New Jersey Auditor Wants 'Pay To Play' Eliminated From Local Government
TRENTON, N.J. (CBS) - New Jersey's ongoing effort to eliminate so-called "pay to play" in the awarding of government contracts isn't working, at least on the local level. That's the bottom line in the wake of a review by the state's fiscal watchdog.
State comptroller Matthew Boxer says restrictions placed on awarding contracts to political contributors is working well in the state capitol, but it's a different story for local governments across the state.
"There's a 'fair and open' exception as it's called in New Jersey law that gets you out of 'pay to play' requirements and what we found, though the contract reviews that we did over a lengthy course of time, is that the exception is so easy to satisfy that it becomes basically meaningless."
And it's defined by the very officials bound by it, with no opportunity to appeal. Boxer would like "fair and open" elinminated and, barring that, he'd strengthen those guidelines and make them uniform statewide.
Reported by David Madden, KYW Newsradio
