N.J. Admin. Code § 19:61-7.4
Current through Register Vol. 56, No. 21, November 4, 2024
Section 19:61-7.4 - Situations where recusal is required(a) A State official is required to recuse himself or herself from an official matter that involves any private sector individual, association, corporation or other entity that employed or did business with the State official during the one year prior to the official's commencement of State service. This recusal shall remain in effect for one year after the commencement of the official's State service.(b) A State official is required to recuse himself or herself on an official matter if he or she had involvement in that matter, other than on behalf of the State, prior to commencement of his or her State service. Involvement in a matter includes, but is not limited to, having supervisory responsibility, providing input, submitting reports, signing contracts, having access to confidential information, or being substantially and directly involved in decision-making with regard to the official matter. The recusal shall remain in effect until the agency no longer has any interest in the matter.(c) A State official is required to recuse himself or herself from an official matter that involves any individual, association, corporation or other entity from which the State official received a campaign contribution, individually or in the aggregate, in an amount required to be reported by N.J.A.C. 19:25-10. Recusal is required regardless of whether the State official is elected to the office or position associated with the campaign contribution. The recusal shall remain in effect until the expiration of the term of office which the State official was seeking when the contribution was made.(d) A State official must recuse himself or herself from an official matter if he or she has:1. Any financial interest, direct or indirect, that is incompatible with the discharge of the State official's public duties; or2. Any personal interest, direct or indirect, that is incompatible with the discharge of the State official's public duties.(e) For purposes of (d) above, an incompatible financial or personal interest includes, but is not limited to, outside employment; a debtor/creditor relationship; a fiduciary relationship; a source of income; any matter pertaining to or involving a relative or cohabitant; a relationship with a person providing funds, goods or services without compensation; any matter pertaining to or involving a business associate or business investment; or a leadership role in a professional or trade organization, which interest might reasonably be expected to impair a State official's objectivity and independence of judgment in the exercise of his or her official duties or might reasonably be expected to create an impression or suspicion among the public having knowledge of his or her acts that he or she may be engaged in conduct violative of his or her trust as a State official.(f) An incompatible financial or personal interest may exist in other situations which are not clearly within the provisions of (d) and (e) above, depending on the totality of the circumstances. A State official should contact his or her agency ethics liaison officer or the Commission for guidance in such cases.(g) A State official must seek the advice of the State agency's counsel, agency ethics liaison officer or the Commission as to the propriety of participation in a matter if any person requests that a State official recuse himself or herself from that matter. Oral advice, followed up by a writing, may be provided by the agency's counsel, the agency ethics liaison officer or the Commission to avoid delay. Oral advice should subsequently be memorialized by a writing or by inclusion in public minutes. Examples
1. The spouse of the Director of the Division of Solid and Hazardous Waste (Division), Department of Environmental Protection, recently became a partner in ABC, an environmental consulting firm that represents clients before the Division. The Director must recuse himself from any involvement with ABC matters that come before the Division. The recusal must be memorialized in writing and conform to the standards of 19:61-7.5(b).2. The Director of a program that regulates health insurance carriers has been approached about possible employment by a regulated entity. The entity does not currently have any specific cause, proceeding, application or other matter pending. The solicitation must immediately be disclosed to the Director's supervisor and the Department Ethics Liaison Officer to avoid a situation where the State official may appear to be using his or her official position to gain an unwarranted advantage. The circumstances surrounding the solicitation and the State official's official interactions with the entity must be reviewed before the official proceeds with any job-seeking activities. If it is determined that the State official may respond to the solicitation, he must recuse himself from any involvement with the entity in his official capacity. Such recusal must conform to the standards of 19:61-7.5(b).3. Pursuant to 19:61-3.1(e), if a member of the Commission holds office or employment in the same Department which employs a State official named in an allegation, he or she must disqualify himself or herself from participation in any decisional process relating to that particular case. One of the Commission meeting agenda items is an allegation that a Civil Service Commission employee has violated the Conflicts of Interest Law. Because the Commission Chair is the Chair of the Civil Service Commission, materials associated with this matter would not be forwarded to him or her. In addition, the Chairwoman would place her recusal and the reason for such recusal on the record at the meeting and leave the room during non-public deliberations.4. A member of the Real Estate Commission (REC) is a Director and past President of the New Jersey Association of Realtors (NJAR). The NJAR currently opposes a regulation proposed by the REC, has submitted a letter outlining its position, and plans to attend the REC meeting to express its opposition to the regulation. Because the REC member is an officer of the NJAR, he must recuse himself from discussions and voting on the regulation in question.5. The Governor signed an Environmental Act that requires the establishment of a nine member Oversight Council, four of whom must be county and municipal officials from the region. One of the municipal officials appointed to the Council was recently elected and one of the county officials appointed to the Council recently lost his bid for State Senate. A local engineering firm made a substantial campaign contribution to the successful campaign of the municipal official, and another large donation to the county official's unsuccessful campaign for the State Senate. Pursuant to 19:61-7.4(c), the recently elected municipal official would have to recuse on those matters involving the engineering firm until his current term of office expires. If he sought re-election and received no contribution from the same engineering firm, the recusal rule would no longer be applicable once the new term commences.
Similarly, the county official who unsuccessfully sought a State Senate seat would also have to recuse from matters involving the engineering firm for the duration of the term of that Senate seat because the engineering firm's donation to his campaign could create the impression of conduct violative of his trust as a State official in his current position. If this county official subsequently runs for the State Senate seat again and he accepted another contribution from this engineering firm, he would also have to recuse for the next term of office for the State Senate seat.
N.J. Admin. Code § 19:61-7.4
Amended by R.2006 d.292, effective 8/21/2006.
See: 38 N.J.R. 1804(a), 38 N.J.R. 3318(a).
Rewrote (b) through (d) and Examples.
Amended by R.2007 d.67, effective 2/20/2007.
See: 38 N.J.R. 4685(a), 39 N.J.R. 670(a).
Added (a) and (b); recodified former (a) through (d) as (c) through (f); in new (d), substituted "(c)" for "(a)"; and in new (e), substituted "(c) and (d)" for "(a) and (b)".
Amended by R.2009 d.193, effective 6/15/2009.
See: 41 N.J.R. 1168(a), 41 N.J.R. 2496(a).
Added new (c); recodified former (c) through (f) as (d) through (g); in (e), substituted "(d)" for "(c)"; in (f), substituted "(d) and (e)" for "(c) and (d)"; and in the examples in (g), inserted designations 1 through 4, added 5, and in 2, substituted "his or her" for "his/her".
Amended by R.2012 d.045, effective 2/21/2012.
See: 43 N.J.R. 1515(a), 44 N.J.R. 519(a).
In (b), deleted "any" preceding "involvement" and inserted the second sentence; in the introductory paragraph of (d), substituted "an official" for "a"; in (e), substituted "or" for "and" following "investment;"; and in paragraph 3 following Examples, substituted "Civil Service Commission" for "Department of Personnel", the first occurrence of "Chair" for "Chairwoman", and "Chair of the Civil Service Commission" for "Commissioner of the Department of Personnel", and inserted "him or" preceding the first occurrence of "her".