By Daily Record Staff – October 24, 2010

Public employees in New Jersey may soon get a reality check when it comes to any patronage, perks or fringe benefits that come with their taxpayer-funded jobs.

State Sen. Donald Norcross, D-Camden-Gloucester, and Assemblyman Paul Moriarty, D-Gloucester-Camden, have introduced legislation aimed at preventing spending and ethics abuses within all public bodies in New Jersey.

It’s called the “Government Reality Check Act” and its intentions are long overdue. Norcross and Moriarty have introduced a reform package containing five bills that seek to combat specific instances of abuse. Moved together, they would enact sweeping change that would apply to everyone from the governor’s office and the Legislature on down to state, county and local governments and institutions and authorities.

The intent is laudable. We noted in an editorial two weeks ago that the State’s Ethics Commission covers only the executive branch of state government, not employees of the legislative branch or municipalities. The introduced legislation
would not technically expand the scope of the Ethics Commission, but it would establish uniform state rules for all.

For example, the reform package would ban “revolving-door” practices and prohibit officials from working with certain private employers for two years after leaving their government job. The bills would also bar workers from accepting gifts
from those with whom they do public business and limit travel and would seek to establish new standards of transparency and accountability for all public bodies.

Moriarty says that the “great majority of public employees are honest, diligent workers who serve the residents well, (but) others have taken advantage of a system that offers too much opportunity for abuse.”

Any attempt to close abuse “loopholes” are welcome.

By DIANE D’AMICO and JULIET FLETCHER – October 19, 2010

A reality check is in order for government and state-appointed officials who enjoy luxury cars, toll-free expressway rides and lavish work trips.

That’s the word from state lawmakers who sponsored the Government Reality Check Act, a set of recommendations that could end years of perks for elected representatives, government agency staff and other public employees.

Housing allowances and free E-ZPass transponders for public workers would be banned as part of the dozen or so reforms. Government-issued credit cards would be cut up. Officials would lose their personal drivers and luxury vehicle stipends.

In southern New Jersey, the proposals drawn up by state Sen. Donald Norcross, D-Camden, Gloucester, and Assemblyman Paul Moriarty, D-Camden, Gloucester, may definitely affect a few officials: In Atlantic City, the mayor enjoys use of a town car, and in Vineland, the mayor uses a former police cruiser.

The proposed legislation is likely to have a major impact on state college presidents, who traditionally receive either a housing allowance or live in college- or state-owned housing.

Rowan University President Donald Farish, who on Friday announced he would retire at the end of his contract in 2012, lives in the president’s house, purchased by the college Board of Trustees in 2000 for $685,000 using a $500,000 donation from Mr. and Mrs Sam Jones.

Farish, whose salary is $300,000, also gets a car for business use, and 5 percent of his annual base salary is put in a pension plan.

Richard Stockton College President Herman J. Saatkamp Jr. opted not to live in the state-owned house in Linwood that had been occupied by former President Vera King Farris. He built his own home closer to the Stockton campus in Galloway Township but gets a monthly housing stipend of about $4,300. His current salary is $283,250. Saatkamp also gets a car, a retirement fund and a deferred compensation plan.

Raymond D. Cotton, vice president for higher education at ML Strategies LLC in Washington, D.C., said New Jersey legislators would put the state at a competitive disadvantage if it were to eliminate the housing option for college presidents. He said some colleges also include housing for special positions and as a recruitment tool.

Stockton’s Vice President for Finance Matthew Altier was allowed to live in the Linwood house rent-free as an incentive to take the job so he would not have two house payments when he moved from California.

“According to our studies, almost every college with an enrollment of more than 2,000 either offers a house or a housing allowance,” Cotton said. He said private colleges routinely include that perk, as do colleges in other neighboring states.

“It seems penny-wise but pound-foolish if they really are trying to recruit top people,” he said of the bill.

