New Jersey TRUST Commission calls for inspector general and tougher bidding laws to fight corruption

Report also recommends a state compliance enforcement unit and easier ways for residents to report misconduct

A state commission created a year ago to help the New Jersey attorney general combat corruption and rebuild public trust has issued a report with nearly a dozen recommendations aimed at strengthening transparency and accountability in state government.

The report, released by the TRUST Commission, urges lawmakers and state officials to create an independent inspector general, tighten conflict-of-interest rules for public bidding, establish compliance enforcement units at the state level, and simplify the process for the public to report misconduct.

Attorney General Matthew Platkin said he formed the 11-member commission amid growing skepticism about government institutions.

“So many people have lost faith in their government and believe that government often does the bidding of the powerful and the privileged, against the will, and at the expense of the people,” Platkin said in a statement.

“Building on my department’s efforts to root out corruption and end the cynicism, disillusionment, civic disengagement, and damage that it causes, the TRUST Commission members have developed thoughtful and specific recommendations that should receive full consideration,” he said.

The commission includes academics, legal experts, a former state attorney general and former judges and prosecutors. Its work followed meetings with the New Jersey Department of Law and Public Safety and the Office of the State Comptroller, as well as public listening sessions held around the state.

During those sessions, residents expressed concerns about corruption and said they were often unsure how to report suspected wrongdoing. In response, the commission recommended that state agencies improve and better publicize misconduct referral systems, including the state-run hotline.

“The goal of this collaboration is to ensure that tips and complaints, regardless of how they are provided, are handled promptly and appropriately,” Platkin said.

One of the report’s central proposals is the creation of an inspector general’s office within the Department of Law and Public Safety, under the attorney general’s authority. The office would investigate complaints involving conflicts of interest, prosecutorial misconduct and other issues that may not rise to the level of criminal charges.

The report said such an office would “expand the ability of the department to ensure that the government is worthy of the public it serves, holding it to the highest standards and rooting out wrongdoing even when it does not rise to the level of criminality.”

Another major recommendation calls for stronger public contracting laws to address conflicts of interest. Proposed changes include making it illegal to intentionally submit misleading or inaccurate information in a public bid and criminalizing false statements to government officials.

“Improper bidding on public contracts, self-dealing, and the immense and unjust benefits of political deal-making that line the pockets of the well-connected are pervasive,” the report said.

The commission also urged the creation of a compliance enforcement unit to monitor and publicly report whether individuals and agencies are following state laws and attorney general directives. Oversight would include police officers licensed by the Police Training Commission, alcohol license holders regulated by the Division of Alcoholic Beverage Control and health care professionals.

Beyond structural reforms, the report recommended additional funding and staffing for the Office of Public Integrity and Accountability, which investigates and prosecutes corruption cases. It also called for regular public listening sessions with the attorney general and expanded participation in the state’s Open Data Center Initiative.

Some transparency advocates said the report did not go far enough. C.J. Griffin, an attorney with the Hackensack-based firm Pashman Stein Walder Hayden, said she welcomed many of the recommendations but wanted stronger measures related to police accountability.

Griffin said the state should make grand jury transcripts public in cases involving police shootings, arguing that secrecy is unnecessary when such investigations are required by law and the subject is already known.

“There’s really no need for secrecy,” Griffin said. “And being able to see how the prosecutor presented the case to the grand jury would build trust.”

She also criticized a recommendation encouraging the attorney general to engage more directly through alternative media channels.

“Journalists play an important role in holding government officials accountable,” Griffin said. “If they think they’re going to build trust by just going around the media, I find that very problematic.”