July 1, 2005

REPUBLICAN BUDGET PANEL MEMBERS SAY FLAWED PROCESS LEADS TO FLAWED BUDGET

DEMOCRAT BUDGET FALLS SHORT OF STATED GOALS
OF SPENDING RESTRAINT AND TAX RELIEF

Republican members of the Assembly Budget Committee today said the $28.4 billion budget being debated and voted on tonight in the General Assembly is as badly flawed as the process that brought it to the floor for a vote.

“The Democrats said they wanted to cut spending, fully restore rebates, and hold the line on taxes and they have failed on all three fronts,” said Assembly Republican Budget Officer Joe Malone, R-Burlington, Ocean, Monmouth and Mercer. “Spending has increased, property taxes will go up and, once again, Democrats have loaded the budget with pork.”

While on paper the budget is booked at $27.9 billion, the actual amount of spending appears to be $500 million higher than that number. Just prior to the budget vote, Democrats approved a bill appropriating $400 million to last year’s budget (which expired yesterday) to be used for property tax relief in this year’s budget.
That move kept the $400 million in spending off this year’s budget total. They also moved $100 million in additional charity care funding off-line so it would not be reflected in the budget total.

“It should not be surprising that the Democrats have resorted to an accounting trick to make it appear this budget has not increased,” Malone said. “The Democrats should be honest with the public and let them know exactly how much they are spending in this budget.”
The budget flat funds state aid to schools and municipalities, slashes property tax rebates by more than half for non-seniors, raids several state funds for extra revenue, creates a new tax on health insurance providers and includes at least $200 million in pork spending.

The budget also will force seniors to pay $45 million in additional income taxes through the elimination of a pension deduction.
“This budget should be viewed in the complete context of four years of fiscal mismanagement in this state,” said Assemblyman Kevin O’Toole, R-Essex, Passaic and Bergen. “The reason this budget process has been so contentious is because there has been a snowball effect from the irresponsible management of the state budget in recent years.”

“We’ve simply had too much spending, too much debt and too many fiscal gimmicks and now we are faced with hard choices that the Democrats are not willing to make,” O’Toole added. “Making matters worse, this year the public has been almost completely shut out of the process here in the final days.”

Assemblyman Frank Blee, R-Atlantic, said that in addition to slashing property tax rebates to a maximum of $350 for non-seniors, this budget will certainly lead to property tax increases for New Jersey homeowners.

“By failing to provide adequate funding for school districts this budget guarantees that property taxes will once again increase dramatically,” Blee said. “After the cuts made by Democrats, the Homestead Rebates in this budget will be a drop in the bucket compared to the property tax increases that will result from a fourth consecutive year of under-funding our schools.”

Assemblywoman Alison Littell McHose, R-Sussex, Morris and Hunterdon, said that in the end, Democrats were unwilling to consider real spending cuts.

“Despite the rhetoric about fiscal responsibility the Democrats felt compelled to introduce a budget that once again increases spending, provides political pork and does nothing to relieve the tax burden on homeowners,” McHose said. “Republicans suggested nearly a billion dollars in spending cuts, almost all of which were ignored by the Democrats.”

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July 6, 2005

MUNOZ CALLS FOR STATE FUNDS TO BE WITHHELD FROM BANCROFT FOLLOWING NEGLECT REPORT
INTRODUCED MATTHEW’S LAW, BUT DEMOCRATS
HAVE REFUSED TO ADVANCE LEGISLATION

Assemblyman Eric Munoz, M.D. is calling for the state to withhold funding for Bancroft Neurohealth and urging the Assembly to schedule a vote on his “Matthew’s Law” legislation following a report issued today by the Office of Child Advocate in which Bancroft is criticized for its handling of developmentally disabled children at its Haddonfield facility.

“The findings in this report are troubling and it is clear the poor quality of care provided by Bancroft is unacceptable,” said Munoz, R-Union, Morris, Somerset and Essex. “We need to reconsider the state’s decision to provide funding to this institution, and we need to take a fresh look at my proposed Matthew’s law.”

Munoz, the sponsor of the original bill creating an Office of Child Advocate, applauded the office for launching an investigation of this issue.  “This investigation is another clear example of necessity of the Office of Child Advocate to protect our State’s children,” said Munoz.

The Bancroft School is slated to receive $125,000 in this year’s FY2006 budget and Munoz said that money should be put on hold until these problems are resolved.

“No more state money should go to this institution until the Independent Expert has completed monitoring the institution,” Munoz stated.  The Office of Child Advocate has mandated the use of an independent expert to monitor Bancroft for 6 months with an option for another 6 months if needed.  “We must make sure that Bancroft won’t be using these funds for lawyers to defend their improper care,” Munoz said. “The state should not continue to subsidize neglectful and substandard care.”

Munoz also is the sponsor “Matthew’s Law Limiting the Use of Restraints,” a bill he introduced following the February 2002 death of Matthew Goodman, a 14 year old diagnosed with autism who had been kept in restraints for hours at a time, was heavily medicated, and lost 23 pounds before dying from pneumonia and respiratory distress.  The State later determined abuse and neglect were present.

The Office of Child Advocate report looked at Bancroft Neurohealth which operated the facility where Matthew had lived, a school for 60 youths with developmental disabilities located in Haddonfield.  They also reviewed the case surrounding Matthew’s death.

Munoz also called on Democrats to schedule a vote for “Matthew’s Law,” Assembly Bill A-1709, in the General Assembly.

“Perhaps now with this issue in more clear focus my colleagues will see the need for this legislation,” Munoz said. “I hope the Assembly Democrat leadership will allow this bill to be voted on so that we can avoid future tragedies like what happened to Matthew Goodman.”
The bill has been bottled up in the Assembly despite the success of similar measures in Pennsylvania and Nevada.  Pennsylvania has reduced the incidences of restraints in all state psychiatric hospitals there by 90% over the past 5 years. The federal government also places serious restrictions on restraint use in various federally-funded programs.