The proposed legislation says that a public employee could be provided with a residence if they could show that the home is directly related to the performance of their officials duties, and Cotton believes that would be easy to document. He said the house of a college president is routinely an extension of the job, hosting as many as 100 events a year from faculty meetings to fundraising events to student receptions.

“It is the university’s house,” he said. “The president just lives in it.”

Agencies including the South Jersey Transportation Authority provide E-ZPass transponders in authority vehicles. And while some authorities must receive the approval of the governor before taking paid trips out of state, executive government departments have only needed the approval of the head of department.

“We want all the citizens of New Jersey to join us in adopting these essential and long-overdue reforms so we can rid government of the wasteful spending and other abuses that make New Jersey such an unaffordable place to live for so many,” Norcross said in a statement introducing the legislation last week.

South Jersey Transportation Authority spokeswoman Sharon Gordon said the authority had tightened its practices on what tolls and other expenses were covered several years ago, and now abides by state ethics requirements and limited per-diem expense claims to federal requirements.

“We’re an expressway agency, doing work along the roadway, and we have become very careful about the appearance, the optics, of what we will and will not reimburse,” Gordon said, adding that she would not be likely to claim back tolls if she conducted work business on a Saturday: “It might appear wrong.”

Rather than affecting how the authority functions, “I would say the new legislation would be more looking at (the) SJTA as a model of how to do this,” she said.

By Atlantic City Press Staff – October 18, 2010

How can you not love a bill with the name “Government Reality Check Act?”

That bill, now in the Legislature, taps into the public’s disgust over government perks and excesses at a time when so many taxpayers are struggling and government services are being cut. Particularly outrageous have been a series of revelations about the Delaware River and Port Authority, which gave employees free E-ZPass rides and racked up tens of thousands of dollars on government credit cards – including a stay at the Waldorf Astoria in New York City and lunch at The Palm.

Assemblyman Paul Moriarty and state Sen. Donald Norcross, both D-Camden, Gloucester, introduced the bill last week. It would not just end such perks as government credit cards, but would set uniform standards for travel, perks and certain ethics policies at all levels of state government – from tiny fire districts and school boards to the Governor’s Office, from independent authorities to state colleges. It’s a comprehensive effort that should get bipartisan support.

The only pity is that Pennsylvania, Delaware or New York would have to approve similar legislation for it to take effect at the bistate authorities, such as the free-spending DRPA. If New Jersey leads the way, we hope they would follow.

The bill would eliminate such perks as luxury-car stipends, free E-ZPass transponders, housing allowances and personal drivers (except for police security details). And here’s another long-overdue ban: No gifts. Period.

Government-issued credit cards would be cut up at all levels. There has never been a compelling argument for retaining those cards, and there have been plenty of examples of abuse. Let public officials do what the private sector does: Pay upfront and get reimbursed.

The bill would also require the Governor’s Office to approve travel only for essential state purposes for executive-branch employees, while travel by employees and board members of state entities outside the executive branch would require written approval by their boards at a public meeting.

The bill would also set uniform standards for tuition reimbursement to assure that courses taken are directly related to the employee’s public job and that the employee keeps that public job for at least five years after the reimbursement is made.

Any public employee or board member who has any decision-making power over public contracts would be prohibited for two years from working for a vendor they hired.

We can already hear the squealing from some public officials on a few of these proposals. But they are sensible rules that would help convince the public that state government is, at long last, beginning to do a reality check.

By Home News Tribune Staff – October 19, 2010

Public employees in New Jersey may soon get a reality check when it comes to any patronage, perks or fringe benefits that come with their taxpayer-funded jobs.

State Sen. Donald Norcross, D-Camden-Gloucester, and Assemblyman Paul Moriarty, D-Gloucester-Camden, have introduced legislation aimed at preventing spending and ethics abuses within all public bodies in New Jersey.

It’s called the “Government Reality Check Act” and its intentions are long overdue.

