Applies statutory ethics and conflicts-of-interest standards for casino industry regulators and participants to regulators of and participants in legalized marijuana marketplace.

This bill (A 2966) applies New Jersey’s existing ethics and conflict-of-interest rules for casino regulators to officials overseeing the state’s legalized marijuana industry. It prohibits state employees or appointees regulating marijuana from having prior business ties (like ownership or employment) with licensed marijuana businesses within three years before their appointment, and requires annual financial disclosures for officials. The law also mandates a four-year waiting period before former regulators can work for marijuana businesses and bans them from acting on matters where they or their immediate family have financial interests. These provisions directly affect state employees in marijuana regulatory roles and applicants for those positions.