well Governor Murphy on Monday quietly signed a controversial Bill the election's transparency act overhauls New Jersey's campaign Finance laws among other things it also allows companies and individuals to donate higher amounts to campaigns sheds light on so-called dark money but also gives the governor power to reshape the state's campaign Finance Watchdog senior political correspondent David Cruz reports there were no commemorative pens handed out at the signing ceremony for the election's transparency act mostly because there wasn't a signing ceremony the bill got the auto pen treatment reserved for minor legislation and bills that no one really wants to brag about not even the governor whose broad powers are expanded by it governor on elect why do you need unchecked authority to appoint Commissioners yeah I've got no comment beyond what I've said on that but thank you for asking it's called the elections transparency act it should be called the public corruption authorization act I mean that would be a more appropriate title for this bill it's it's horrible Republican assembly member Brian Bergen found himself aligned with many other good government groups and progressives in questioning everything from the timing to the motive for the bill elect is being gutted to such a degree that they can't possibly investigate all the violations that are there so they're not going to be able to do their job effectively to please this process beyond the headlines of the governor seemingly targeting elac executive director Jeff brindle for ouster the bill provides for doubling campaign contribution limits makes pay-to-play laws a state function and slices the statute of limitations for elect investigations from 10 years to two before he resigned from the elect commission last week Stephen Holden was sounding the alarm on that two years would be a problem and also some of the decisions we've made in the last couple of months because there's a retroactivity provision in that some of the decisions we made in the last couple of months would be this year because they were more than two years old like the complaints announced by elac earlier this year against the Democratic and Republican state committees as well as two other state democratic party Pacs dating back to 2017. those are the big ones but there are literally hundreds of complaints some finalized others still pending in small towns and local races that you didn't even hear about what's particularly concerning this has been reported as we had a slave announcement from elac about investigating the major campaign committees just this January for the biggest in the state Democratic and Republican alike um and then you know not even two months later this Provisions added to the bill that would kill those investigations um and that's that's not transparent that's certainly not accountable and to that all the other Provisions including one that brings back the so-called housekeeping allowance a fund that campaigns once used as a popular vehicle for classic off the books abuses hidden as office expenses and you could forgive voters for scoffing when they hear things like this is more transparent in the New Jersey's ever seen before when it comes to election law uh campaign Finance reform voters are are ground down um and they see accountability and institutions that are supposed to all people accountable not working um you know they say tax on the Press you know unfounded you know tax on on election results and misinformation disinformation it's a whole morass I think the one provision that everyone seemed to like in this bill making secret big money donors to dark money groups reveal themselves is the one provision that has already been rejected by courts proving that no bill even one with the stated goal of election transparency is perfect I'm David Cruz NJ Spotlight news [Music]