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Star Ledger ‘Gov. Chris Christie calls special legislative session on N.J. property tax overhaul’
Philadelphia Inquirer ‘Christie signs first budget as N.J. governor’
njspotlight.com ‘Troubled Opportunity Scholarship Act Still Hanging Fire In Trenton’ and ‘One District's Attempt to Assess the 'Cap 2.5' Consequences'
"Marlboro schools played precisely by the rules this year, proposing a budget that would increase the local property tax levy by 4 percent, the current limit under the law.Still, the voters didn’t go for it in the April election, and the municipal council cut another $680,000. On top of a $3.9 million cut in state aid, that amounted to 16 teaching positions lost.But had Gov. Chris Christie’s proposed constitutional 2.5 percent cap been in place, they likely wouldn’t have been done just yet. In that case, Marlboro would have needed to find as much as another $250,000 to take out of its budget.“You keep your fingers in the dikes, but there are only so many fingers,” said David Abbott, superintendent of Marlboro schools.
As New Jersey moves quickly this week from debates over the state budget to those over tax caps, stories like Marlboro’s are sure to come to the fore....." (David Abbott is the 2010-2011 GSCS President)
Star Ledger ‘Gov. Chris Christie calls special legislative session on N.J. property tax overhaul’ Updated: Tuesday, June 29, 2010, 9:58 PM
Statehouse Bureau Staff, TRENTON — Brimming with confidence after signing his first state budget into law, Gov. Chris Christie today ordered a special session of the Legislature that could turn the Fourth of July weekend into a political tug-of-war over property taxes.
The Republican governor — who had compromised with Democratic leaders to make sure the cuts-laden budget squeaked through on time — dared his opponents to reject his agenda, saying he’d call lawmakers to Trenton repeatedly if there is inaction when he kicks off the session Wednesday.
"It’s time. And I don’t want to hear about studies, and a leisurely pace over the summer, and we’ll get to it in the fall when we feel like it," Christie said in South River. "These folks work for the people of the state of New Jersey, just like I do, and we cannot take a vacation this summer when they can’t have a vacation from their property taxes."
The governor’s centerpiece proposal — a constitutional amendment restricting annual levy increases — faces a July 7 deadline to pass legislative committees, in order to advance to the full Legislature and then the November ballot.
• Gov. Christie is expected to order lawmakers into session for N.J. property tax cap bill
Coverage of N.J. Assembly budget vote:
• $29.4B budget passes
• Marathon session ends with cheers, vuvuzela
• Funds restored for family planning clinics
• Property tax cap bill
• Delaying start of medical marijuana
• Customized team license plates
Coverage of N.J. Senate budget vote:
• $29.4B budget passes
• Funds restored for family planning clinics
• Vow to veto developers fee moratorium bill
• N.J. groups protest 'outrageous' budget cuts
• Use of saved funds to avoid teacher layoffs
• Property tax cap
• $175K salary cap for local officials
• Interdistrict school choice program
Democrats, who passed a competing property tax cap and sent it to Christie’s desk early today, said they would not be rushed or dictated to on proposals that could spark sweeping change at all levels of government. The governor can order lawmakers into session but cannot force them to vote.
"We will not hurriedly slap together a plan that fails to bring real relief to New Jersey and cripples our ability to educate children and provide for public safety," said Assembly Speaker Sheila Oliver (D-Essex). "We will do this right, without the showboating and sound bites."
Christie said the session should also examine controversial bills on school choice and affordable housing but focus on property taxes. He has proposed a 33-bill "tool kit" for towns and school districts and a 2.5 percent limit on yearly property tax hikes, which could only be exceeded for debt payments or if 60 percent of local voters override it.
Christie refused to say how he would treat a bill (S29) sponsored by Senate President Stephen Sweeney (D-Gloucester) that would impose a 2.9 percent cap with more exceptions. Republicans say they expect he will conditionally veto it.