Actually, Norcross and Moriarty have introduced a reform package containing five bills which seek to combat specific instances of abuse. Moved together, they would enact sweeping change that would apply to everyone from the Governor’s Office and the Legislature on down to state, county and local governments and institutions and authorities.

We applaud this comprehensive effort to eliminate excesses that, when added up, wind up costing taxpayers millions of dollars annually. Official perks such as luxury car stipends and housing allowances to personal drivers and government-issued credit cards would be affected.

The reform package would also impose strict new ethics standards, like banning “revolving-door” practices and prohibit officials from working with certain private employers for two years after leaving their government job.

The bills would also bar workers from accepting gifts and limit travel and would seek to establish new standards of transparency and accountability for all public bodies.

As part of this legislation, Norcross and Moriarty are calling for the state legislatures in New York, Pennsylvania and Delaware to adopt the same reforms for the bi-state agencies that are susceptible to potential employee expenditure abuses such as the Delaware River Port Authority, the Delaware River Joint Bridge Toll Commission, the Delaware River and Bay Authority and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.

We agree with Moriarty when he says that “the great majority of public employees are honest, diligent workers who serve the residents well, others have taken advantage of a system that offers too much opportunity for abuse.”

But we also agree with the lawmakers when they characterized their proposals as “common sense requirements” and that their proposed reforms “will help restore public confidence in hundreds of public bodies that all too often live beyond their means.”

What is comes down to it having the sheer political will to cut waste and abuse of taxpayer dollars resulting from patronage, perks and other excess spending.

Whether or not the Legislature will follow through and deliver meaningful reforms remains a very open question. And we also can’t help but wonder if some convenient loopholes have been retained within the proposal — or will be inserted later — to weaken the impact. Truth is, these abuses should have been addressed long ago, and lawmakers have always found their reasons not to do so. Will this time really be any different?

But times are tough, voters are angry, and maybe all of that has finally pushed this issue past the tipping point. Maybe now the politicians recognize that it’s their own best interests to do something about it.

By Eileen Stilwell – October 15, 2010

Rowan University’s Donald Farish is among public college presidents who could be in for a huge lifestyle change if legislation introduced by two Democratic legislators becomes law.

Farish’s stately home in Woodbury would go. So would the university car, driver and credit card — all perks the college president gets on top of his $300,000-a-year salary.

A series of bills introduced Thursday by Sen. Donald Norcross, D-Camden, and Assemblyman Paul Moriarty, D-Gloucester, would ban housing allowances for college presidents, authority executives and all of the state’s approximately 550,000 local, county and state employees.

The legislation would also put the brakes on car allowances, chauffeurs and government-issued credit cards.

The five-bill package — called the Government Reality Check Act — also imposes fiscal accountability and tougher ethical standards on employees and commissioners of bistate authorities, such as the Delaware River Port Authority, The Delaware River and Bay Authority, the Delaware River Joint Toll Bridge Commission and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.

“We need to take care of our own business first, but we certainly plan to follow up with Pennsylvania, New York and Delaware,” said Norcross, who said he recognizes legislation would be required in other states to cover commissioners and employees in bistate entities.

Norcross is running in next month’s election for the one-year, unexpired term left vacant by Dana Redd when she gave up her Senate seat to become mayor of Camden. Moriarty is not a candidate this year.

“I think everybody is ready for one set of rules,” said Norcross, who said he aims to establish a “clear set of ethical rules for everyone from the governor to freeholder and fire district.”

Norcross acknowledged he is short on data to substantiate abuses in the public sector, but said he has heard input from his constituents and other sources.

Last month, Norcross and Moriarty created a website (www.stopspendingmymoney.com), a Facebook page and a Twitter account to solicit comments on wasteful spending of public money.

Allegations this summer of mismanagement, patronage and excessive spending at the DRPA have spawned bills on both sides of the river calling for more transparency and fiscal responsibility.

One of Gov. Chris Christie’s first executive orders in office this year was to put all state authorities on notice that management and employees will be held to high ethical standards.

