MERKT: NOW IS NO TIME FOR AN ETHICS HOLIDAY

Assemblyman Richard Merkt today said that in the wake of the conviction of former State Senator Wayne Bryant, and the recent scandal regarding the distribution of state grants, the Legislature should not delay work on a variety of ethics reform measures currently pending.

“While I appreciate the need for us to deal with the current economic crisis, this is no time for the Legislature to be taking a holiday from ethics reform,” said Merkt, R-Morris. “The people of New Jersey are tired of seeing corrupt public officials use their tax dollars as leverage to win political support. We need reform and we need it now.”

A Millennium Radio News report today pointed out that it has been over two months since Governor Jon Corzine proposed a sweeping ethics reform package, but that as legislative committees are scheduled to meet today for the final time this year there are no ethics reform measures on the agenda.

Senate President Richard Codey defended the delay in enacting reforms saying that he thinks the top priority should remain the financial crisis, “The focus of the people of the State of New Jersey is clearly on the economy. It’s number-one, number-two and number-three.”

“What the Senate President misses is that our state’s budget problems are in-part the result of the corrupt way business has been conducted in this state,” explained Merkt. “If less taxpayer money was being spent on pay-to-play and political patronage, we could cut taxes and stimulate our economy. Until we enact comprehensive reforms there will continue to be a negative impact on our budget.”