SYLLABUS

(This syllabus is not part of the opinion of the Court. It has been prepared by the Office of the Clerk for the convenience of the reader. It has been neither reviewed nor approved by the Supreme Court. Please note that, in the interests of brevity, portions of any opinion may not have been summarized).

IMO the Appeal by Earle Asphalt Company (A-37-08)

(NOTE: This Court wrote no full opinion in this case. Rather, the Court’s affirmance of the judgment of the Appellate Division is based substantially on the reasons expressed in Judge Skillman’s written opinion below.)

Argued November 5, 2008 -- Decided January 15, 2009

PER CURIAM

Earle Asphalt Company challenges to the constitutionality of a 2005 amendment to the Campaign Contributions and Expenditure Reporting Act (Chapter 51), which prohibits any state agency from awarding a contract with a value over $17,500 to a business entity that has contributed more than $300 during the preceding eighteen months to the Governor, a candidate for Governor or any State or county political party committee.

Earle Asphalt is engaged in the road construction business. One of its sources of business is state highway construction projects. In June 2007, former State Senate President John Bennett solicited Walter Earle, II, President of Earle Asphalt, for a contribution to the Monmouth County Republican Committee (Republican Committee) in exchange for tickets to an August 1, 2007 cocktail party. Earle agreed to make the contribution and purchased three tickets for $1,500. The Republican Committee cashed Earle Asphalt’s check on July 6, 2007.

Upon learning that the contribution to the Republican Committee might conflict with “pay-to-play” laws, Earle telephoned Bennett on July 20, 2007 to request a refund of the $1,500 contribution. Earle claims that he called Bennett multiple times to inquire about the status of the refund, and Bennett alleges that he contacted various Republican Committee officials to expedite the refund. On August 10, 2007, twenty-one days after Earle’s initial refund request to Bennett and forty-one days after the contribution was made, the Republican Committee issued Earle Asphalt a refund check for $1,500.

Thereafter, Earle Asphalt submitted a bid to the New Jersey Department of Transportation (DOT) for the award of a contract for roadwork on a section of Interstate 195. Once DOT notified Earle Asphalt that it was the low bidder and was therefore entitled to award of the contract, Earle Asphalt submitted to DOT the “Contractor Certification and Disclosure of Political Contributions” form required under Chapter 51. Earle Asphalt disclosed the June 30, 2007 contribution to the Republican Committee on this form.