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July 6, 2005

WHERE HAVE YOU GONE ROSEMARY WOODS?
GREGG SAYS MISSING NORCROSS TAPES MIGHT
BE THE LAST STRAW FOR HARVEY
ATTORNEY GENERAL HAS BEEN A FAILURE ON CORRUPTION

Assembly Republican Conference Leader Guy Gregg today issued the following statement regarding reports that a 2001 meeting between Democratic power broker George E. Norcross III and a high-ranking official in the state Attorney General's Office was captured by a hidden camera, but that the videotape was discarded, tossed into a recycling box, and disappeared:

“Peter Harvey is the state’s top law enforcement officer. He is supposed to root out and prosecute government corruption, but he has failed. He was supposed to oversee the operations of the School Construction Corporation, but he failed. He is supposed to be in charge of running an office that is responsible and efficient, and yes it appears he has failed at that as well.

“At best this is more evidence of an Attorney General’s office that can’t get its act together. At worst, this may be a case of concealing evidence in a corruption investigation that would have targeted one of the most politically connected figures in New Jersey.

“Either way this is unacceptable. U.S. Attorney Christopher Christie should look into this matter immediately to determine how this tape was ‘lost,’ and what laws may have been violated. He also should consider looking into the Norcross matter to see if an adequate investigation was conducted. And Acting Governor Codey should decide, immediately, whether Peter Harvey is fit to continue in this job.”

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July 7, 2005

BODINE AND CHATZIDAKIS: DEMOCRAT BUDGET HURTS BURLINGTON COUNTY TAXPAYERS
PLAN IS FILLED WITH FISCAL GIMMICKS,
BUT SHORT ON PROPERTY TAX RELIEF  

Assemblymen Francis Bodine and Larry Chatzidakis today criticized the state budget approved last week by the Democrats saying the spending plan will harm Burlington County families while sending their tax dollars to towns in North Jersey.

“The budget approved by the Democrat leadership in the Assembly last week fails the citizens of Burlington County,” said Bodine, R-Burlington. “This budget includes pork for Democrat controlled North Jersey towns at the same time that it cuts property tax relief and under-funds our schools.”

By freezing school aid the budget will under-fund schools for the fourth consecutive year guaranteeing another round of dramatic property tax increases. Making matter worse, the spending plan slashes property tax rebates by more than half for most non-seniors, only exacerbating  the state’s property tax crisis.

“Burlington County property taxpayers are demanding relief, but they will get hit with a double whammy by this Democrat budget,” said Chatzidakis, R-Burlington. “Not only will homeowners be paying more in property taxes, but they will be receiving minimal relief through the greatly reduced rebate checks this budget will provide.”
Despite the Democrat rhetoric about fiscal responsibility, the budget contains more than $300 million in legislative pork as identified in a preliminary review of the budget – much of it directed to towns and school districts in North Jersey. One line item will provide $20 million in “special” funding for five school districts in Hudson, Passaic and Union counties.

“Our schools are struggling to maintain academic and extracurricular programs, while a handful of schools are getting special treatment,” Chatzidakis said. “This is unfair to families in this region of the state.”

Bodine also noted that the budget is also filled with fiscal gimmicks designed to fool the taxpaying public.

The Democrat budget increases state spending by more than $800 million but uses accounting tricks to keep the publicly released total lower.

“On paper this is a $27.9 billion budget, but the real total is closer to $28.8 billion or higher,” Bodine said. “The Democrats did this by moving some items off budget and appropriating nearly $400 million in supplemental spending to last year’s already completed budget.”

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July 8, 2005

DeCROCE: WORRIED ABOUT TAG?  WITH ALLIES LIKE SENATOR BUONO, YOU SHOULD BE!

Assembly Republican Leader Alex DeCroce today sent a letter to U.S. Senator Jon Corzine’s intern Lillian Forero to explain to her that the Republican property tax reform plan does not rely on any cuts to tuition aid programs.

At a recent press conference, Ms. Forero expressed concerns that the implementation of the “30%-in-3” plan would have negative impact on the Tuition Assistance Grant (TAG) program. 

In the letter, DeCroce clarified that the Republican property tax plan can be funded through the elimination of wasteful government spending and annual revenue growth.  He also notified Ms. Forero that the budget recently passed by the Democrat-controlled Legislature cuts $3 million from the TAG program.

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July 8, 2005

Statement of Assembly Republican Leader Alex DeCroce regarding the possibility of a lawsuit on Democrat pork spending:

“Assemblyman Sean Kean and I are continuing to look into the possibility of filing a lawsuit regarding the distribution of grant monies in last year’s budget. The numbers do not lie. It is clear that in recent years the Democrats have handled these programs with no regard for the actual merit of these applications. These grants are designed to benefit the taxpayers and they should not be used just to benefit the political fortunes of certain lawmakers.

“The most troubling example was the homeland security grants that were sent to Democrat districts. The safety of our citizens is too important for politics to play a role in that distribution process.

“Right now we are gathering information. We have asked the mayors of a number of towns who applied for these grants last year to forward us information about their applications. This would be used to demonstrate that worthwhile projects were passed over for political reasons.

“We’ll make a decision on whether to proceed in the next few weeks.”

July 11, 2005

O’TOOLE OUTRAGED BY PLAN TO SHIP $37 MILLION
IN SPECIAL FUNDING TO CAMDEN
VOTES AGAINST FUNDING PROPOSAL AT JOINT BUDGET COMMITTEE MEETING

Assemblyman Kevin O’Toole today said he was outraged by the Democrat-controlled Joint Budget Oversight Committee’s decision to transfer $37 million to the Department of Community Affairs (DCA) Special Municipal Aid account in order to bail out the city of Camden.
“The state budget is so short on cash that the Democrats have cut property tax relief and yet they seem to keep finding new pots of money for certain school districts and towns in their legislative districts,” said O’Toole, R-Essex, Passaic and Bergen. “This is a question of priorities and a question of fairness.”

At the July 7 meeting of the JBOC, the committee approved the request to transfer $37 million in the FY2005 budget to the DCA’s FY2006 Special Municipal Aid Act account to provide “additional funds for eligible municipalities.” This money will be used to cover the city’s budget gap.

This is in addition to the $15 million already appropriated to Camden from this fund in last year’s budget and a $175 million “revitalization” program funded by state taxpayers two years ago.

“The city of Camden has received more than its fair share of aid from the state’s taxpayers,” O’Toole said. “State taxpayers already provide $300 million in annual school and municipal funding to Camden. When will the taxpayers’ contribution be enough?”

O’Toole said it is offensive to suburban and rural taxpayers that this money is being sent to Camden at a time when the schools in their communities are being under-funded and their property tax rebates are being slashed.

