Governor Corzine is showing his Wall Street roots by being anything but transparent about how billions of stimulus money is and will be spent in New Jersey, Senator Joe Pennacchio said.

Senator Joe Pennacchio, prime sponsor of the Transparency in Government Act, issued the following statement about the governor's unmet promise of transparency in the spending of $17 billion in federal stimulus funds, and urged the governor immediately to show county-by-county, community-by-community and project-by-project how he expects stimulus money to be allocated and spent in New Jersey:

“Governor Corzine’s federal stimulus Web site is very attractive, but almost useless to busy taxpayers,” Senator Joe Pennacchio says “Messages remind us that taxpayers have every right to know on a timely basis how their stimulus money is being spent, but where’s the beef? (more…)

This is a victory for New Jersey citizens' rights to access to government information

GILL BILL TO PROHIBIT CONFIDENTIAL AGREEMENTS FOR PUBLIC ENTITIES ADVANCES

Measure Would Guarantee Transparency in Court Settlements involving the Public

TRENTON – A bill sponsored by Senator Nia H. Gill which would prohibit public entities from entering into confidential court settlements in which the public institution is named as a party of a lawsuit was unanimously approved by the Senate today.

“The people of New Jersey have a fundamental right to know the actions of their government, whether in the Statehouse, city hall, or courtroom,” said Senator Gill, D-Essex and Passaic. “This bill extends the reach of OPRA to include court settlements in which a public institution or employee is named. When taxpayers are footing the bill for these settlements, they deserve to know, and transparency and accountability must be a priority in everything we do as elected representatives of the people.”

ASSEMBLY PASSES LEGISLATION IMPROVING GOVERNMENT TRANSPARENCY

Measure Would Require Legislative Voting Records be Available Online; Passage Coincides with National Sunshine Week, Promoting Greater Openness in Government

(TRENTON) - The General Assembly today passed Legislation Assembly members Valerie Vainieri Huttle, Jack Conners, Mims Hackett, Jr., and Robert M. Gordon sponsored to improve the transparency and accessibility of New Jersey government by provide the public with user-friendly access to legislative voting records over the Internet.