The following is a statement by Senator Troy Singleton and Assemblyman Andrew Zwicker in response to Governor Phil Murphy’s conditional veto of their “dark money” legislation, Senate Bill 1500:

“To say we were disappointed to learn that the Governor planned to conditionally veto this landmark legislation via press reports, before hearing from the administration, is a severe understatement. However, upon reading the conditional veto today, we are truly flabbergasted by the explanation presented.

“The Governor says that this bill ‘falls short’ of the goal to bring greater transparency to our political process. That is a gross misrepresentation of months, and frankly, years of hard work by not just those of us who prime sponsored this legislation, but the highly esteemed Executive Director of the Election Law Enforcement Commission, Jeff Brindle, who has long championed this issue. The only thing that “fell short” today was the Governor’s will to truly address the behemoth of dark money that has eroded the public’s trust in our government and the political process.

“While we are pleased we were able to draw attention to this important issue, and elevated the conversation about the need for true reform in this area, the Governor’s actions today are, ironically, an example of politics at its worst.”