While he pitched his property tax plans, Christie took a budget victory lap today after signing the $29.4 billion plan into law. Surrounded by GOP lawmakers, his cabinet, and his wife, Mary Pat, he said its "pain" will pay off in the long run for state finances. The budget goes into effect Wednesday.
Christie said he did not line-item veto any spending in the bill, which rejected major tax increases in favor of unprecedented cuts to school aid, property tax rebates and other areas once considered untouchable.
When the state comes out of the fiscal doldrums, he said, higher education will be the first place he will look to restore funding. Christie would not say whether he would sign a supplemental bill restoring $7.5 million in state funding for family planning centers, repeating that there are other places for women to get the same care. He also would not say whether he agreed with comments by Republican state chairman Assemblyman Jay Webber (R-Morris) that the money would be funneled to abortion providers — despite a ban in the bill.
The special session kicks off Wednesday with a speech by Christie. Even if it amounts to political theater, the prospect of a holiday-weekend session is to Christie’s advantage, said Monmouth University pollster Patrick Murray.
"Without the promise of real property tax relief, the governor’s approval ratings would be in the toilet because of the budget," Murray said. "He’s got to make sure that people remember that he’s still working on the property tax end. That’s what this is all about."
By Claire Heininger and Lisa Fleisher/Statehouse Bureau
Chris Christie on 2.9 percent property tax cap bill
TAX PLANNING
Here's a look at the competing property tax plans of Republican Gov. Chris Christie and Senate President Stephen Sweeney (D-Gloucester). Sweeney's plan passed the Legislature early Tuesday, while Christie wants lawmakers to consider his during a special session beginning Thursday.
CHRISTIE:
• Constitutional amendment, which would need to pass the Legislature with three-fifths majorities and be approved by voters in November.
• Local governments would be banned from increasing property tax collections more than 2.5 percent in a given year without approval of 60 percent of the voters.
• Only exception would be for debt-service payments.
• Towns that keep taxes under the cap could "bank" the additional levy to use in future years, for up to three years per decade.
SWEENEY:
• Law has passed the Legislature and awaits action by the governor. It would limit property tax increases to 2.9 percent a year.
• Automatic exceptions for health care, pension contributions, energy costs, a cut in state aid, and other circumstances mirroring the current 4 percent cap law, though he has eliminated most categories for waivers granted by the state. Two broad categories remain: for towns, to protect the public health, safety and welfare; and for school districts, to provide a thorough and efficient education. Says he would consider closing some loopholes in future years.
• Towns that keep taxes under the cap could "bank" the additional levy to use in future years without limits.
TOOL KIT:
Christie also wants lawmakers to approve his 33-bill "toolkit" to help local governments cope with a cap. Sweeney has said he supports some of the same concepts but will seek changes. Among the highlights of Christie's plans:
•Civil service: Allow local governments to opt out of the civil service system governing public employee hiring and firing; and allow governments to get around civil service when conducting furloughs
•Public employee salaries: Prohibit any arbitration award for police and fire personnel -- including salaries, benefits and other compensation -- from exceeding the 2.5 percent annual cap. All school district contracts would have to be approved by the county executive superintendent, who would reject increases above the 2.5 percent cap.
•Moving the votes on school and fire district budgets to November.
njspotlight.com ‘One District's Attempt to Assess the 'Cap 2.5' Consequences ‘
With the Governor seeing momentum for his property tax proposal, Marlboro schools wonder where they'd have to cut next
, June 30 in Budget |Post a Comment
Marlboro schools played precisely by the rules this year, proposing a budget that would increase the local property tax levy by 4 percent, the current limit under the law.
Still, the voters didn’t go for it in the April election, and the municipal council cut another $680,000. On top of a $3.9 million cut in state aid, that amounted to 16 teaching positions lost.
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But had Gov. Chris Christie’s proposed constitutional 2.5 percent cap been in place, they likely wouldn’t have been done just yet. In that case, Marlboro would have needed to find as much as another $250,000 to take out of its budget.
“You keep your fingers in the dikes, but there are only so many fingers,” said David Abbott, superintendent of Marlboro schools.
