The New Jersey Election Law Enforcement Commission (N.J. ELEC) has recommended changes to the state’s recent campaign finance law changes, and Republican Assemblyman Greg McGuckin is championing a bill to implement those changes.
“I commend the commission for calling for these changes that will fix what Democrats did to tip the scales in their favor under the guise of increasing transparency,” said McGuckin (R-Ocean) . “The Legislature is no stranger to passing laws and then passing fixes when the consequences of a flawed measure materialize, which is what happened this campaign season.”
The deceptively named Elections Transparency Act dramatically constrained ELEC’s ability to investigate campaign finance violations at a time when dark money groups are on the rise. In 2023, one such organization backed a “phantom candidate” in LD4, the top targeted battleground the cycle, leading to a judge freezing the phantom candidate campaign’s account but only after the damage was done.
According to McGuckin’s office, “[u]nder the bill, dark money groups would have to report campaign contributions and expenditures more often and quickly before an election. Additionally, the statute of limitations for ELEC to investigate campaign finance violations would increase to four years from two. And lastly, it would resolve a conflict between election-related disclosure requirements and redactions mandated under Daniel’s law that protects certain public official’s personal information.”
McGuckin’s proposed legislation (A4431) “enacts three recommendations made by ELEC in its annual report to enhance reporting requirements, assist in violation investigations and increase transparency.”
The veteran legislator believes his fix bill is necessary to reverse damage done by the majority party.
“I commend the commission for calling for these changes that will fix what Democrats did to tip the scales in their favor under the guise of increasing transparency,” McGuckin continued. “The Legislature is no stranger to passing laws and then passing fixes when the consequences of a flawed measure materialize, which is what happened this campaign season.”
“The recommendations in my bill are commonsense and I hope they will be embraced by both sides of the aisle as the public’s distrust in government grows,” McGuckin added. “This measure makes it clear where lawmakers stand – either with their constituents or with corruption. Are they public officials with principles or political cronies? It’s time to find out,” McGuckin said.
