In our representative form of government, it is essential that individuals who are elected to public office have the trust, respect and confidence of the citizenry; and

All individuals, businesses, associations, and other persons have a right to participate fully in the political process of New Jersey, including making and soliciting contributions to candidates, political parties and holders of public office; and

When a person or business interest makes or solicits major contributions to obtain a contract awarded by a government agency or independent authority, this constitutes a violation of the public’s trust in government and raises legitimate public concerns about whether the contract has been awarded on the basis of merit; and

The growing infusion of funds donated by business entities into the political process at all levels of government has generated widespread cynicism among the public that special interest groups are “buying” favors from elected officeholders; and

For the purposes of protecting the integrity of government contractual decisions and of improving the public’s confidence in government, it is a compelling interest of this State to prohibit awarding government contracts to business entities which are also contributors to candidates and the holders of public office; and

Recent legal and policy changes have led to the proliferation of entities using their nonprofit tax status to promote candidates and spend money in political campaigns in an unlimited and unregulated fashion, allowing those entities to raise and spend significant sums of money in the political process in a manner that is not disclosed to the public; and

Although the right of the public and organizations to participate in the political process and to support candidates of their choosing is fundamental to a vibrant democracy, reasonable safeguards on campaign contributions are an important part of the political process to ensure the public is protected from public corruption or the appearance thereof; and

It is contrary to the public interest to allow unlimited campaign contributions to be made to entities supporting or opposing candidates for political office that are not subject to public disclosure; and

It is preferable that campaign contributions to candidates, political party committees, legislative leadership committees, and other committees be regulated and subject to public disclosure, rather than be unlimited, unregulated, and undisclosed; and

Encouraging entities to support candidates for public office in a regulated and transparent manner is essential to build public trust in their elected officials; and

Transparent and regulated campaign contributions serve as an important safeguard against corruption by ensuring the public has essential information available to make informed decisions when exercising their voting preferences; and

The so-called dark money political committees serve to weaken the trust of the public in their elected officials, whether those officials are benefitting from contributions from those entities or not; and

Although the right of individuals and businesses to make campaign contributions is unequivocal, that right may be limited, even abrogated, when such contributions promote the actuality or appearance of public corruption; and

It is essential that the public have confidence that the selection of State contractors is based on merit and not on political contributions made by such contractors and it is essential that the public have trust in the processes by which taxpayer dollars are spent; and

It has long been the public policy of this State to secure for the taxpayers the benefits of competition, to promote the public good by promoting the honesty and integrity of bidders for public contracts and the system, and to guard against favoritism, improvidence, extravagance and corruption in order to benefit the taxpayers; and

In the procurement process, our public policy grants to the State broad discretion, taking into consideration all factors, to award a contract to a bidder whose proposal will be most advantageous to the State; and

The operations of the State government must be effectively and fairly managed to ensure public order and prosperity, and malfeasance, in whatever form it may take, must be confronted and uprooted; and

The Legislature must safeguard the integrity of State government procurement by imposing restrictions on State agencies and independent authorities to insulate the negotiation and award of State contracts from political contributions that pose the risk of improper influence, purchase of access, or the appearance thereof.

L.2005,c.51,s.1; amended 2023, c.30, s.14.