O’Toole said that this funding should have been voted on as part of the budget process so the full Legislature could have debated this proposal – not at a committee meeting a week after the budget was signed into law.

“It is troubling that the Democrats chose to do this after the budget had been voted on last week,” O’Toole said. “I’m concerned this was a backdoor attempt to make this move without the public scrutiny that accompanies the budget process.”

At the hearing O’Toole asked JBOC Chairman Senator Wayne Bryant what other towns were eligible for this aid and he was told none – the money could only go to Camden.

“No other town in New Jersey was given an opportunity to even compete for a share of this money,” O’Toole said. “Apparently their reward for not running a budget deficit is that they are made ineligible for this funding, while Camden gets bailed out for mismanaging its budget.”

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July 11, 2005

BODINE AND CHATZIDAKIS CALL FOR COMPREHENSIVE REVIEW OF ABBOTT SCHOOL DISTRICTS
STATE NEEDS TO FIND OUT WHAT IS WORKING AND WHAT ISN’T

Assemblymen Francis Bodine and Larry Chatzidakis today called for the state Department of Education and the Legislature to conduct a comprehensive review of the Abbott school districts looking at everything from funding issues to academic standards.

“It should be clear to everyone that the way we are funding schools in this state is not working in the best interest of the students or the taxpayers,” said Bodine, R-Burlington. “The Abbott funding system has not been successful in raising test scores and has had a negative ripple effect on school funding for almost every district.”

Bodine and Chatzidakis are calling for the review in the wake of the June 15 report from the Commissioner of Education that concluded the state needs to change what criteria are used to determine which districts should or should not be classified as “Abbott” school districts.

The 31 Abbott districts were the result of a series of Supreme Court rulings and the state’s effort to comply with those rulings. They receive per pupil funding on par with the wealthiest school districts in the state almost entirely funded through state taxes as opposed to the local property tax.

“The test scores in many Abbott Districts indicate that this additional funding has not been successful in boosting academic achievement,” said Chatzidakis, R-Burlington. “And the amount of money being spent in the Abbott Districts has diminished the funding available for the state’s remaining school districts.”

Bodine and Chatzidakis said that the problems within the Abbott Districts may not be universal, and that each district should be studied individually to determine what is working, what is not working and how those lessons might be applied to the other Abbott Districts.

“We need a comprehensive review of this system,” Bodine said. “It isn’t good enough to simply eliminate Abbott status for a few of these districts. That alone will not solve the problem.”

Chatzidakis said that a comprehensive review would include questions about how the districts are funded, what the criteria for being an “Abbott” district should be, and how best to improve the quality of education in these districts with or without additional funding.

“I think everyone can agree that this system is not working the way it was envisioned,” Chatzidakis said. “Now the goal should be to figure out why that is, and how we can make things better without harming any of these districts in the process.”

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July 12, 2005

PROPERTY TAX CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION R.I.P

Assembly Republican Leader Alex DeCroce today issued the following statement in response to news that Acting Governor Richard Codey has stated that there will be no action on a constitutional convention proposal this summer:

“When the Assembly Democrats passed their flawed constitutional convention bill this spring, we suspected it was done simply as political theater. Knowing that the Senate opposed the proposal as structured, and that the convention would never come to fruition, the Assembly Democrats hoped to create the illusion that they were actually doing something to address our state’s property tax crisis. They voted for a proposal they knew was dying a slow death.

“Now that the convention appears to be dead, the Assembly Democrats are telling taxpayers to just wait until after November and then they’ll revisit the issue. That isn’t good enough. The Democrats have been telling taxpayers for three years now that their solution to the property tax problem was to punt the issue to a constitutional convention.

“Now it is certain that no convention will take place next year. In fact, the earliest we would see a convention would be 2007 – assuming the Democrats break precedent and actually succeed in getting a proposal on the ballot in 2006. Even if they do, unless the proposal is dramatically different from the one floated this year, it would only result in higher taxes on most homeowners and seniors.

“Assembly Republicans have a property tax reform plan. It is constitutionally guaranteed and it is affordable. Our plan to cut property taxes by 30 percent in 3 years could be implemented if the Democrats would allow it to go on the ballot this November. The taxpayers can’t wait another four years for relief. Let’s act now.

“Majority Leader Roberts says this November will be a referendum on the property tax convention. He is partially right. But the question won’t be who supports a convention. The question will be: Who promised a convention, failed to deliver and is now left with no plan to reduce property taxes? The taxpayers will know the answer to that question very soon.”

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July 13, 2005

GREGG: SO NOW WHAT DO THE DEMOCRATS HAVE TO OFFER THE TAXPAYERS FOR PROPERTY TAX RELIEF?
PROPERTY TAXPAYERS NEED HELP THIS YEAR
AND THE DEMOCRATS HAVE NO PLAN FOR REFORM

Assembly Republican Conference Leader Guy Gregg today said that Democrats in the General Assembly have in the course of two weeks done more to hurt property taxpayers than even the most jaded taxpayer would have expected.

“After passing a budget that will certainly drive up property taxes, and slashing rebate checks in the process, the Democrats saved their best shot at the taxpayers until last” said Gregg, R-Sussex, Morris and Hunterdon. “After telling taxpayers for three years that property reform would come from a convention, this week they tell taxpayers no such convention will take place for at least another two years.”

Acting Governor Richard Codey has stated that there will be no action on a constitutional convention proposal this summer which means it will not be on the ballot this November. Even if a proposal was put on the ballot next year, the convention could not take place until 2007, meaning no reforms could be in place until at least 2008.
The average property tax bill has increased by 18 percent in the past three years, and with another year of flat funding for schools that number is expected to jump again this year. Additionally, the budget approved by Democrats last week slashes property tax rebates for non-seniors by more than 50 percent.

“The bottom line is that a constitutional convention was never the best way to address this problem,” Gregg said. “The convention would only have resulted in higher taxes for most residents and would have diverted more money from suburban taxpayers into urban school districts.”

Gregg said that ultimately the responsibility for providing tax relief belongs to the Legislature. He noted that the only Democrat plan now in the Legislature is Assemblyman Lou Manzo’s plan to increase the income tax in order to lower property taxes.

Gregg said the Democrats may not want to hold a special session to deal with this issue because it will highlight that plan.

