The state budget mess appears likely to put an end to an experiment in democracy that really was never given much of a chance in New Jersey.
According to the Record of Hackensack, the budget for the state’s Election Law Enforcement Commission is being cut drastically at a time when its responsibilities are on the rise. That means that some programs could be on the chopping block, including Clean Elections.
This year, amid the state’s fiscal crisis, the agency faces a $750,000 cut in its $4.9 million budget, a reduction that supporters say would hobble a watchdog group they already consider understaffed. ELEC officials say they were blindsided by the fine print of Governor Corzine’s budget, released after his February budget speech.
The agency now has 69 of the 90 employees that legislators approved in 2004 as part of a sweeping ethics package that doubled its work, according to agency officials. ELEC now juggles oversight of lobbyists, government contractors under so-called pay-to-play laws, and public financing programs for state and gubernatorial candidates.
It also continues its traditional oversight of campaign spending: In 2007, the agency collected more than $293,000 in fines from candidates and committee officials who failed to properly file disclosure forms.
“We’re underfunded and don’t have the staff to do the job we’d like to do,” said ELEC analyst Felice Fava, whose job includes training candidates about pay-to-play laws. “Really it’s public disclosure and compliance with these laws that suffer ultimately.”
It’s a question of priorities — do we maintain our watchdogs or allow the wolves to run the henhouse?
South Brunswick Post, The Cranbury Press
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Hank Kalet 