As readers of this column know, I've long been an advocate of strong pay-to-play laws, limiting the amount of money a developer, city attorney, city engineer, or other hired professional can donate to public officials for election campaigns.

Even when limited donations are permitted (because banning them outright raises thorny constitutional issues), I believe in full disclosure so voters will know which contractor or developer is funneling money to which elected official -- before we step into that voting booth. And, better yet, they'll know that we know.

Which doesn't mean that less-than-savvy politicians won't try to skirt the law, either legally or illegally. It's just that voters -- and political challengers -- will be less likely to let them get away with it.

Take the state's new pay-to-play law which went into effect in January: Good government advocates warned that it was painfully weak, and they were right.

According to reports in the Asbury Park Press, the Monmouth County Republican Organization recently created seven new political committees, each in a different town. Thus we now have the Neptune Committee for Good Government, the Long Branch Committee for Good Government, the Interlaken Committee for Good Government, and more.

Obviously, the "Good Government" moniker was chosen in jest: All seven committees have (surprise!) the same treasurer and mailing address, and the seven now boast over $55,000 in contributions from companies or individuals with large Monmouth County contracts -- something the state law was designed to prevent.

So where is all that money going? In at least one town -- Interlaken, where election campaigns typically cost about $300 -- the Republican mayor and council weren't even told that the Interlaken fund existed, although it was reportedly used to distribute almost $8,300 to GOP campaigns in Neptune and Manalapan.

According to the Press, Republican Assemblywoman Amy Handlin -- a former Monmouth County Freeholder -- labeled the accounts "the political equivalent of having offshore bank accounts."

She and others have pointed out that the weak state law allows such contributions to be rerouted or "wheeled" to other committees or candidates with the original donors obscured. (Indeed, new Freeholder Anna Little wisely turned down a $2,600 donation from the Holmdel Committee for Good Government two weeks ago because she wasn't sure of its source.)

Is Fredrick Niemann, chairman of the county GOP, incensed? You bet he is -- at fellow party members who denounced the committees. He even labeled those Republicans "part of al-Qaida in our organization."

According to the Press, Niemann believes the committees are "perfectly legal" (and unfortunately he's probably right), and blames the controversy on the state's weak campaign finance laws.

That's where I agree with Fred: Which is why I hope he'll immediately urge the all-Republican Freeholders to pass a strong county law to sew up those loopholes and level the playing field for Republicans, Democrats and everyone else.

As I've reported before, I've spent the last year volunteering with the New Jersey Citizens' Campaign -- an off-shoot of Common Cause -- to promote pay-to-play reform. (Benson Chiles of Atlantic Highlands is my Monmouth County co-chair.)

Back in October, we approached the Monmouth County Freeholders (including then-Freeholder Amy Handlin) about passing a strong pay-to-play measure. At Handlin's urging, the county had passed a weak resolution requiring potential contractors to disclose all contributions made to county officials, county political parties and state political parties during the previous five years.

But the resolution set no limits on these donations, nor did it provide any system for monitoring, enforcement or assessing penalties. It also failed to address contributions made after a contract is awarded -- a common way of skirting such laws.

And, even though the Holmdel Committee for Good Government attempted to "wheel" money to a county Freeholder last month, county contractors are not required to report donations to that fund under the current law.

Our first meeting with the Freeholders didn't go far, partly because it was election season. Ironically, some Freeholders also expressed concern that their Democratic opponents were actively wheeling stacks of campaign money into the county -- something that a stronger pay-to-play law wouldn't specifically prevent.

Well, the Citizens' Campaign took those comments to heart, and their legal experts are preparing a tightened pay-to-play law that would make it much harder for either party to hide campaign donations by wheeling money among districts and candidates.

On the bright side, the current controversy makes this the perfect time for Monmouth County Republicans -- and Democrats -- to get behind real government reform by supporting (and passing) a strong county pay-to-play bill.

Want to help promote pay-to-play legislation in your town or in Monmouth County? Contact Heather Taylor at the Citizens' Campaign, 732-548-9798, or call me at 732-774-7871. We'll help you make a difference.

In the meantime, we plan to attend the 7 p.m. Freeholders meeting on Tuesday, April 11 to request that they allow the Citizens' Campaign to present pay-to-play options at their next workshop meeting. And we'll keep showing up as long as it takes.

Fortunately, there's still plenty of time to turn things around -- and to make Monmouth County the benchmark for what New Jersey campaign finance reform can be.