TRENTON — The state’s highlytouted Pay-to-Play law has done little to curb local governments from steering contracts to politically favored vendors, according to a report released today by State Comptroller Matthew Boxer. Local governments are using a loophole that allows them to award contracts to any vendor as long as they usea “fair and open” process, Boxer said. The...
New Jersey Comptroller Matthew Boxer said the state’s highly touted Pay-to-Play law has done little to curb local governments from steering contracts to politically favored vendorsTRENTON — The state’s highlytouted Pay-to-Play law has done little to curb local governments from steering contracts to politically favored vendors, according to a report released today by State Comptroller Matthew Boxer.
Local governments are using a loophole that allows them to award contracts to any vendor as long as they usea “fair and open” process, Boxer said. The process presents few, if any, obstacles to local governments who want to reward politically favored vendors with contracts, Boxer said.
Local governments are allowed to establish their own criteria for what “fair and open” looks like, often resulting in vague, easily manipulated guidelines that have little to do with the cost of the service, Boxer says.
“What our report found is that the fair-and-open exception is more than just a loophole that weakens the local government pay-to-play law,” Boxer said in new release announcing the report. “Qualifying for the fair and open exception returns the local government entity to the essentially unregulated system of contracting that existed before the pay-to-play law.”
The same exception does not exist at the state level, where vendors who contribute are automatically banned from receiving contracts. Boxer, along with Election Law Enforcement Commission Executive Director Jeffrey Brindle, are calling on state lawmakers to close the local loophole.
Related coverage:
• N.J. Democrats propose bill that seals pay-to-play loopholes
• Gov. Christie sets sights on reforming financial disclosure laws for legislature
• N.J. Democratic leaders seek to bar Reform Jersey Now, similar groups from skirting pay-to-play rules
• Gov. Christie says he's not responsible for Reform Jersey Now group that skirts pay-to-play rules