As New Jersey moves quickly this week from debates over the state budget to those over tax caps, stories like Marlboro’s are sure to come to the fore.
Advocates for schools and municipalities have already lined up to testify about the potential consequences of further limits, be it Christie’s 2.5 percent or the competing 2.9 percent cap from Senate President Stephen Sweeney (D-Gloucester).
Using state data of this and next years’ local school levies, an analysis finds that schools statewide would have seen at least $200 million more reduced from their proposed budgets had Christie’s cap been in place.
It wouldn’t have been much easier under Sweeney’s plan, either, although his proposal allows for considerable exceptions for health care and other extraordinary costs. Sweeney also would not make it a constitutional amendment, but keep it in statute.
Governor Sees Momentum
Yesterday, Christie said bring it on.
Triumphantly signing into law his first state budget of $28.3 billion, Christie moved quickly to demand the Legislature take up his “Cap 2.5” proposal in special session, starting this Thursday.
“All we’ve done in the last five months is just the beginning,” Christie said at the signing ceremony inside a South River firehouse. “We do not feel our job is anywhere close to being completed.”
“This kind of success gives us the momentum to go even further, and faster, and harder, and tougher,” he continued, “to work for the people of this state to improve their life in this very simple way: to get government the hell out of your way and the hell out of your pocket.”
How much the Democrats are willing to play along is uncertain, as are the prospects that the two sides could reach some kind of compromise in the coming days and weeks.
Both the Senate and Assembly approved Sweeney’s 2.9 percent cap this week, sending the bill to Christie’s desk. The governor initially had been expected to veto the measure, but he hedged a little yesterday in saying he wanted “to read it first.”
“We’ll look at it and consider our options,” he said.
Democrats in Little Rush
The Democrats put out their own pronouncements, saying they would consider Christie’s proposal in due time but made clear they were in no rush. For Christie’s constitutional amendment to make the November ballot, it must pass committee in the first week of July.
Assemblyman Joseph Cryan (D-Union), the Democratic majority leader, said Monday night that an expedited passage would not happen, and he released a statement yesterday that stepped up the rhetoric.
“We have already committed to reviewing his and other ideas over the summer in anticipation of legislative action this fall, and that will continue to be our plan, no matter how many times the governor looks to show off,” Cryan’s statement read.
Back in the Marlboro superintendent’s office, the debate has Abbott reeling over what might be coming next.
He said the district can live with tax limits, whatever amount they come down to. After all, Marlboro had no tax increase at all the year before, he said. But the superintendent said the rigidity of Christie’s proposal, especially, is difficult when he faces rising costs elsewhere.
For instance, health care costs are expected to go up as much as 30 percent next year, he said, and the district already tapped a few one-time savings and revenue sources. Administrators took wage freezes, and new user fees have been placed on sports and extracurricular activities.
"We’ve already outsourced our custodians,” he said. “We’d need to look at outsourcing all the other services, food services, transportation, even our aides.”
“If you are going to give me a new cap, at least give me some flexibility,” Abbott said.
Philadelphia Inquirer ‘Christie signs first budget as N.J. governor’
By Adrienne Lu
INQUIRER TRENTON BUREAU
Gov. Christie signed his first state budget into law Tuesday, declaring the spending plan would close an unprecedented $11 billion budget gap while protecting the state's most vulnerable citizens.
Even before signing the budget bill, the governor had turned his attention to the next item on his agenda, a constitutional amendment to cap property tax increases at 2.5 percent annually. Christie has ordered a special session of the Legislature to discuss his proposal beginning on Thursday.
The $29.4 billion budget was largely identical to the one the freshman Republican governor presented in March, which cut spending across state government without increasing any major taxes. The administration said the budget adopted by the Legislature left "99.88 percent" of the governor's budget proposal intact.
Christie signed the budget bill into law Tuesday afternoon, just hours after the Legislature approved it in a marathon session and two days before the constitutional deadline.
"This budget deals responsibly with the fiscal nightmare we inherited and makes the tough and necessary choices to restore fiscal sanity to our state and begin fundamental reform," Christie said.