“The Democrats have no plan that doesn’t involve a major tax increase so they wanted to punt this issue to a constitutional convention,” Gregg said. “Republicans do have a plan and we do have ideas to relieve the property tax burden. We are prepared to discuss them in a special session if the Democrats are willing to hold that session.” 

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July 13, 2005

BODINE AND CHATZIDAKIS: WITH CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION’S DEMISE DEMOCRATS ARE LEFT WITH NO PLAN TO DEAL WITH PROPERTY TAXES
PROPERTY TAXPAYERS DEMAND RELIEF NOW, NOT IN 3 YEARS

Assemblymen Francis Bodine and Larry Chatzidakis said that New Jersey Democrats have left property taxpayers in the cold by promising them a constitutional convention to deal with the property tax issue and then letting that proposal die in the Legislature.

“The Democrats have said that their plan to reduce property taxes was to hold this convention next year, but that is no longer a reality” said Bodine, R-Burlington. “I find it amazing that with property taxes being the number one issue, the Democrats now have no plan that will affect any type of change in the next three years.”

Acting Governor Richard Codey has stated that there will be no action on a constitutional convention proposal this summer which means it will not be on the ballot this November. Even if a proposal was put on the ballot next year, the convention could not take place until 2007, meaning no reforms could be in place until at least 2008.

The average property tax bill has increased by 18 percent in the past three years, and with another year of flat funding for schools that number is expected to jump again this year. Additionally, the budget approved by Democrats last week slashes property tax rebates for non-seniors by more than 50 percent.

“This constitutional convention plan had many flaws so we should not mourn its demise, but we should be offering the taxpayers an alternative solution,” said Chatzidakis, R-Burlington. “Republicans have put a property tax plan on the table that the Democrats will not even consider. If they can’t get their own plan through the Legislature, maybe it is time that they at least consider our plan.”

Bodine and Chatzidakis renewed their call for a special legislative session to deal solely with the property tax issue.

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July 13, 2005

BODINE-CHATZIDAKIS: IT IS TIME TO TAKE POLITICS OUT OF THE HOMELAND SECURITY GRANT PROCESS
LAWMAKERS SAY STATE SHOULDN’T DISTRIBUTE GRANTS
BASED ON POLITICAL CONSIDERATIONS

Assemblymen Francis Bodine and Larry Chatzidakis today called on officials in the Department of Law and Public Safety and in the Governor’s Office to stop playing politics with the distribution of homeland security grant money.

“While the Democrats are insisting that this money is not being distributed based on political considerations, the numbers clearly contradict that claim,” said Bodine, R-Burlington. “The safety of our citizens should be our paramount concern in deciding where this money will be spent. The security of our state should not be politicized.”

Bodine, a member of the Assembly Homeland Security and State Preparedness Committee, was referring to reports that of the $8.3 million in local domestic preparedness grants awarded last year, $7.8 million went to Democrat controlled legislative districts while only $523,454 went to Republican districts.

According to a Star-Ledger analysis, funding went to towns with Democrat mayors by a 7-to-1 ratio as compared to towns with Republican mayors.

In the Eighth Legislative District, all but three towns applied for these grants totaling approximately $1.7 million and none of those towns, including Moorestown, Mount Laurel, Pemberton, Mansfield and Wrightstown received any money.

“The most startling thing is to see some of the Republican legislative districts that did not get any money,” said Chatzidakis, R-Burlington. “In the Eighth Legislative District we have Fort Dix, McGuire Air Force Base, and we have Lockheed Martin’s Moorestown facility, and yet our district received no money through this program.”

“These are all facilities that could be targeted by terrorists, and yet the towns where they are located and those neighboring towns were ignored,” Bodine said. “That doesn’t make much sense.”

Chatzidakis noted that outside of the Eighth District, there are districts with casinos that draw millions of tourists and districts with nuclear power facilities, that got no money, while many small towns in Democrat districts did get funding.

Bodine and Chatzidakis called on the governor to immediately adopt a set of criteria for the distribution of these grants and to assure the public that future decisions about how this money is distributed will be made with no regard to what political party controls these towns or legislative districts.

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July 14, 2005

DeCROCE: THERE THEY GO AGAIN!
DEMOCRATS DOLE OUT MORE PORK TO THEIR DISTRICTS

Assembly Republican Leader Alex DeCroce expressed his disappointment that once again the state has decided to use political calculations to distribute state funds, this time distributing $22 million in tax relief to 99 towns – most located in Democrat controlled legislative districts.

“We knew that the previous administration engaged in this partisan decision-making, but I hoped the current administration would use more objective criteria,” said DeCroce, R-Morris and Passaic. “The decision to send the bulk of this money to Democrat districts indicates to me that its business as usual in Trenton.”

The Codey administration yesterday announced $22 million in special aid for 99 towns. The funds are supposed to go to towns that have extraordinary budget circumstances that could boost property tax bills.

“The only thing extraordinary about these towns is probably the Democrat voter turnout operations,” DeCroce said. “I can’t believe that politics did not play a role here.”

The Star-Ledger reports that 70 of the 99 towns are located in Democrat controlled legislative districts with nearly $16 million of the aid going to those towns. This comes in the wake of news that the state sent nearly $7.8 million out of $8.3 million in homeland security grants to Democrat districts last year.

“The taxpayers in every town in this state deserve property tax relief regardless of what political party their legislators belong to and it is time we take a balanced approach,” DeCroce said. “One thing our 30% in 3 years property tax plan does not do is discriminate based on political considerations. Every taxpayer will be judged by the same criteria regardless of the political makeup of their legislative district.”

This is just the latest example of money being taken from the budget and sent to Democrat legislative districts, including $20 million that was directed to just five North Jersey school districts and a $37 million bailout for Camden’s budget.

DeCroce said that if the Codey administration does not disclose its criteria for distributing these various funds, he intends to file and Open Public Records Act (OPRA) request to find out how these decisions were made.

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July 15, 2005

MALONE SENDS LETTER TO BRYANT REGARDING DISTRIBUTION OF PROPERTY TAX GRANT MONEY
CALLS FOR JOINT BUDGET OVERSIGHT HEARING WITH TREASURER

Assembly Republican Budget Officer Joseph Malone today sent a letter to Joint Budget Oversight Committee (JBOC) Chairman Wayne Bryant asking that the panel hold a hearing at which the State Treasurer can be asked to explain how property tax relief grants were distributed in this year’s budget.

