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Good Tuesday morning!

Gov. Murphy on Monday afternoon quietly signed a bill that makes massive changes to New Jersey’s campaign finance system.

There’s doubled contribution limits and automatic future increases . For state and political parties, limits are actually tripled because they’ll now be able to raise another batch of money in “housekeeping accounts.” (Don’t you dare call them slush funds!) There’s new disclosure requirements for 501(c)(4) and 501(c)(6) organizations. And, of course, a retroactive two-year statute of limitations on enforcement against campaign finance violations.

But what drew the most attention was the Murphy administration’s attempt to oust ELEC Executive Director Jeff Brindle. Now, the governor will be able to unilaterally appoint new — and newly paid — ELEC commissioners who will presumably oust Brindle.

Despite how important this bill is, Murphy held no press conference to mark the signing. He didn’t even offer a written statement. The action was just briefly noted in a press release that also mentioned another bill he signed. That’s pretty much in keeping with how this bill worked its way through the legislative process: Lots of testimony against it, from people and groups that span the ideological spectrum. By late in the process, nobody testified in favor of it. Nevertheless, it passed with the slimmest majority in the Senate and not much more easily in the Assembly.

You would think that such a fundamental change to New Jersey political campaigns are financed would be worthy of more than a single line in a press release. But the fact that the only statements issued about the signing came from Republicans complaining about it — at least in my inbox — shows you that Democrats want as little attention to this as possible. It is, for lack of a better word, icky.

Some critics have pointed ironically to the name of the law, the “Elections Transparency Act,” considering the raft of late, quiet additions made to the it that further open the contribution spigot and reduce oversight. However, the the “dark money” disclosure provisions do add transparency. I’m just not not sure if they’ll survive a constitutional challenge.

TIPS? FEEDBACK? Email me at [email protected].

QUOTE OF THE DAY: “I can’t legally come up there and punch you in the nose … If you ever go near my daughter again, I don’t know what I will do.” — An unnamed Flemington resident to Councilmember Malik Johnston, alleging he sold crystal meth to her daughter

HAPPY BIRTHDAY — Ron Gravino, Dave Parano, Rick Shaftan

WHERE’S MURPHY? No public schedule

STRIFE OF BRIAN — Former Union City employee alleges retaliation by mayor, by POLITICO’s Dustin Racioppi: A former lawyer for Union City claims he was fired in retaliation for refusing to represent non-city residents for free at the request of Mayor Brian Stack, who is also a state senator, according to a lawsuit. John V. Salierno, the city’s former tenant advocacy attorney, also said in his lawsuit that he was expected to donate to Stack’s civic association and that a Senate aide suggested Salierno make the maximum donation to Stack’s legislative campaign to ensure his reappointment. Salierno’s complaint suggests Stack regularly mixed his mayoral and legislative duties, and that the mayor’s office was “primarily” staffed with legislative aides, not Union City employees. The complaint was filed in Hudson County Superior Court two weeks ago, nearly a year after Salierno was fired. … A law firm for the city, O’Toole Scrivo, said in a letter to Salierno’s lawyer that Salierno’s concerns ‘do not appear grounded in fact’

THEY’RE STILL WAITING FOR HATE GROUP TATTOO RECOGNITION SOFTWARE — “What does it cost? What gets collected? NJ intelligence center ‘cloaked in secrecy’,” by The Record’s Hannan Adely: “In a suburb outside Trenton, New Jersey operates a high-tech “fusion center” that serves as an intelligence-gathering hub and clearinghouse for information about criminal and terrorist activity. But what takes place inside the center — including how much it spends, how it operates and what information it has collected — is shrouded in secrecy, according to a new report by the Rutgers University Law School Center for Security, Race and Rights. The report, released in March, raises concerns that have dogged the 79 fusion centers across the United States. After 9/11, fusion centers were established to improve the sharing of information among local, state and federal agencies in the fight against terrorism. Critics say they have been agents of surveillance, tracking potential crime and political activity in ways that may violate civil liberties. Without accountability or oversight, the New Jersey center has not shown its effectiveness or proved that it protects civil rights, say the authors of the report. … The Rutgers researchers said they tried to delve into the center’s work but that their requests for information about operating budget, training practices and data obtained on the state’s communities were denied.”

