The bill is a response to a U.S. Supreme Court decision issued last year that limited the scope of a federal bribery statute. (Dana DiFilippo | New Jersey Monitor)
Lawmakers on an Assembly panel on Thursday unanimously approved legislation that would amend the state’s bribery statute to criminalize bribes regardless of whether they follow or precede an official’s improper action.
The bill is meant to guard the state’s bribery law from a U.S. Supreme Court decision issued last year that found a federal bribery statute does not criminalize bribes accepted for past acts.
In Snyder v. United States, the Supreme Court vacated former Portage, Indiana, Mayor James Snyder’s conviction for accepting $13,000 from a local truck dealership after awarding the firm a $1.1 million public contract.
In a 6-3 decision along ideological lines, the Supreme Court ruled payments for illicit conduct made after the fact were permissible gratuities under federal law and not illegal bribes.
The decision closed the path for federal prosecutions of local bribes so long as a public official received no benefit until after they took action.
The bill Assembly lawmakers advanced Thursday amends the state bribery statute to make clear officials cannot accept benefits for official actions regardless of when the benefit is realized.
A companion bill was introduced in the Senate in October but has yet to advance through committees in the upper chamber.
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