Using his veto power over DRPA, Christie forced the agency to end free tolls and PATCO fares for workers and to eliminate authority credit cards and car allowances.

The governor also is demanding a tough conflict-of-interest standard for vendors doing business with the authority and an end to what is known as the “revolving door,” the practice of commissioners and employees accepting private jobs with DRPA vendors.

Both Christie and Norcross want employees to wait two years before joining a private vendor that does business with a former employer. In an effort to embrace all of state government in a single bill, the Government Reality Check Act includes some areas that historically have fallen under the radar, such as tuition reimbursement.

The bill requires course work be taken at an accredited institution in the state and be directly related to the skills required for the position or a reasonable promotion. It also requires workers to remain in their jobs for five years after receiving reimbursement, which is capped at 50 percent.

If such restrictions had been in place in recent years, DRPA would not have been allowed to pick up the tab for its CEO’s Continuing Legal Education classes. Though John Matheussen is a lawyer, his DRPA job does not require a law degree.

The act also holds spouses and children of public employees to a higher standard. Violators would be fired and subject to civil fines not to exceed $10,000. The bills have been referred to committees.

By Tom Hester, Sr. – October 12, 2010

A package of legislation aimed at preventing spending and ethics abuses at all levels of government in New Jersey has been introduced by Sen. Donald Norcorss (D-Camden) and Assemblyman Paul Moriarty (D-Gloucester.)

The five proposals represent the most comprehensive effort yet to eliminate excesses that cost taxpayers millions of dollars and to make everyone earning a public paycheck or serving on public boards more accountable for their actions, Norcross and Moriarty maintained Tuesday. The legislation would apply to every public employee from the governor and legislators to local fire districts and authorities.

The proposals are designed to reduce costs by eliminating or curtailing spending associated with everything from official perks such as luxury car stipends and housing allowances to personal drivers and government-issued credit cards. They would impose new ethics standards, such as a revolving-door policy banning officials from working with certain private employers for two years after leaving their government job. And they would establish new standards of transparency and accountability for all public bodies.

“The taxpayers have had enough,” Norcross said. “Government at every level must learn to live within its means, just as families across our state are forced to do every day. That means cutting the waste and abuse of taxpayer dollars resulting from patronage, perks and other excess spending.”

“It’s time to give government a reality check,” Moriarty said. “While the great majority of public employees are honest, diligent workers who serve the residents well, others have taken advantage of a system that offers too much opportunity for abuse. These reforms will require everyone drawing a taxpayer-funded paycheck to follow strict rules and regulations that will hold them accountable and, in effect, rein in wasteful spending that makes our state unaffordable for so many.”

The package of bills was prompted, in part, by the recent revelation that a Delaware River Port Authority (DRPA) official had abused access to a free EZ-Pass transponder for his daughter to commute to college in Philadelphia.

As part of the legislation, Norcross and Moriarty are calling for the state legislatures in New York, Pennsylvania and Delaware to adopt the same reforms for the bi-state agencies four of the bills address: the DRPA, the Delaware River Joint Bridge Toll Commission, the Delaware River and Bay Authority and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. The fifth bill applies to all state and local public bodies operating exclusively in New Jersey.

Norcross and Moriarty described the proposals are commonsense requirements. The changes, they said, would help restore public confidence in hundreds of public bodies that sometimes live beyond their means.

The proposals would:

Ban perks such as free EZ-Pass transponders. It would end housing allowances for college presidents, authority executives, or any public employee, stop luxury vehicle stipends, eliminate personal drivers, except for police security details, and end government-issued credit cards at all levels of government in New Jersey.

Require the governor’s office to approve travel only for essential state purposes for all executive branch employees. Travel by employees and board members of the state’s autonomous agencies, state colleges and universities would require written approval by each entity’s board at a public meeting. The Legislature already has a mechanism in place for the Senate president and Assembly speaker to approve all official travel for members in their respective chambers. The law would also restructure the approval process for county and local level official travel for boards, commissions, and authorities, as well as school and fire districts.

