(TRENTON) — Assembly State Government Chairwoman Linda Stender (D-Union/Middlesex/Somerset) released the following statement Thursday after Republicans failed to support legislation released by the panel to make campaign spending more transparent to the public:
“The Republicans talk a good game when it comes to good government, but today they failed to live up to their own hype.
“When it was time to vote on the bill (A-3863) I’m sponsoring with Assemblyman Gusciora to require third-party organizations to report their campaign fundraising and spending, the Republicans hid behind procedure.
“Instead of standing with the public, they failed not only to take the right stand, but they failed to take any stand at all.
“This unregulated campaign spending has already caused concerns nationally and has been creeping into New Jersey politics. If Republicans don’t see the need to take this on, then they are living in Oz. I want to pull the curtain back to find out who’s behind it. That’s what this bill is about.
“No one should be against requiring these secretive third-party organizations to abide by the same disclosure rules as everyone else. This should be a bipartisan issue.
“I’m deeply disappointed my Republican colleagues failed to support the bill today. I hope they change their mind when it gets to the full Assembly.”