CJ Griffin Quoted in NJ.com Regarding the Release of State Lawmakers’ Property Addresses
CJ Griffin, Director of the Justice Gary S. Stein Public Interest Center at Pashman Stein Walder Hayden, was quoted in a New Jersey Law Journal article, “N.J. politicians could soon have their home addresses blocked out on public records.” The article discusses the heavily debated legislation that keeps state lawmakers’ addresses from being released to the public.
CJ Griffin, an attorney who runs a public-records blog in New Jersey, said the new proposals would make it “much harder” to verify if politicians meet residency requirements for office and are “not engaged in shady property deals.”
Griffin also notes the state’s financial disclosure forms are “already bare-bones.” Currently, lawmakers must only disclose their ranges of income and whether they make $50,000 or more.
“We need more transparency and stronger ethics rules, which will help rebuild public trust and tamp down some of the hostility that people feel for government and politicians,” Griffin said.
Plus, Griffin argues the law would be “a nightmare” for record custodians to implement. Municipal clerks say they’ve had trouble implementing “Daniel’s Law” because there is no list of those the law protects.
To view the article, click here