Zero tolerance on gifts: No public employee or elected official at any level of government would be allowed to receive gifts, including meals, sporting tickets and entertainment expenses.

Revolving door policy: Any employee or board member in a decision-making role over public contracts will be prohibited from working for a vendor they have hired for a period of two years from leaving that office.

Tuition reimbursement restrictions: An employee or officer seeking tuition reimbursement must attend an accredited institution of higher education in state; the course must be directly related to the skills and knowledge required for the current position or required for a position to which the officer may be directly promoted; the employee must maintain at least a ‘C’ average for reimbursement, and maintain public employment for at least 5 years following the last reimbursement payment; reimbursement is limited to 50 percent of tuition.

Any official or employee who violated the law would be subject to the penalties under the Conflicts of Interest Law, including up to $10,000 per offense and also potential suspension or removal from office. An official or employee may be barred from holding public employment for a period of up to five years if the violator’s conduct is found to constitute a willful and continuous disregard of the prohibitions.

Norcross and Moriarty said the proposals are without precedent in that they would cover every public body from the highly visible governor’s office and state legislature to the more obscure local school boards and fire districts. They would apply to state, county and local governments, as well as to the dozens of autonomous public authorities, agencies and commissions that operate with little oversight and public input. Constitutionally, the Judicial branch must govern itself, but should apply the same rules on its own, the lawmakers said.

“Even the perception of a conflict of interest compromises the public’s trust in government,” Norcross said. “These reforms will ensure a very clear line exists between someone’s private motivations and their commitment to the public interest.”

Norcross and Moriarty said their proposed laws are an important first step in tearing down the walls of secrecy that permeate the operations of independent authorities and agencies.

“They should be held to the same standards of openness and accountability required of state, local and county governments,” Moriarty said. “They are, after all, spending the public’s money – and the public has the right to know that their tax dollars are being spent appropriately.”

The bills are:

S2347 / A3880: “Government Reality Check Act”; prohibits public employers from providing certain benefits to public employees; restricts gifts to public employees; restricts travel by public employees; imposes post-employment restriction on public contracting employees.

S2348 / A3881: Imposes restrictions concerning DRPA commissioners, officers, and employees regarding employment, gifts, and compensation for travel.

S2349 / A3882: Imposes restrictions concerning Delaware River and Bay Authority commissioners, officers, and employees regarding employment, gifts, and compensation.

S2350 / A3883: Imposes restrictions concerning Delaware River Joint Toll Bridge Commission commissioners, officers, and employees regarding employment, gifts, and compensation.

S2351 / A3884: Imposes restrictions concerning Port Authority NY/NJ commissioners, officers, and employees regarding employment, gifts, and compensation.

AP Staff – October 13, 2010

Perks such as personal drivers, cars, housing allowances, and government-issued credit cards could soon end for public employees in New Jersey.

Democrats in the Senate and Assembly are sponsoring five bills to eliminate or sharply pull back perks at all levels of public employment. That includes the governor’s office, the Legislature, state colleges and universities, authorities, and agencies. Local governments, school boards, and local fire districts would not be exempt.

The bills by Sen. Donald Norcross and Assemblyman Paul Moriarty would also bar employees from accepting gifts and limit travel. The measures were prompted in part by revelations that Delaware River Port Authority employees got free E-ZPass transponders and stayed in luxury hotels billed to government credit cards.

By Trish Graber – October 12, 2010

TRENTON – State Senator Donald Norcross and Assemblyman Paul Moriarty have introduced landmark legislation aimed at preventing spending and ethics abuses within all public bodies in New Jersey. The sweeping reforms – contained in a five-bill package – would apply to everyone from the Governor’s Office and the Legislature on down to county and local governments, state and county colleges and universities, school and fire districts, and all independent state, county and local authorities. The bills represent the most comprehensive effort yet to eliminate excesses that cost taxpayers untold millions of dollars and to make everyone earning a public paycheck or serving on public boards more accountable for their actions.