SCHOOL AID — Murphy signs bill to provide $103 million to mitigate school aid cuts, by POLITICO’s Matt Friedman: Gov. Phil Murphy on Monday signed fast-tracked school aid legislation providing $103 million to school districts that would have seen cuts under his proposed FY2024 budget. The legislation — which restores approximately 66 percent of cuts school districts would have seen under the proposed budget — cleared the Senate and Assembly with unanimous support. The bill signing does not come as a surprise, with Murphy announcing a deal in mid-March with legislative Democrats on the funding.

SPIRITED OPPOSITION — “An airline deal could bring higher fares. N.J. has joined the fight against it,” by The AP: “New Jersey doesn’t want higher fares either. It is one of four states that joined a federal lawsuit last week aimed at blocking JetBlue’s $3.8 billion purchase of Spirit Airlines, which is scheduled for trial this fall. California, Maryland and North Carolina also joined in an updated version of the complaint that was filed Friday in federal district court in Boston. The Biden administration argues that the deal would reduce competition and drive up prices for airline consumers by eliminating Spirit, which is known for low fares.”

TRUMP COMES BACK INTO THE HEADLINES JUST IN TIME FOR N.J. DEMOCRATS — “N.J. Democrats lose their million-voter advantage,” by New Jersey Globe’s Joey Fox: “The day has finally arrived: There are no longer one million more Democrats than Republicans in the state of New Jersey. As of the New Jersey Division of Elections’ April 1 report, the state has 2,533,035 registered Democrats and 1,534,241 Republicans – a 998,794-voter advantage for Democrats – as well as 2,383,203 unaffiliated voters and 80,826 voters registered with minor parties. Overall, the state has 6,531,305 registered voters, an increase of 5,862 voters from last month’s report; Republicans added 4,094 new voters and Democrats added 2,522. … New Jersey Democrats first gained their million-voter advantage in July 2020, when the presidential election between Donald Trump and Joe Biden supercharged voter interest and led to hundreds of thousands of new voter registrations”

—“N.J. drops COVID testing requirement for workers in health care, nursing homes, other congregate care”

—“Bill proposes tracking deadly car crashes caused by cannabis impairment”

—“Police chiefs: Change the public records law | Opinion”

—“Op-Ed: It’s time to review laws on hazardous materials”

—“New relief program launched to help NJ landlords hit by Ida who offer affordable housing”

—“NJ may offer counseling for children who witness domestic violence”

CARTOON BREAK — “Murphy treats an election watchdog like Old Yeller”

UNSANTISFIED — “Don’t make America Florida, make it New Jersey instead, Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy says,” by Insider’s Kimberly Leonard: “Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy is urging voters to look much further north on the East Coast, to New Jersey. In an interview with Insider, held on April 1, he joked that New Jersey used to be a national punchline, but that Florida had taken its place. Taking a more serious tone, he bemoaned the push in GOP-led states to ban abortion, tighten voting access, constrain LGBTQ rights, and loosen gun laws even in the wake of mass shootings.”

THE PRICE IS WRONG — “N.J. man who rioted on Jan. 6 with Proud Boys sentenced to prison,” by Kevin Shea for NJ.com: “A Rockaway man who battled police with fellow members of a New Jersey Proud Boys faction at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, will spend 12 months in prison, a federal judge ruled Monday. Shawn Price, 28, pleaded guilty in October to one count of obstruction of law during a civil disorder. A federal judge in Washington, D.C., sentenced him Monday to 12 months plus one day in prison, federal officials said. … Price and about four to five other Proud Boys from the Garden State violently pushed to the fore of the fighting and ‘forcibly interfered with the officers twice in a five minute span,’ a prosecutor wrote in a pre-sentence report. Price was vice president of the far-right extremist group, the government says.”