“At the Assembly Budget Committee hearings the Treasurer indicated that political considerations were taken into account last year in dispersing these grants,” said Malone, R-Burlington, Ocean, Monmouth, and Mercer. “The members of our committee deserve the opportunity to ask the Treasurer how this round of funding was distributed.”

The JBOC received a list of projects that have been approved for funding from the FY 2005 Property Tax Assistance and Community Development Grants program.  The members of JBOC have ten working days within which to approve or disapprove the list.  If no action occurs, the list is deemed approved.

Malone asked Bryant to convene a hearing to review that list and to provide members of the committee with a chance to ask the Treasurer what written criteria were used to evaluate the grant applications upon what grounds those projects were either awarded or denied funding.

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July 20, 2005

WHAT CREDIBILITY DO SWEENEY AND SIRES HAVE ON PROPERTY TAXES?
AFTER FOUR YEARS OF FAILURE ON PROPERTY TAXES,
DEMS NOW RESORT TO MISINFORMATION ON GOP PLAN

Assembly Republican Leader Alex DeCroce issued the following statement in response to a press conference held by Assembly Speaker Albio Sires and Senator Steve Sweeney in which they attacked the Assembly Republican 30%-in-3 property tax plan:

“As the leader of the General Assembly, Speaker Albio Sires has presided over the approval of four budgets that have been nothing short of a declaration of war on New Jersey property taxpayers.

“Under his leadership property tax bills have risen on average by 18.5 percent in the past three years, with another whopping increase coming this year. He has slashed the size of rebate checks, ensuring that taxpayers will have little help coping with these massive property tax increases. And in his greatest failure, he proposed as a solution to the property tax crisis a constitutional convention that his own party killed in the State Senate.

“Speaker Sires and Senator Sweeney say the cost of our plan keeps changing. That is simply not true. The cost of our plan was analyzed by the non-partisan Office of Legislative Services (OLS) and has not changed since that analysis. The Democrats obviously want to pretend that this analysis doesn’t exist, because it highlights the efforts we made to come up with a credible, well-thought out plan. However that doesn’t give them license to make up their own set of facts.

“They say our plan protects the rich. Our plan protects ALL property taxpayers by providing 30 percent relief across the board based on how much you pay in property taxes. In fact, the only people who wouldn’t get the full 30 percent are those whose savings would exceed the $5,000 cap that we placed on the relief to keep the plan affordable. Our plan is fair, it is equitable and it is affordable.

“Perhaps if Speaker Sires and Senator Sweeney spent more time talking to real taxpayers they would realize that their approach to this issue over the past four years has been an abject failure. Then maybe they’d be willing to listen to other ideas instead of bashing them.”

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July 27, 2005

MALONE: TAXPAYER MONEY FOR BASKETRY, MEXICAN FOLK DANCE AND CHINESE KNOTTING?
HAVE WE LEARNED NOTHING FROM THIS YEAR’S BUDGET PROCESS?

Assembly Republican Budget Officer Joseph Malone today said that the state has apparently learned little from this year’s budget process and that taxpayer money continues to be spent on non-essential programs.

“There are many worthy arts programs, but it is very hard for me to explain to taxpayers why we’re spending their money on Chinese knotting and folk dancing while their property tax rebates are beings slashed,” said Malone, R-Burlington, Ocean, Monmouth and Mercer. “We can’t even adequately fund our school districts and we’re spending money on  Newark public radio and  the Center for Modern Dance? Where are our priorities?”

Malone was responding to yesterday’s announcement by the State Council on the Art of this year’s art and cultural grants. The state will be providing $22.3 million in grant money for programs including decoy duck carving, basketry, Mexican folk dance, and Chinese knotting.

“When the state has excess cash, maybe it makes sense to help boost some arts and cultural programs in our state,” Malone said. “But not when a budget crunch has resulted in school aid being frozen and property tax rebates getting cut. At the very least, it appears to me that some of this funding could have been scaled back.”

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July 27, 2005

3 BLIND MAYORS
Fail to see benefits of a 30 percent property tax cut; oppose the opportunity for their residents to decide
the issue for themselves

Assembly Republican Leader Alex DeCroce said today the mayors of Trenton, Moorestown and Ridgefield owe their homeowners an explanation why they are opposed to a 30 percent cut in their property taxes and, worse, allowing voters the chance to decide the issue for themselves.

“It’s amazing to me how the mayor of any municipality can oppose a credible plan to reduce property taxes by 30 percent for their residents,” said DeCroce, R-Morris and Passaic. “Unless you believe higher taxes is the solution to every problem and that a budget bloated with pork is a good thing, there is no rational reason to oppose our Republican plan to constitutionally-guarantee a permanent 30 percent reduction in property taxes.”

DeCroce said a 30 percent property tax cut would mean a $789 average savings for Trenton homeowners, a $1,460 savings for Ridgefield homeowners and a $2,529 savings for Moorestown homeowners.

 “Don’t their residents deserve something better than a dumpster full of misinformation and some vague pronouncement that ‘you are not worthy?’” DeCroce said.

DeCroce said he is not surprised that Democratic mayors who benefit from the vast amounts of political pork in the state budget would come to the defense of the party who doled out their political rewards. “But that’s not a reason to penalize homeowners,” he asserted. “They deserve a tax break and they certainly aren’t getting one from this group.”

DeCroce noted Trenton gets about $17 million a year in “capital city aid” that is furnished by taxpayers statewide, and Ridgefield recently received $400,000 in state discretionary aid from a grant program that is under fire for being little more than a Democratic slush fund.
“It’s high time for these mayors to wake up and smell the savings that the 30-in-3 property tax cut would provide their homeowners,” DeCroce said.

DeCroce noted he recently received copies of resolutions endorsing the 30-in-3 plan from Totowa in Passaic County and Oxford in Warren County. This raises the number of municipalities that have formally supported the plan in the past few weeks to 24.

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July 29, 2005

DeCROCE: WHAT LAWMAKERS WERE BRIEFED ON HOMELAND SECURITY GRANTS?
CALLS ON ATTORNEY GENERAL TO EXPLAIN TO REPUBLICAN MEMBERS WHY THEIR DISTRICTS WERE SHORTCHANGED

Assembly Republican Leader Alex DeCroce today sent a letter to Attorney General Peter Harvey in response to comments from a Department of Law and Public Safety spokesman that his office had “often” given briefings to lawmakers on the state homeland security grant funding process.