The far-reaching reforms would reduce costs by eliminating or sharply curtailing spending associated with everything from official perks such as luxury car stipends and housing allowances to personal drivers and government-issued credit cards. They would impose strict new ethics standards, such as a revolving-door policy banning officials from working with certain private employers for two years after leaving their government job. And they would establish new standards of transparency and accountability for all public bodies.

“The taxpayers have had enough. Government at every level must learn to live within its means, just as families across our state are forced to do every day,” said Norcross (D-5, Camden-Gloucester). “That means cutting the waste and abuse of taxpayer dollars resulting from patronage, perks and other excess spending.

“It’s time to give government a reality check,” said Moriarty (D-4, Gloucester-Camden). “While the great majority of public employees are honest, diligent workers who serve the residents well, others have taken advantage of a system that offers too much opportunity for abuse. These reforms will require everyone drawing a taxpayer-funded paycheck to follow strict rules and regulations that will hold them accountable and, in effect, rein in wasteful spending that makes our state unaffordable for so many.”

The reform package was prompted, in part, by the recent revelation that a Delaware River Port Authority (DRPA) official had abused access to a free EZ-Pass transponder for a family member. It is those kinds of perks – and the process that permits them – that the reforms are intended to do away with. As part of this legislation, Norcross and Moriarty are calling for the state legislatures in New York, Pennsylvania and Delaware to adopt the same reforms for the bi-state agencies four of the bills address: the DRPA, Delaware River Joint Bridge Toll Commission, the Delaware River and Bay Authority and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. The fifth bill applies to all state and local public bodies operating exclusively in New Jersey.

Norcross and Moriarty said the proposals are commonsense requirements. The reforms, they said, will help restore public confidence in hundreds of public bodies that all too often live beyond their means.

The proposals would:

* Ban perks such as free EZ-Pass transponders. It would end housing allowances for college presidents, authority executives, or any public employee, stop luxury vehicle stipends, eliminate personal drivers (beyond official police security details), and end government-issued credit cards at all levels of government in New Jersey.

* Require the Governor’s office to approve travel only for essential state purposes for all executive branch employees. Travel by employees and board members of the state’s autonomous agencies, state colleges and universities would require written approval by each entity’s board at a public meeting. The Legislature already has a mechanism in place for the Senate President and Assembly Speaker to approve all official travel for members in their respective chambers. The law would also restructure the approval process for county and local level official travel for boards, commissions, and authorities, as well as school and fire districts.

* Zero Tolerance on Gifts: No public employee or elected official at any level of government would be allowed to receive gifts, including meals, sporting tickets and entertainment expenses.

* Revolving Door Policy: Any employee or board member in a decision-making role over public contracts will be prohibited from working for a vendor they have hired for a period of 2 years from leaving that office.

* Tuition Reimbursement Restrictions: An employee or officer seeking tuition reimbursement must attend an accredited institution of higher education in state; the course must be directly related to the skills and knowledge required for the current position or required for a position to which the officer may be directly promoted; the employee must maintain at least a ‘C’ average for reimbursement, and maintain public employment for at least 5 years following the last reimbursement payment; reimbursement is limited to 50 percent of tuition.

* Any public official or employee who violated the law would be subject to the penalties under the Conflicts of Interest Law, including up to $10,000 per offense and also potential suspension or removal from office. A public official or employee may be barred from holding public employment for a period of up to five years if the violator’s conduct is found to constitute a willful and continuous disregard of the prohibitions.

The reforms are without precedent in that they would cover every public body from the highly visible governor’s office and state legislature, state colleges and universities, to the more obscure local school boards and fire districts. They would apply to state, county and local governments, as well as to the dozens of autonomous public authorities, agencies and commissions that operate with little oversight and public input. Constitutionally, the Judicial branch must govern itself, but should apply the same rules on its own, the lawmakers said.

