Making up for her accidental yes vote on a bill that creates a ten-year wait between municipal ballot questions, state Sen. Loretta Weinberg (D-Teaneck) on Friday announced that she authored a bill intended to effectively repeal it.

“Senators are human and we do make mistakes from time to time,” Weinberg said in a written statement.  “During the ‘lame duck’ period of the last legislative session, we advanced and enacted a flurry of new laws, most of which are in the best interests of the public and make New Jersey a better place to live.  Unfortunately, the so-called ‘referendum kill bill’ does more harm than good, and we should seek a repeal of the provisions to protect the voting rights of the general public.”

The legislation Weinberg is seeking to repeal passed the senate and assembly with the bare minimum number of votes.  The day before he left office, former Gov. Jon Corzine announced that he would veto it, but minutes before Gov. Christopher Christie was sworn in, Corzine announced that he signed it. 

Under the previous law, municipalities could hold referendums to change their forms of government every two to four years, depending on the type of government.  Now groups that want to change the form of government can only get a question on the ballot once every 10 years.

Weinberg’s bill would change the wait time for new initiatives and referendums to five years if a ballot question changing the form of government is passed, and revert back to the original law’s timetable if it fails. 

The Star-Ledger has filed a lawsuit against the New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority (NJSEA) in an effort to force the independent government agency to open certain contracts for public inspection.  The suit remains active on the docket of Superior Court Judge Claude Coleman in Essex County.

“We do not comment on specifics of pending cases but look forward to the full resolution of this matter,” said John Samerjan, an NJSEA spokesman.

The NJSEA has retained a North Jersey law firm with political connections to represent them.

The Star-Ledger has not reported their litigation against the state agency.

“The role of elected officials and custodian of records should be to find ways to release information, not to try to find ways to keep secrets,” said State Sen. Loretta Weinberg (D-Teaneck). “All of this is done with our money and information should be released.”

TRENTON – Declaring the new law to increase the length of time between municipal ballot questions a “lame duck mistake,” State Senator Loretta Weinberg announced today the introduction of a new bill to create a fairer standard that preserves the intent of the original law without jeopardizing the will of the voters.

“Senators are human and we do make mistakes from time to time,” said Senator Weinberg, D-Bergen. “During the ‘lame duck’ period of the last legislative session, we advanced and enacted a flurry of new laws, most of which are in the best interests of the public and make New Jersey a better place to live. Unfortunately, the so-called ‘referendum kill bill’ does more harm than good, and we should seek a repeal of the provisions to protect the voting rights of the general public.”

WEINBERG INTRODUCES BILLS EXPANDING PUBLIC RECORDS LAW, UPDATING OPEN PUBLIC MEETINGS ACT

Measures Will Ensure More Transparency and Openness from All Levels of Government in New Jersey

TRENTON – Senator Loretta Weinberg, a leading proponent in the State Legislature of top-to-bottom ethics reform for all levels of government in New Jersey, announced today the introduction of two bills designed to increase the public’s access to government records and meetings.

“It may sound trite and cliché at this point, but it’s been proven true time and time again – the best disinfectant for government impropriety is the cleansing light of public scrutiny,” said Senator Weinberg, D-Bergen. “When members of the public have full, unfettered access to their elected leaders and to public documents and records, there’s fewer opportunities for the few unscrupulous individuals to take advantage of the public trust. These bills are intended to close down some loopholes in the public records law, and bring the Open Public Meetings Act into the 21st Century.”

Legislation sponsored by two Bergen County Senators to regulate conflicts of interest by hospital board members was approved today by the Senate Health, Human Services and Senior Citizens Committee.  S-369 would require hospital trustees to adopt a policy requiring disclosure of perceived or actual conflicts and a prohibition on discussing contracts that might benefit them personally.

The bill, sponsored by State Sens. Loretta Weinberg (D-Teaneck) and Robert Gordon (D-Fair Lawn) would require hospitals to solicit a minimum of three bids or proposals on certain matters that might be perceived as a conflict for a board member.

 “I have been arguing the case for increased transparency in government for as long as I have been in the Legislature,” said Weinberg, the committee chair.  “However, the need for accountability and transparency reaches far beyond just State government. Through establishing ethics guidelines for hospital boards of trustees, this legislation would ensure that the members of these boards are working to enhance the health and quality of life of patients, and not to pad their pockets or pensions. ”

Gordon says the bill would implement the recommendations of the Commission on Rationalizing Healthcare, which was created to examine and make necessary recommendations to improve the quality and operations of the State’s hospital system.

SARLO, WEINBERG, GORDON CALL FOR IMMEDIATE CHANGE AT BERGEN ACADEMIES AND VO-TECH SCHOOLS

Senators Call for Immediate Firing of Superintendent, Forensic Audits

TRENTON – Bergen County Senators Paul Sarlo, Loretta Weinberg and Bob Gordon today called for a series of sweeping changes at the Bergen County Technical and Special Services School Districts, including the immediate dismissal of the superintendent and the ouster of its board.

