Sept. 24 (Bloomberg) -- New Jersey Governor Jon Corzine proposed an overhaul of ethics guidelines covering local and state politicians, a package he said would end ``pay-to-play'' politics at all levels of government.

Corzine signed executive orders banning political campaign contributions by state-hired developers and their consultants and restricting donors from getting government contracts. He also called for several ethics measures requiring legislation, including lowering the annual limit on contributions to political committees.

``We are finishing what we've started, to end the insider deals, influence peddling and self-interest of old politics,'' Corzine, a first-term Democrat, said today in Trenton.

Corzine, 61, former chairman of Goldman, Sachs & Co., vowed during his 2005 gubernatorial campaign to clean up government ethics by making state business more open and agencies more accountable.

He created the State Comptroller's office to audit contracting by more than 1,900 government entities and re- established the defunct Public Advocate's Office to handle responsibilities that include voters' rights, affordable housing and citizen complaints.

Corzine also barred former lawmakers from becoming lobbyists for one year after leaving office and ended state pension padding, the practice of obtaining well-paying patronage jobs just before retirement to boost benefit payments.

Ethics Legislation

Assemblywoman Linda Greenstein and Assemblyman Wayne DeAngelo, both Democrats, said today they would sponsor legislation to enact the ethics plan.

``This is the opportunity New Jerseyans have long been waiting for,'' Greenstein, of Monroe, said in a statement. ``The sinister mix of money and politics will be tackled once and for all, and it will be done so in a sweeping and historic way.''

The Democratic leadership said they backed the plan. Assembly Speaker Joseph Roberts of Bellmawr joined with Senate President Richard Codey of West Orange, who said he ``looks forward to tackling the issues.''

More than 100 New Jersey public figures have been charged with corruption by U.S. Attorney Christopher Christie.

Former Senator Sharpe James, who was mayor of Newark for 20 years, began serving a 27-month prison sentence this month after being convicted of illegally steering city-owned property to a former mistress. The former chairman of the Senate budget panel, Lawnside Democrat Wayne Bryant, is currently on trial for accepting a no-work job at the state medical school in exchange for allegedly steering grants its way.

Executive Orders

Corzine's executive orders, in addition to expanding the state's ban on contributions by contractors to political action committees, require appointed members of newly created state boards to file financial disclosure forms and create a panel to look into strengthening enforcement of finance requirements. The orders take effect immediately.

The measures that need legislation would lower to $25,000 from $37,000 the annual limit on contributions to political committees; extend the ban on contractor contributions to the local and county levels; prohibit contributions by developers seeking project approvals; replace a patchwork of local finance regulations with one state law; and prohibit those holding contracts with school districts from giving to municipal candidates or political committees.

``It's something that is certainly worth looking at,'' Assembly Minority Leader Alex DeCroce, a Parsippany Republican, said of Corzine's proposal following a 30-minute meeting this morning with the governor and lawmakers. ``We may have some questions when we see the legislation, but right now, as far as this executive order and what we've seen, this is something that is doable.''

To contact the reporter on this story: Terrence Dopp in Trenton, New Jersey, at tdopp@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: September 24, 2008 17:02 EDT