52:13D-12.Ā  Legislative findings
The Legislature finds and declares:

(a) In our representative form of government, it is essential that the conduct of public officials and employees shall hold the respect and confidenceĀ  of the people.Ā  Public officials must, therefore, avoid conduct which is inĀ  violation of their public trust or which creates a justifiable impression amongĀ  the public that such trust is being violated.

(b) To ensure propriety and preserve public confidence, persons serving in government should have the benefit of specific standards to guide their conductĀ  and of some disciplinary mechanism to ensure the uniform maintenance of thoseĀ  standards amongst them.Ā  Some standards of this type may be enacted as generalĀ  statutory prohibitions or requirements;Ā  others, because of complexity andĀ  variety of circumstances, are best left to the governance of codes of ethicsĀ  formulated to meet the specific needs and conditions of the several agencies ofĀ  government.

(c) It is also recognized that under a free government it is both necessaryĀ  and desirable that all citizens, public officials included, should have certainĀ  specific interests in the decisions of government, and that the activities andĀ  conduct of public officials should not, therefore, be unduly circumscribed.

L.1971, c. 182, s. 1, eff. Jan. 11, 1972.