The governor closed the budget gap for the fiscal year that begins Thursday by skipping $3 billion in payments into the pension funds for government employees, suspending property tax rebates for 2010 to save $850 million, and cutting aid to schools by $819 million and aid to towns by another $446 million, among other steps.
Under the plan, the state will shutter the state Public Advocate's Office, reduce aid to the working poor under the state Earned Income Tax Credit by $45 million, and restrict enrollment to some low-income parents, including legal immigrants, in the state's FamilyCare health insurance program for children and low-income parents. Child care programs, affordable housing, after school programs and school breakfast and lunch programs were some of the other programs and services hit in the budget.
A program to freeze property tax rates for senior citizens will accept no new applicants, to save about $28 million, and assessments on hospitals and ambulatory care facilities will be allowed to increase by up to $45 million.
While lawmakers of both parties spoke of the difficult choices they were forced to make because of the economy, Christie's fellow Republicans hailed the budget as step in the right direction while Democrats argued that by cutting aid to schools and towns, it would lead to significant property tax increases.
Assembly Republican Budget Office Joseph Malone (R., Burlington) praised Christie's leadership "to get the finances and the economy of the state of New Jersey turned around."
"There are going to have to be tough choices for a long time to come and they're going to be difficult but we're all adults who are elected to office to make tough choices," Malone said. "Realizing there isn't an inexhaustible amount of cash, we need to be very conscious of the public and their ability to pay."
Democratic lawmakers, as promised, gave Republicans enough votes to pass the budget only if every Republican signed on. On Monday, two Republicans members of the Assembly said they took issue with the budget proposal, threatening the passage of the legislation.
Assemblyman Michael Patrick Carroll (R., Morris) said he and Assemblywoman Alison Littel McHose (R., Sussex) disagreed with Christie's distribution of state aid to schools. Christie cut approximately 5 percent of each school district's budget, which in some cases meant all of their state aid. Carroll said he and McHose felt the governor should have given a bigger proportion of state aid to suburban school districts.
Carroll said he ultimately decided to vote for the budget because he was persuaded that to not vote for it would mean giving more concessions to Democrats to win an extra vote.
Assembly Budget Chairman Lou Greenwald (D., Camden) predicted Christie's budget would lead to tax increases totaling more than $1 billion.
"Property taxes will skyrocket. Health care will be taxed and slashed. Education will be cut. Public safety will be slashed. Auto and health insurance costs will rise. Job-creating business incentives will be decimated," Greenwald said.
"This is a tax-laden Christie budget that hits working families and businesses hard. It's negative impact will reverberate throughout this state and make life unaffordable for millions of New Jersey residents."
For years, Republicans have accused Democrats of adopting budgets that papered over financial difficulties with one-time gimmicks and hidden tax increases and fees. This time, with a Republican in the governor's office and Republican lawmakers sponsoring the budget bill, it was the Democrats' turn to level similar accusations.
Democratic lawmakers were incredulous when Republicans said the state had found $5 million in overfunded payroll accounts that could be used to prevent business filing fees from being increased, for example.
And Senate Budget and Appropriations Chairman Paul Sarlo (D., Bergen) was skeptical of the administration's claims that improved tax audits and compliance measures would make up for revenue the state had expected to take in by allowing shopping in Bergen County on Sundays. The administration decided to blue laws will remain in place, costing the state an estimated $65 million.
Typically, legislators break for the summer after adopting a budget, but Christie has ordered them to continue working on his property tax reform proposals.
Both houses of the Legislature have approved a counterproposal by Senate President Stephen Sweeney (D., Gloucester) to cap property tax increases at 2.9 percent annually, with exceptions for things like health insurance, pensions and cuts in state aid. Both Sweeney and Christie's proposals would allow towns to "bank" unspent monies below the cap for future years as an incentive to spend below the cap.
To get a constitutional amendment on the ballot this November, Christie would have to persuade the Legislature to approve legislation in the next week. Both Sweeney and Assembly Majority Leader Joseph Cryan have said that will not happen.