“I would love to know who was briefed on these grants, because I was never asked to participate and as far as I know, members of my caucus were not asked to participate,” said DeCroce, R-Morris and Passaic. “The claim that this process was transparent is absolutely ridiculous.”

Last year the state sent nearly $7.8 million out of $8.3 million in homeland security grants to Democrat districts last year and that grant money went to towns with Democrat mayors by a 7-to-1 ratio.

Questions have been raised about the criteria that were used in determining that many Republican legislative districts with attractions that draw millions of tourists, military installations, nuclear power facilities, water treatment plants, pharmaceutical plants and other possible targets would get no money.

Yesterday U.S. Rep. Rodney Frelinghuysen joined DeCroce in calling for a detailed accounting of how the state has spent more than $300 million in federal homeland security funds. It is estimated that nearly $224 million of this money has gone unspent.

“I want the Attorney General to explain who he met with in determining where this grant money would go,” DeCroce said. “If he was meeting with Democrat lawmakers to divy up this grant money that would certainly undermine his claims that politics did not play a role in this process.”

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August 1, 2005

GREGG: MORE MONEY FOR WAYNE BRYANT’S
FRIENDS AND FAMILY PLAN
THIS TIME STATE MONEY GOES TO A BANK
OF WHICH BRYANT IS A BOARD MEMBER

Assembly Republican Conference Leader Guy Gregg today said it is with little surprise, but no less outrage, that he hears of another state subsidy for an organization with close ties to State Senator Wayne Bryant.

“There is no question it is of great value to be part of Senator Bryant’s ‘friends and family’ plan,” said Gregg, R-Sussex, Morris and Hunterdon. “Whether it is winning more state dollars for Camden, or getting funding for projects that benefit those close to him, Senator Bryant has been quite adept at steering taxpayers dollars close to home.”

Gregg was responding to news reports that the state provided Marlboro-based Equity Bank with a $260,000 subsidy to move its headquarters to Camden – despite the fact that the move was first announced 18 months ago and the lease was signed four months ago.

Bryant, who sits on the board of the bank, said he played no role in this funding, and state officials say the lease deal was contingent upon this funding.

“We can’t be sure who was responsible for awarding this subsidy to Equity, but to think that Senator Bryant played no role does stretch the imagination,” Gregg said. “At any rate, I’m sure that the taxpayers of New Jersey will be pleased to know that their money was used to lure a New Jersey based bank to . . . well, another town in New Jersey.”

Gregg said that this is just another example of how the state doles out money without taking the time to analyze where it can best be used. He pointed to the recent trend of state grant money going almost exclusively to Democrat districts as another example.

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August 1, 2005

CORODEMUS SAYS 30%-IN-3 PROPERTY TAX PLAN WOULD ELIMINATE REBATE RED TAPE 
MAKES COMMENTS AS NEW JERSEY SENIORS AND HOMEOWNERS FILL OUT THE PAPERWORK FOR THEIR PROPERTY TAX REBATES

Assembly Republican Policy Committee Chairman Steve Corodemus today said that as New Jersey homeowners are busy filling out paperwork for this year’s greatly reduced property tax rebate checks they should be aware that this red tape would be eliminated under the Assembly Republican property tax plan.

“The hassle that homeowners go through each year in applying for these rebates is a waste of time, money and energy,” said Corodemus, R-Monmouth. “Our property tax plan would eliminate this red tape and its associated costs by providing a direct reduction on each homeowners property tax bill.”

In recent weeks applications for the New Jersey Homestead Rebate program have been mailed out to taxpayers. The Democrat budget passed in July slashed the size of the program and the average non-senior check this year will range from $300 to $350.

Under the Republican property tax relief plan, the state would assume the cost of 30 percent of each primary residential property tax bill. The cut would be phased-in over three years at 10 percent each year. The average taxpayer would save $1,900 during the third year of the phase-in.

The property tax reduction would be shown as a direct reduction on each homeowner’s property tax bill, thus eliminating the need for the paperwork associated with the current rebate program. This will save taxpayers time and effort and will reduce the cost to the state of processing the applications and rebates.

“This needless paperwork is an unnecessary burden for seniors and it is a waste of time for families trying to balance their time between work and responsibilities at home,” Corodemus said. “Our plan not only provides greater tax relief than these rebates, but it would eliminate one more paperwork headache as well.”

Corodemus said that during his discussions with homeowners as part of his efforts with the Assembly Republican Policy Committee to develop this plan, the current rebate system was generally derided by taxpayers as just a “gimmick.”

“Taxpayers justifiably believe that the rebate system is a way for politicians to send out a check just before election time and then take credit for the relief,” Corodemus said. “It’s time to get rid of these gimmicks and do what is best for the taxpayers. And I believe homeowners would prefer a direct property tax reduction that requires no paperwork – and no waiting period for relief.”

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August 2, 2005

REPUBLICANS CALL ON MAYORS TO RESUBMIT HOMELAND SECURITY FUNDING APPLICATIONS
MONEY COULD BE AWARDED FROM NEW $40 MILLION TREASURY GRANT PROGRAM

Assembly Republican Leader Alex DeCroce today joined Assemblyman Sean Kean and local officials in announcing plans to ask the mayors in their districts to resubmit homeland security grant applications that were apparently rejected for political reasons during last year’s grant process.

The Republican lawmakers called on Governor Codey and his administration to give these applications a fair hearing and said that funding for these needs could be provided through a $40 million local government grant program placed in this year’s budget by the Democrats.

“This would be an excellent opportunity for the administration to show that business is being conducted differently this year,” said DeCroce, R-Morris and Passaic. “The last thing the taxpayers want to see is this $40 million grant program turned into another pot of political pork for Democrat legislative districts.”

Kean, R-Monmouth, whose 11th Legislative District received no money through the state homeland security grant program last year, said he will ask all of the mayors in his district to resubmit the applications they presented to the state last year.

“Towns that have legitimate homeland security-related needs deserve a fair shot to receive this grant money whether they are in Republican or Democrat districts,” Kean said. “Since this money was put in the budget specifically to help towns reduce costs to their local taxpayers, I see no reason why these homeland security needs could not be funded out of this new grant program.”

