Merit Institute Merit

The New Jersey Government Transparency & Performance Act (NJ-GT&P)

New Jersey state companion to GT&P. Uses Inspector-General independence (no Schedule F analog). Strengthens the New Jersey False Claims Act (N.J.S.A. 2A:32C) and extends OPRA.

THE NEW JERSEY GOVERNMENT TRANSPARENCY & PERFORMANCE ACT (NJ-GT&P)

Vehicle: State passage. New Jersey Legislature, regular session. Primary referral to Assembly / Senate State and Local Government / Budget and Appropriations.

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE

This Act may be cited as the “New Jersey Government Transparency & Performance Act (NJ-GT&P).”

SECTION 2. LEGISLATIVE FINDINGS AND INTENT

The Legislature finds that the Civil Service Act operates under N.J.S.A. Title 11A; that the Open Public Records Act (OPRA) operates under N.J.S.A. 47:1A-1 et seq.; that the Office of Management and Budget operates under N.J.S.A. 52:27B; that the Office of Legislative Services provides fiscal analysis; and that New Jersey enacted the New Jersey False Claims Act under N.J.S.A. 2A:32C. This Act extends these frameworks and does not adopt a federal Schedule F analog.

TITLE I — DEFINITIONS & COORDINATION WITH NEW JERSEY LAW

Sec. 101. Definitions

  1. (a) “OMB” means the Office of Management and Budget.
  2. (b) “Publicly visible outcome” means a metric published under Sec. 201.
  3. (c) “NJ-FCA” means N.J.S.A. 2A:32C.

Sec. 102. Coordination with Existing New Jersey Law

  1. (a) Consistent with:
  • N.J.S.A. Title 11A (Civil Service).
  • N.J.S.A. 47:1A-1 et seq. (OPRA).
  • N.J.S.A. 52:27B (OMB).
  • N.J.S.A. 2A:32C (FCA).

TITLE II — OUTCOME-BASED BUDGETING

Sec. 201. Outcome Metrics for Covered Programs

  1. (a) Each covered program in the Budget shall publish at least three outcome metrics.
  2. (b) OMB shall publish the New Jersey Outcome Dashboard in machine-readable form.

Sec. 202. Fiscal-Note Outcome Integration

  1. (a) Office of Legislative Services fiscal notes shall identify outcome metrics from Sec. 201.

TITLE III — INSPECTOR GENERAL INDEPENDENCE (Schedule-F Substitute)

Sec. 301. Agency Inspector General Authorities

  1. (a) The State Comptroller, acting under N.J.S.A. 52:15C-1 et seq., shall coordinate Office of the State Comptroller and agency Inspectors General with independent hiring, subpoena, and reporting authority.
  2. (b) Nothing in this section modifies Civil Service Act merit protections.
  3. (c) OIG shall publish an annual outcome audit for each covered program.

TITLE IV — NEW JERSEY FALSE CLAIMS ACT AMENDMENT

Sec. 401. Credentialing and Outcome-Data Fraud

  1. (a) N.J.S.A. 2A:32C is amended to clarify that a person presenting a materially false or fraudulent claim involving NJRMC, Federal FRAC, or NJ-OBSA outcome data is liable to the State for a civil penalty and treble damages.

Sec. 402. Whistleblower Award

  1. (a) A whistleblower whose information leads to recovery shall receive between 15 and 30 percent of the State recovery, as determined by the Attorney General.

TITLE V — IMPLEMENTATION & GENERAL PROVISIONS

Sec. 501. Severability

If any provision is held invalid, the invalidity shall not affect the remainder.

Sec. 502. Effective Date

This Act shall take effect on the July 1 following enactment.

Canonical federal version: GT&P. Other New Jersey bills: NJ-ACSA, NJ-MEWRA, NJ-AI-Workforce.