Since its enactment in 1991, the Local Government Ethics Law, N.J.S.A. 40A:9-22.1 et seq. (Ethics Law), has required “local government officers” to file annual financial disclosure statements. Attorneys work in various capacities in municipal government, from zoning and planning board counsel to part-time municipal judges, prosecutors and public defenders. Even after 20 years, the application of the financial disclosure requirements to some of these lawyers remains unclear.
History and Purpose
The Ethics Law was enacted to establish standards of ethical conduct and financial disclosure for local government officers and employees that were “clear, consistent, uniform in their application, and enforceable on a statewide basis.” N.J.S.A. 40A:9-22.2. Outstanding among its provisions was an annual financial disclosure requirement, applicable to “local government officers,” but not to “government employees.” N.J.S.A. 40A:9-22.6. The law required the Local Finance Board (LFB) in the Department of Community Affairs to develop a financial disclosure form, which municipal and county clerks would then make available to local government officers, either directly or through ethics boards, if such were established. Financial disclosure statements, covering the officer and his or her immediate family, are to be filed on or before April 30 each year.