“Even the perception of a conflict of interest compromises the public’s trust in government,” said Norcross. “These reforms will ensure a very clear line exists between someone’s private motivations and their commitment to the public interest.”

Norcross and Moriarty said their proposed laws are an important first step in tearing down the walls of secrecy that permeate the operations of those independent authorities and agencies.

“They should be held to the same standards of openness and accountability required of state, local and county governments,” Moriarty said. “They are, after all, spending the public’s money – and the public has the right to know that their tax dollars are being spent appropriately.”

The reform package contains five bills which will seek to combat specific instances of abuse and move together to enact the change that taxpayers have demanded. The bill numbers are:

* S2347 / A3880: “Government Reality Check Act”; prohibits public employers from providing certain benefits to public employees; restricts gifts to public employees; restricts travel by public employees; imposes post-employment restriction on public contracting employees.
* S2348 / A3881: Imposes restrictions concerning DRPA commissioners, officers, and employees regarding employment, gifts, and compensation for travel.
* S2349 / A3882: Imposes restrictions concerning Delaware River and Bay Authority commissioners, officers, and employees regarding employment, gifts, and compensation.

* S2350 / A3883: Imposes restrictions concerning Delaware River Joint Toll Bridge Commission commissioners, officers, and employees regarding employment, gifts, and compensation.
* S2351 / A3884: Imposes restrictions concerning Port Authority NY/NJ commissioners, officers, and employees regarding employment, gifts, and compensation.

###

Bergen Record – September 14, 2010

ALL ACROSS New Jersey, taxpayers are fed up with how government is wasting their hard-earned money. Like you, we believe that government needs a reality check – so we are sponsoring a law – the Government Reality Check Act – that takes a sledgehammer to the waste, fraud and abuse that costs you and your neighbors untold millions of dollars a year.

The reforms will change the way that every government in this state does business – forcing each to look out for your best interests instead of its own. Our plan spares no public official, government or independent agency from its mandate: Slash costs, abolish perks and special treatment, and be open and accountable to the taxpayers.

Its intent is simple: to keep more of your money out of the government’s hands, and in your pockets.

We are already leading the charge to ensure that all public employees live and pay taxes here in New Jersey. Now we’re taking aim at the costly excesses of government itself.

When our reforms are signed into law, all public employees will face a new reality. There will be no more car and housing allowances, state-issued credit cards, parking and toll passes, personal drivers for politicians or free gifts, meals or sports and concert tickets. Those and all other freebies will be a thing of the past.

Out-of-state trips on the taxpayers’ dime will be allowed only for essential government business.

Everyone affected

These sweeping reforms will apply to everyone – from the governor’s office and the Legislature, to county and local governments, state and county colleges, and school and fire districts. They will also cover the dozens of autonomous authorities and agencies that operate with little oversight or public input.

We will work with New York, Pennsylvania and Delaware to join us in adopting the reforms for bi-state agencies such as the Delaware River Port Authority, the Delaware River Joint Bridge Toll Commission, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, and the Delaware River Bay Authority.

These independent agencies and authorities spend the taxpayers’ money, too, and should be held to the same standards as state, county and local governments. The walls of secrecy that have long shielded these so-called independent agencies from public scrutiny must come down.

Especially in times of deep economic pain and uncertainty, when everyone is tightening their belts to make ends meet, there is no excuse for bloated payrolls and reckless spending in the public sector.

Rein in excess

We must act now to rein in the excesses of government and restore fiscal sanity in our state.

The reforms we have proposed are a powerful antidote to the corrosive culture of perks, privileges and insider deals that help send government spending through the roof, and drive taxes sky-high along with it.

It’s time to cut up the government credit card. We must insist that government at all levels wake up, face reality, and learn to live within its means – just as you and your families do every day.

We believe these new rules will help eliminate the spending excesses that make New Jersey so unaffordable for so many.