As first reported by politickernj.com columnist Wally Edge, on November 5, 2008, the New Jersey Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in the appeal of IMO the Appeal by Earle Asphalt Co. in which the Appellate Division upheld the constitutionality of the state-level contracting provision under P.L. 2005, c. 51 that prohibits contributions by state contractors to county political organizations, gubernatorial candidates and state political party committees.
In this case, Earle was stripped of a state paving contract as the result of a contribution that the company's president had made to the Monmouth County Republican Organization. When realizing that the contribution could result in the company's debarment, a refund was sought, but received outside of the 30 day safe harbor provision.
As of November 15, 2008, this decision will have even more significance as this restriction has recently been expanded to apply to Legislative Leadership and Municipal Party Committees pursuant to Governor Corzine's Executive Order No. 117.
The Appellate Division did not specifically render a holding on the constitutionality of local pay-to-play ordinances authorized by state law under P.L. 2005, c. 271. Arguably, however, the same rationale could be applied. And a Middlesex County trial court has thrown out a local ordinance, holding that it was unconstitutional on a number of grounds, including that it was not narrowly-tailored under a strict scrutiny analysis. This particular ordinance, however, was very far reaching.
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