The Senators’ actions followed the State Department of Education’s forwarding of a list of improprieties to the Attorney General for further review. The problems uncovered included altered time sheets, misuse of district vehicles and the inclusion of a contracted attorney in the state’s pension and health benefits plans.

“The leadership of Bergen Tech clearly used taxpayer money for pretty much anything but what it was supposed to be used for,” said Senator Sarlo, chairman of the Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee. “We shouldn’t have to wait for the Attorney General’s review before taking action, because we already know what needs to be done. It’s time to clean house.”

A large but relatively obscure agency in North Jersey is set to become Gov. Christopher Christie’s poster child for all that is wrong with New Jersey’s independent authorities. 

The Christie administration plans to delve into the payroll and outside consultant contracts of the Passaic Valley Sewerage Commission (PVSC) – a 108-year-old agency with a $164 million budget.

Christie already got the ball rolling on his criticism of the agency, singling out Executive Director Bryan Christiansen’s $313,000 salary as over-the-top.  And his transition team’s report called for a “thorough review” of its overhead expenditures and hiring of outside consultants – including attorneys and engineers.

The authority, which employees about 600 people -- 86 of whom earn six figure salaries – has a payroll of roughly $48 million.  It treats water for 1.3 million North Jersey residents.

“It’s something that I don’t think any New Jersey taxpayer can get their arms around,   somebody making a $313,000 salary.  It’s not just that – it’s the way they handle their professional services contracts.  In-house versus outside contracts,” said Christie spokesman Michael Drewniak.  “It’s outrageous in every way, and it’s remarkable what some of these authorities have grown into over the decades.  So this is just the sort of thing that we have to get a handle on.  Yes, there will be scrutiny.”

Deborah Gramiccioni, the former criminal justice director in the Attorney General’s Office, will head up the Governor’s Authorities Unit – which will review the PVSC and other quasi-independent authorities. 

The PVSC, which long ago developed a reputation as a patronage pit for both Democrats and Republicans, has drawn scrutiny before.

WEINBERG WELCOMES ASSEMBLYMAN RUMANA TO THE REFORM PARTY

Senator Says She Has Been Pushing for Governor Veto Power over Authorities for Years

TRENTON – Senator Loretta Weinberg, a leading champion of ethics reform in the State Legislature, today congratulated Assemblyman Scott Rumana for joining the ethics reform movement, saying that his calls for reform at the State’s quasi-governmental authorities echo many of the initiatives she’s tried to push through in the last few legislative sessions.

“With the ethics reform movement, we typically take all comers, and it’s always been the more the merrier in my book,” said Senator Weinberg, D-Bergen. “Whether it’s deathbed conversions, reform for the sake of political expediency, or an honest-to-goodness epiphany, anything that moves us closer to the goal of more ethical government is a welcome development. I look forward to working with legislators and policymakers across the political spectrum – including our new Governor – to reduce government waste and give the taxpayers of New Jersey a government they can be proud of.”

Making up for her accidental ‘yes’ vote on a bill forcing a 10-year waiting period on referendums that would change the form of municipal governments, state Sen. Loretta Weinberg (D-Teaneck) lobbied outgoing Gov. Jon Corzine to veto it.

At first, it looked like Weinberg succeeded. 

On the last night of his term, Corzine’s office announced that he vetoed five pieces of legislation, including the referendum bill, which passed both houses of the legislature with the bare minimum number of votes. 

But the next day, 13 minutes before Christopher Christie was sworn in as governor, Corzine’s office issued a revised list of bills he took action on.  There was only one difference between the new list and the one from the previous night, and it was not pointed out explicitly.  The referendum bill was moved from the vetoed list to the signed list. 

“I lobbied him to veto the legislation, and I think that’s what he should have done. It’s bad public policy, it’s bad government, it’s bad politics,” said Weinberg, who ran for lieutenant governor on Corzine’s ticket and said that the move was a disappointing way for Corzine to depart the office. “To change the law to take Democratic action away form the citizens is to me a rather serious step.”

TRENTON State Sen. Loretta Weinberg (D-Teaneck), who ran for lieutenant governor on former Gov. Jon Corzine’s ticket last year, said that today felt “bittersweet” for her.

“There’s a part of me that has a sense of relief.  I’ve got tough problems. I still have a part to play in trying to solve them, but I won’t be the person who has to come up with the solutions, or among that team that has to come up with the solutions,” she said before watching the swearing in of Gov. Christopher Christie and Lieutenant Governor Kim Guadagno. 

Still, Weinberg said that she is optimistic that Christie will work to help pass new ethics reform measures.

“I think I have been a voice for over the last number of years that I’m hoping this new administration will help us get through,” she said.

When asked if she thinks it’s possible for Christie to close the deficit while cutting taxes, Weinberg said she was willing to give him the opportunity to show us how he’s going to do it.”