streamlines and reorganizes State economic development statutes in order to promote administrative efficiency.

Recently released job growth numbers, indicating that New Jersey continues to lose jobs, have some New Jersey economists worrying about the strength of the state’s economy.  The news that our economy has stalled and that New Jersey is no longer adding high-paying jobs to its economic rolls underscores the need for a more aggressive economic development program.

Once a model in progress and innovation, New Jersey’s fragmented economic development program is now a case study in ineffectiveness.  Rather than simply make minor adjustments to the fragmented and dysfunctional economic approach, the time has come to truly challenge the system in place.  It is time to literally and logistically shake things up.

Senator Kean has introduced legislation that seeks to reinvent New Jersey’s approach to way it helps business do business in New Jersey.   Senate bill 281 consolidates all existing economic development programs under the umbrella of the New Jersey Economic Development Agency, the logical choice to be the parent of all economic development programs.  His proposal calls for the elimination of duplicate programs and services and the creation of new, more relevant programs designed to meet the challenges of the 21^st century economy and workplace.