Kean and DeCroce noted that there are many Democrat towns in these Republican districts that were shut out of this process and that they would encourage all of these towns – not just Republican communities – to reapply.

The Fiscal Year 2006 budget approved July 2 included a $40 million line item in the Treasury Department for the “Property Tax Assistance and Community Development Block Grant program.” This is a program that has been used in the past to provide money to politically connected legislative districts.

Republicans are now calling on those mayors who were denied funding to request money for homeland security needs through this new program, since last year these applications were apparently ignored for political reasons.

“Last year many towns in my district made legitimate applications for funding through a homeland security grant program,” said Kean. “These towns were shortchanged because almost all of this money was earmarked for Democrat-controlled legislative districts.”

“I will urge the mayors in my district to send in these applications again,” Kean said. “And I would urge Governor Codey and the Treasurer to give these applications serious consideration this time.”

Of the $8.3 million in local domestic preparedness grants awarded last year, $7.8 million went to Democrat-controlled legislative districts while only $523,454 went to Republican districts. Since 2002, $21.3 million of the $22.9 million in grants (93 percent) have gone to towns in Democrat-controlled legislative districts.

“There are many Republican legislative districts in this state that have legitimate security needs,” said DeCroce. “The impact of a terrorist strike on a Republican district would be no less severe than that on a Democrat district. Politics should play no role in homeland security decision-making.”

Kean’s district hosts a major privately owned airport in Wall Township that must be patrolled by local police as well as ferry access to New York City. DeCroce’s district is home to a number of pharmaceutical manufacturers and borders Morristown Airport.

“I see this as an opportunity for the administration to redeem itself,” DeCroce said. “They can correct last year’s mistake by taking a fresh look at these applications and making this funding available for these purposes.”

Attached is a copy of a letter that Assemblyman Kean will be sending to mayors in his district. Republican legislators in many other districts will be sending similar letters to their local officials.

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August 2, 2005 

DeCROCE DEMANDS ANSWERS IN WAKE OF NEW OLS OPINION STATING FY2006 BONDING IS UNCONSTITUTIONAL
OLS OPINIONS STATES TOMORROW’S BOND SALE IS “VIOLATIVE” OF LAST YEAR’S SUPREME COURT HOLDING

Responding to an opinion from the non-partisan Office of Legislative Services (OLS) that a pending bond sale to balance the FY2006 budget violates last year’s Supreme Court ruling in Lance v. McGreevey, Assembly Republican Leader Alex DeCroce today said that the Codey administration owes the public and the Legislature answers as to whether the state is operating under an unconstitutional budget.

“Last year the New Jersey Supreme Court made clear that it is unconstitutional for the state to borrow money in order to pay for general operating expenses,” said DeCroce, R-Morris and Passaic. “Today’s OLS opinion indicates that the state may be about to violate that Supreme Court holding and for the second consecutive year operate under an unconstitutional budget.”

DeCroce had requested an opinion from OLS as to whether the pending sale of $150 million of proceeds from the New Jersey Tobacco Settlement Financing Corporation to balance the FY2006 budget violated the holding in Lance v. McGreevey.

In the written opinion delivered this afternoon, OLS Legislative Counsel Albert Porroni states that, “For the reasons stated below, we are of the opinion that the $150 million in Tobacco Settlement Corporation proceeds used to balance a portion of the State annual budget and fund State general expenses payable from the General Fund is violative of the holding in Lance . . ."

“Last year’s lawsuit was designed to restore fiscal responsibility and honest accounting to the state budget process,” said DeCroce. “Not only is borrowing to pay for operating expenses bad fiscal policy, the Supreme Court has made clear it is also unconstitutional.”

“Governor Codey and Treasurer McCormac need to step forward right now and explain why they are proceeding with this bond sale in violation of the Supreme Court’s ruling,” DeCroce said. “This bond sale should not go forward until the questions raised by this OLS opinion have been satisfactorily answered.”

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August 3, 2005

LANCE & DeCROCE COMMEND ADMINISTRATION’S DECISION TO HALT BOND SALE
Republican Leaders will be in court Thursday to seek an injunction barring the use of bond funds as general revenue    

Senate Republican Leader Leonard Lance and Assembly Republican Leader Alex DeCroce said they are pleased that the Codey Administration has temporarily halted the sale of  bonds by the New Jersey Tobacco Settlement Financing Corporation, which plans to use $150 million as general revenue in the state budget.

However, Lance and DeCroce said they will seek an order in Superior Court on Thursday to show cause why an injunction should not be granted to prevent the use of proceeds from the tobacco bonds as general revenue when the sale is made.

“We must assume today’s delay is only temporary. So we will be in court tomorrow to seek a permanent injunction,” said Lance, R-Hunterdon and Warren. “Refinancing bonds to achieve a lower interest rate is eminently appropriate. Excess funds from any refinancing, however, can not constitutionally be used to balance the budget.”

“We want it understood that we do not oppose refinancing debt to save the taxpayers money,” said DeCroce, R-Morris and Passaic. “We do oppose using refinancing as an excuse to issue an extra $150 million of debt to balance the budget in a clearly unconstitutional way and mask their lack of fiscal responsibility.”

The Republican leaders said they hope the administration uses this time out to come up with a budget balancing strategy that will meet constitutional muster and will not needlessly increase debt for the taxpayers.

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August 3, 2005

McHOSE SAYS ADMINISTRATION IS WISE TO HALT THE SALE OF UNCONSTITUTIONAL BONDS SUPPORTS LEGAL ACTION TO PERMANENTLY STOP ADMINISTRATION’S PLAN TO BORROW FOR OPERATING EXPENSES

SPARTA- Assemblywoman Alison Littell McHose today said the Codey Administration is wise to temporarily halt the sale of bonds by the New Jersey Tobacco Settlement Financing Corporation because the non-partisan Office of Legislative Services’ (OLS) legal opinion clearly states that borrowing for operating expenses is unconstitutional.

“I am glad to see that at least temporarily the Administration is exercising some fiscal restraint,” said McHose, R-24.  “All too frequently, Trenton Democrats embrace the dangerous fiscal policy of spend now, pay later.”

