August 5, 2009
 | STOP PAYING SALARIES, BENEFITS |
After the recent arrests of 44 people, many of whom are elected officials, insult has been added to injury as a loophole exists that may allow these individuals to still serve in their elected positions and collect a public pension, even if convicted of these crimes.
The current state law requires pensions be forfeited if the crimes were committed after March 2007, and only those pensions are forfeited that were associated with the position at the time of the criminal act. The law also permits those under indictment to continue serving in their official capacity.
A bill I have sponsored in the Legislature, along with fellow 12th District legislators Sen. Jennifer Beck and Assemblywoman Caroline Casagrande, proposes a constitutional amendment that would mandate suspension and temporary replacement of indicted elected officials with vacancy in office declared upon conviction. Even before the recent arrests, we had at least one member of the Legislature who has remained on the Assembly's roster for months after his indictment on multiple crimes.
We also have introduced a law that will address this and protect the taxpayers from funding the retirement of corrupt officials. The bills, A-3432/S-2324 and A-1444/S-686, provide for full forfeiture of the pensions of elected or appointed officials convicted of any crime touching their elected office. If these bills were in place, and if these officials are, in fact, convicted of these crimes, they would be prohibited from receiving pension benefits from any publically held office.
The passage of these bills would accomplish two things. First, they would save the taxpayers the insult of potentially having to foot the bill for pensions of corrupt public officials. Second, they would be an increased deterrent for those public officials thinking about committing such crimes. After last month's events, it's painfully apparent that we have not yet done enough to dissuade corrupt public officials from taking advantage of the people they are supposed to be serving.
We have been working diligently to garner support for these bills on both sides of the aisle, but unfortunately we have seen no movement. Because these bills are not in place, we could conceivably have yet another, in a long line of similar situations, where an elected official convicted of a crime is able to collect a pension paid for by the very taxpayers whose trust has been betrayed.
July 23 was another sad episode in New Jersey politics, but one that has become all too common. Scores of public officials have been arrested on charges ranging from political corruption to money laundering to human organ trafficking. Among them were two state assemblymen, both charged with attempted extortion under color of official right.
As elected officials ourselves, Beck, Casagrande and I believe it would be impossible for any of these men and women charged today to continue in their duties while this cloud of suspicion and doubt hangs over their heads. We therefore strongly ask any of those arrested or charged to resign from any and all public offices they currently hold. We will let the courts decide their guilt, of course, but the seriousness of these charges cannot be denied. Until the case is decided one way or the other, they should step down so we can continue, unfettered, to get to the business of lawmaking.
We congratulate acting U.S. Attorney Ralph Marra and his office on a job well done and will continue to do our work as legislators in a way that may help restore the public faith in elected officials.
