The indictment shines a light on a loophole in state ethics law that allows legislators to conceal their financial interests when they represent clients.
In 2004, former Gov. Jim McGreevey signed into law an ethics package that strengthened financial-disclosure statements, requiring legislators, their spouses, and children under age 18 to disclose, for the first time, personal loans, business interests, addresses and descriptions of property owned, as well as the names of all paid or unpaid offices and board positions held.
Under state law and the Legislative Code of Ethics, lawmakers are prohibited from participating in legislation in which they have a personal interest, meaning they would expect to receive a direct monetary gain not generally shared by others in the same business, profession, or occupation.
But New Jersey's financial-disclosure rules do not require lawmakers to identify their clients, how much money they receive from them, or the nature of their work. Gov. Christie has proposed strengthening financial-disclosure rules for legislators, but the details of his plan are not yet available.
Some experts say the Bryant example makes a good case for stronger disclosure rules.
"There has to be a mandate whereby public officials disclose the names of clients who may be benefiting from any legislation," said Paula Franzese, a Seton Hall Law School professor who has led ethics initiatives on behalf of three New Jersey governors. "A case like this, which is, as alleged, so deplorable a violation of the public trust, makes plain the need for enhanced transparency.
"It's clear that sunlight is the best disinfectant, and to see that public office is being used for secretive, privatized gain is precisely the sort of abuse that enhanced disclosure would seek to prevent."
