TRENTON, N.J. – Yesterday, Senator Andy Kim testified before a committee of the New Jersey State Senate against State Senate bill, S.4924, which if passed, will severely weaken the oversight power of the New Jersey Comptroller’s office, creating an environment for conflicts of interests and other measures that further damage the public’s trust in New Jersey government.  

S.4924 was introduced immediately before the Thanksgiving holiday, giving New Jerseyans little time to review a bill that will make it harder to crack down on corruption and conflicts of interest throughout the state. 

Senator Kim was joined by State Attorney General Matt Platkin, State Comptroller Kevin Walsh, and numerous anti-corruption advocates in speaking out against the bill before the State Senate Committee on Government, Wagering, Tourism, and Historic Preservation. Senator Kim made his case against this legislation alongside the AG and Acting Comptroller as the final witnesses of the hearing. 

Here is what New Jerseyans read this morning…

New York Times: Democrats in New Jersey Ram Through Bill to Defang a Corruption Watchdog 

[Senator] Kim was among the first three people to request to speak at the hearing. He was instead called to address the committee dead last, more than four hours after the hearing began, prompting objections from several other speakers, who attempted to cede their time to him. They noted that he was trying to catch a train to Washington, where voting was set to start Monday evening. 

The legislation would defang the Office of the State Comptroller by removing its subpoena powers and would instead rely entirely on the troubled State Commission of Investigation to lead inquiries into misuse of taxpayer funds and political self-dealing. 

“What we have come to see here in New Jersey must be fixed, and the people demand it,” Mr. Kim said. “The people of New Jersey are sick and tired of this.”  

NJ Monitor: Over chorus of complaints, NJ Senate panel advances bill to limit comptroller’s powers 

Beach, who chairs the Camden County Democratic Committee and is a close Norcross ally, imposed a strict three-minute time limit on testimony by most of the bill’s roughly three dozen opponents — including, at times, by cutting their microphones — but not [the bills] supporters. Beach engaged in shouting matches with Walsh and also with U.S. Sen Andy Kim (D-NJ), who was among those to testify against the bill. 

Platkin added that he has significant concerns about the bill’s constitutionality, warning the provisions would allow staff at the State Commission of Investigation — an agency overseen partly by the Legislature — to seek wiretaps or participate in prosecutions… 

“The idea of wiretapping conducted by a civil enforcement agency never once came up to me, in my four years as an attorney general, as an idea we should even consider, much less one I should be testifying about before this body,” said Attorney General Matt Platkin. 

Politico: ‘What makes you special?’: Raucous New Jersey hearing ends in petty attacks against Andy Kim, other state officials

“How can we legitimately criticize the lawlessness that we see and the disregard of transparency and accountability down in D.C., if we are taking actions in our own state capital that will weaken safeguards here at home?” Kim told members of the State Government, Wagering, Tourism & Historic Preservation Committee on Monday. 

NJ Globe: In contentious hearing, Senate panel clears bill to move investigatory powers from comptroller to SCI 

[Senator Kim] argued the bill will only further dismay New Jerseyans who believe their government is corrupt. 

“This effort to be able to gut transparency and accountability in our state right now, which is in the bill before this committee today, is the wrong move at this moment,” Kim said. “This is something that we should be having a deeper conversation about in terms of what comes next.” 

Many major advocacy groups also declared opposition to the legislation, including the Working Families Party of New Jersey, the New Jersey ACLU, New Jersey Citizen Action, and Make the Road New Jersey. 

NorthJersey.com: NJ Democratic stooges tried to shame Andy Kim. What’s next? | Opinion 

The trio of officials [Senator Kim, AG Platkin and Acting Comptroller Walsh] who spoke against Scutari’s smear on transparency represent a smoldering, grassroots frustration with the state Democratic Party machine’s leadership. That leadership is manifested in power amassed in two decades of control of the Legislature — all bolstered by pay-to-play cash and patronage. Insurgent progressives inside Garden State Democratic ranks have long argued that their party machinery has become sclerotic and corrupt and lost touch with the day-to-day needs of average voters. 

The Scutari-authored bill also seems strangely out of step with the political zeitgeist. Voters in New Jersey registered their clear, overwhelming disgust with the conduct of President Donald Trump’s administration — its weaponizing of the Department of Justice and its firing of a slew of internal government watchdogs, hired to root out costly fraud and abuse. 

And for many critics, the bill was a sequel to other successful Scutari-led efforts in recent years to weaken the state’s public records act and defang the campaign finance watchdog while allowing for a cascade of new campaign cash to pour into the system. This new bill is another dimming of the light of transparency. 

NJ.com: Efforts to gut N.J. watchdog advance despite fierce criticism 

The bill literally arrived in the dead of night – Dropped into a lame duck session just before Thanksgiving and fast-tracked for a hearing, the timing was immediately suspect — as if no one would notice a measure that would gut an agency intended to fight corruption, waste and fraud in a state known for such abuses. It came in the wake of a series of blistering reports by the comptroller in recent years that have embarrassed or angered officials who have been targets of the comptroller. 

Kim, who asked why the bill was “rammed through the lame duck session,” also called upon the committee to kill the legislation. “Even if you think there are legitimate reforms that can be made, you know this is not how you go about it. Pushing something rapidly during a lame duck session when we have a new governor coming in next month,” said Kim. 

Philadelphia Inquirer: Sen. Andy Kim, New Jersey AG spar with South Jersey lawmaker at raucous hearing over bill that would limit watchdog’s powers 

But Democrats on the Senate Committee appeared agitated by the presence [of Senator Kim and AG Platkin] at the marathon hearing…The [fiery exchange from Senator Beach] may reflect sore feelings at Platkin within some corners of the Democratic Party following his pursuit of a corruption case against business owner and South Jersey power broker George E. Norcross III.[Chairman] Beach chairs the Camden County Democratic Committee, a position previously held by Norcross. 

And Platkin charges that the motivation [behind this bill] is personal. The acting state comptroller, Kevin Walsh, has taken an aggressive approach to the job since taking over in 2020. He led investigations on police accountability, government waste and fraud and investigations into government benefit plans. 

The Jersey Vindicator: Stealth bill would gut investigative power of New Jersey Comptroller 

Supporters say the measure is all about efficiency and would consolidate overlapping responsibilities among state watchdogs. But critics argue it would weaken oversight, blunt corruption probes, and defang acting state Comptroller Kevin Walsh, whose investigations have scrutinized politically connected figures, including some of New Jersey’s most powerful Democrats.
 [Acting Comptroller Walsh] said in a virtual news conference last week that the bill is politically motivated. “They are coming for the state comptroller’s powers because we have shown how political power and corruption go together in New Jersey,” Walsh said. “And that makes Sen. Scutari and some others in the Legislature uncomfortable.” 

Asbury Park Press: [WATCH] Chair cuts off U.S. Senator Andy Kim at hearing on watchdog bill 

Audacy: [LISTEN] Controversial piece of legislation advances in Trenton, NJ, despite some high-profile opposition

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