Politics & Government

Weinberg Bill Seeks Notice on Governor's Out-of-State Travel

Secret audio recording reveals speech to wealthy donors.

State Sen. Loretta Weinberg introduced a bill Monday that would require governors to give 24 hours notice on any out of state travel. Weinberg announced the bill Friday after secret recordings revealed Gov. Chris Christie had traveled out of state for a political event.

The bill would require governors to give written notification to legislative leaders about out of state trips, NJ.com reported. Governors would need to say what states they planned to visit and the general reason for the trip.

Weinberg told the Star-Ledger the governor would not have to give detailed accounts of personal vacations.

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“No man is an island, and the Governor needs to recognize that he has a responsibility to the people of New Jersey to at least assure for the orderly transfer of power if he does decide to leave the State in search of right-wing campaign donations,” Weinberg said in a news release.

Christie’s travel became an issue after Mother Jones magazine published a secret audio recording of the governor speaking to conservative donors in Colorado, hosted by billionaires David and Charles Koch. Christie has said he is in touch with Lt. Gov. Kim Guadagno and refused to release a schedule of private meetings.

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The governor’s office regularly releases a “public schedule” of events and some TV appearances, but Christie has said he should be given a “zone of privacy” for personal trips.

“Firstly, we know that this was not a family vacation to Disney World, but a political fundraiser designed to further the Governor’s national political aspirations,” Weinberg said in the release. “Secondly, Governors and other elected officials should realize that public service comes at the cost of some measure of privacy – he’s got to be Governor 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, not just when it suits him.”


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