NJ’S CULINARY HOTSPOT — “Former Jersey City schools employee says district served, refused to throw out expired food,” by The Jersey Journal’s Joshua Rosario: “A former Jersey City school district employee claims the district has been serving and storing expired food products ― including some items that should have been tossed six years ago. Chris Sarullo, the former deputy director of food services, said he was fired last month after three months on the job for bringing attention to outdated food that includes frozen turkey meat that expired in 2017. District officials denied the claims, but Sarullo’s allegations were bolstered by city officials’ statement that less than a week ago health inspectors ordered some food be thrown out. Sarullo provided pictures to The Jersey Journal of pallets of the turkey meat, as well as corn muffin tops whose ‘best-if-used-by’ date was Sept. 30, 2021 and Nature Valley Oatmeal rounds that expired in September 2022. … Sarullo was fired on March 24, a decision he believes was done as retaliation for bringing attention to the expired food.”

THAT’LL TEACH HUDSON COUNTY POLS TO STRAIGHTEN UP — “Hudson County political fixer Bertoli receives 3 years probation & 1 year of house arrest,” by Hudson County View’s John Heinis: “Hudson County political fixer Tom Bertoli received three years probation and one year of house arrest for corrupt interference with administration of the Internal Revenue laws. Bertoli, who was indicted on eight tax charges in June 2020 before admitting guilt on one count this past October, received his sentence – which also includes a $100 fine – from U.S. District Court Judge Brian Martinotti last week. … Bertoli admitted that on June 5th, 2014, he was interviewed by an IRS collections officer and at that time had not filed tax returns between 2009 and 2013, despite earning income and owing a total of approximately $195,889 in taxes. He also falsely claimed he was a construction worker at a construction company in order to hide the existence of one of his political consulting companies, Urban Logistics, LLC. Additionally, he earned about $917,000 through Urban Logistics in 2015 and owed about $370,025 in taxes – which he did not pay in time.”

STUDENT’S VIEWS GET MORE PUBLICITY THAN EVER — “County College of Morris student suspended, sues after speaking against homosexuality,” by New Jersey Herald’s Lori Comstock: “County College of Morris student has filed a federal lawsuit against the public school claiming he was suspended when he expressed his ‘Christian beliefs’ against homosexuality and preached passages from the Bible to other students as he paced the Randolph campus. Morris County resident Kombe Sefelino could not attend classes or be on campus for 11 days after school administrators said he made statements regarded as ‘hate speech’ against the LGBTQ+ community that violated the school’s code of conduct and the state’s Law Against Discrimination, according to the suit, filed on March 21 in U.S. District Court in Newark. …The follower of the Christian religion often voices his beliefs on street corners and sidewalks in and around Morris County and on the school’s campus. He reads passages from the Bible and urges passersby to ‘repent their sins and put their faith in Jesus Christ’ in what his attorneys say is done ‘in an act of love.’ … The lawsuit was filed when Sefelino was escorted off the campus March 21 by the school’s Department of Public Safety for ‘preaching against transgenderism and gender-nonconforming behavior.’”

AT LEAST THE TORNADO DOESN’T CARRY TOXIC CHEMICALS — “‘Like a freight train': Jackson residents describe tornado that damaged town,” by The Asbury Park Press’ Mike Davis: “It started with a ding on their cell phones at 7:08 p.m. That was when the first tornado warning came in. The National Weather Service cited neighborhoods within Freehold and Hamilton by name. Freehold was just next door, but Jackson’s a pretty big town. ‘We all thought it was a joke at first,’ said Dafne Guerrero, who lives on Lombardi Street in Jackson with her parents and brother. ‘There’s no way a tornado was going to hit Jackson.’ Five minutes later, a new alert came in: ‘Monmouth panhandle and northern Ocean Counties: TAKE COVER NOW!!’”

—L.A. Parker: “Trenton needs the hotel and tourism for a true resurgence”

—“These Jersey Shore towns desperately need doctors, so here’s what they’re doing”

—“Morristown council president faces primary challenge; two other seats up for grabs”

—“Meet the women running for mayor in Old Bridge”

—“Paulsboro PFAS test misses target number of volunteers so far”

—“Former Hoboken Fire Chief Brian Crimmins returns to work at lowest rank”

—“Historic Bergen County estate seized after billionaire owner charged in fraud plot”

—“3 more tornadoes under investigation. N.J. storm total could hit 7”

—“Rider University locks down after fake threat police are calling a ‘swatting event’”