Malone said Christie may consider conditionally vetoing Sweeney's bill, by eliminating many of the exceptions he would allow to the cap. The bill would then return to the Legislature for approval.
The governor has the authority to call for a special session of the Legislature but cannot force it to take action on any particular legislation.
Assembly Speaker Sheila Oliver (D., Essex) said that while the Assembly will listen to what the governor has to say, she hopes the governor will sign Sweeney's proposal into law.
"We will not hurriedly slap together a plan that fails to bring real relief to New Jersey and cripples our ability to educate children and provide for public safety," Oliver said. "We will do this right, without the showboating and sound bites others apparently prefer."
Contact staff writer Adrienne Lu at 609-989-8990 or alu@phillynews.com
njspotlight.com ‘Troubled Opportunity Scholarship Act Still Hanging Fire In Trenton’
Compromise appears triply hard to come by when it involves Democrats, Republicans and Gov. Christie
, June 30 in Education |Post a Comment
Depending on who's talking, New Jersey’s school voucher bill looks to be at either an impasse or a potential breakthrough. And that’s from the bill's two primary sponsors.
Either way, from the man who may matter most, it’s certainly not an issue going away anytime soon.
Gov. Chris Christie yesterday interrupted his budget signing ceremony to say that he still wants the legislature to act this summer on the Opportunity Scholarship Act, putting it among his priorities for the next few months.
"I am extraordinarily disappointed with the legislature’s failure to act on the Opportunity Scholarship Act," Christie said. "It is an obscenity that kids remain in schools that are judged a failure year after year after year."
But the bill's fate remains very much in peril with the legislative session winding down, as its two prime sponsors acknowledged in the last two days that they have yet to forge a deal that would bring both critical Democratic votes and retain Republican ones.
"We came very close over the weekend in both houses," said state Sen. Raymond Lesniak (D-Union) on Monday. "But the governor will not budge." He was referring to Christie's refusal to compromise on a scaled-down version of the program.
"At this point, we wait," Lesniak said.
Guardedly Optimistic
State Sen. Thomas Kean Jr. (R-Union), the Senate minority leader and co-sponsor of the measure, said he was more hopeful with the state budget now completed. He did not rule out agreement on a pilot program that would limit the initial number of districts involved.
"I’m optimistic now that we are beyond the budget, this will give us more chance to figure it out," he said. "The good thing about this is over the course of the next month, I expect very significant progress."
The sticking point appears the scope of the program. As proposed, the OSA would provide scholarship vouchers of $6,000 to $9,000 for low-income students in low-performing schools to attend another school, public or private.
The money would come through corporate contributions, which would be publicly financed through tax credits.
Lesniak’s and Kean’s initial bill would extend the scholarships to students attending more than 170 schools in 34 districts where, based on a formula, a majority of students have not passed the state’s achievement tests for consecutive years. A quarter of the scholarships would also be retained for low-income students already in non-public schools.
But trying to gain Democratic votes, Lesniak said he’d be willing to limit the number of districts participating, while keeping the same overall number of students. He initially said he’d allow individual legislators decide whether their districts were in or out. Both Christie and Kean have opposed such a compromise.
"I can’t understand why the governor won’t budge on this," Lesniak said. "It’s the same number of kids. It’s not half a loaf. It’s a full loaf."
Yesterday, Kean equivocated some and said he could support a pilot version, as long as the goal remains that it eventually apply to all eligible students, no matter where they live.
"I don’t want to signal middle ground yet," he said. "I think the full number of schools is the end goal, where we should be."
But he said there would likely be further deliberations in the weeks ahead, both in committee and among members. The bill is currently assigned to the Senate budget committee and Assembly’s commerce and economic development committee.
On the day when Christie signed a historic state budget that many called a clear political victory, Kean said he was pleased that the governor continues to press the scholarship bill among his priorities.
"There are four issues he wants to talk about, and this is one of them," Kean said. "I’m very optimistic about his track record."