Yesterday, Assembly Republicans released a legal opinion by OLS that stated the unanticipated use of $150 million in proceeds from the proposed bond sale is in violation of last year’s New Jersey Supreme Court ruling.  In Lance V. McGreevey, the state Supreme Court found the Democrat’s FY 2005 budget unconstitutional and ruled that prospectively bond revenues cannot be used for general operating expenses.

“Refinancing bonds can be a very valuable financial tool,” added McHose.  “It can be used as a savings mechanism and a way to retire debt early.  However, I adamantly oppose refinancing debt as a backdoor way of issuing extra debt that will certainly be used to fund Democrat spending excesses.”  

McHose said she supports legal action to permanently stop the Administration’s use of these bonds as general revenue in the state budget.

“Pursuing legal action is the only way to ensure the Administration will not use refinancing as a fiscal gimmick to balance this year’s budget,” McHose concluded.  “Our state’s fiscal health is in jeopardy and we need to permanently stop the Democrat’s fiscal folly.”

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August 3, 2005

LANCE & DeCROCE SERVE NOTICE:
STOP THE BOND SALE OR FACE LEGAL ACTION
OLS Says Budget Would Be Unconstitutional
If It is Balanced with Bond Funds     

Lawyers for Senate Republican Leader Leonard Lance and Assembly Republican Leader Alex DeCroce served formal notice with the Codey Administration this morning that it will begin legal proceedings challenging the constitutionality of the FY 2006 state budget unless the impending sale of bonds by the New Jersey Tobacco Settlement Financing Corporation is halted.

A written legal opinion obtained yesterday from Albert Porroni, legal counsel for the non-partisan Office of Legislative Services, says the anticipated use of $150 million in proceeds from this bond sale to balance a portion of the state budget and fund general expenses is “violative” of the state Supreme Court ruling last year in Lance v. McGreevey. The state’s highest court ruled at that time that the state could not longer use bond revenues to fund general operating expenses.

“The Democratic administration is now two-for-two,” said Lance, R-Hunterdon and Warren. “The OLS opinion makes it clear that this will be the second unconstitutional budget in a row approved by Democrats.”

“Apparently a ruling by the state Supreme Court is not enough to stop Democrats from relying on unconstitutional borrowing to balance the budget,” added DeCroce, R-Morris and Passaic. “Such fiscal irresponsibility not only endangers the solvency of the state but continues to saddle future generations with mountains of debt.”

A letter was hand-delivered to the office of State Treasurer John E. McCormac this morning from Mark D. Sheridan and Robert M. Leonard, attorneys with the firm of Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP, on behalf of Lance and DeCroce placing the administration on notice. The firm is the same one retained by the legislative leaders to successfully challenge the constitutionality of the McGreevey administration’s borrowing practices last year.

“We write to provide you with formal notice of our intent to challenge the validity of the fiscal year 2006 budget,” the letter states. “We further write to advise you that your are required by ... the Securities and Exchange Act of 1934 to disclose Mr. Porroni’s opinion to the underwriters of the proposed bonds and to any potential bond purchasers in the Official Statement to accompany the proposed bonds.”

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August 4, 2005

LANCE & DeCROCE FILE SUIT TO HALT UNCONSTITUTIONAL USE OF BONDS
Republican Leaders go to court to seek an injunction barring the use of bond funds as general revenue    

Senate Republican Leader Leonard Lance and Assembly Republican Leader Alex DeCroce today filed suit in Mercer County Superior Court to seek an injunction barring the Codey Administration from using $150 million from the sale of  bonds by the New Jersey Tobacco Settlement Financing Corporation as general revenue in the state budget.

“There is no justification for government to borrow money to pay for operating expenses,” said Lance, R-23. “This bond scheme is the latest contrivance in four years of ill-advised and illegal budgets. It is a ploy – the equivalent of borrowing $200,000 to pay off an $180,000 mortgage to buy groceries – that was covertly slipped into the budget at the last minute without any public discussion.

“I don’t doubt that there would be $3 billion in borrowing in this year’s budget had Assemblyman DeCroce and I not gone to the New Jersey Supreme Court last summer.  It is my hope that common sense will now prevail. The administration, having reviewed the opinion of the non-partisan Office of Legislative Services, should abandon plans to borrow more than is necessary to refinance the bonds and spare New Jersey an unseemly repeat of last summer.”

The Republican leaders said they support refinancing existing bonds to take advantage of lower interest rates but argue using an extra $150 million from the bond sale to pay for general operating expenses is unconstitutional. 

“We agree that New Jersey taxpayers will benefit from the state taking advantage of lower interest rates and refinancing existing debt,” said DeCroce, R-26.  “However, we adamantly oppose using the extra $150 million created by the bond sale to cover state operating expenses.  We’re taking legal action because it is in the best interest of New Jersey taxpayers to put an end to the fiscal schemes.

“Since taking control nearly four years ago, Democrats have doubled state debt.  It is not fiscally sound to borrow money to pay for today=s excesses, leaving tomorrow’s taxpayers to pay off the debt.  What will this type of borrowing get us?  This type of borrowing won’t even yield a new bridge, school, or road.  This, once again, is borrowing simply to pay for the day-to-day operations of government.”

The Republican leaders said they are confident they will be successful in their efforts to seek a permanent injunction.  They also encouraged the Codey Administration to consider budget alternatives that do not violate the state constitution and cause irreversible financial harm.

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August 4, 2005

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT...DEMOCRAT JUST DON’T GET IT ON STATE BUDGET
   
Editorial published August 4, 2005

Here we go again. Despite a ruling by the nonpartisan Office of Legislative Services that a plan to refinance bonds and use part of the proceeds as revenue to balance the state budget is illegal, the state’s Democratic leadership is planning to plunge ahead – at least at this point – with this irresponsible sleight-of-hand. How soon they forget. Or, more to the point, how well they remember.

Just last summer, the state Supreme Court decided that state government could borrow $2.7 billion to balance its budget – but only that one time, the court said, allowing that a complete overhaul of the budget months into the fiscal year would have wrought chaos.

The court ruled – emphatically, by the way – that borrowing to pay current expenses is illegal and under no circumstances would be tolerated a second time. So what do Democratic lawmakers do? They ignore that edict, no doubt calculating that by the time this round of borrowing is challenged and deemed illegal by the courts, as is certain to happen, it will be too late for the state to alter course.

And challenged the plan will be. Republicans announced yesterday they will sue to stop the scheme. Democrats delayed the bond sale scheduled for the same day, but they’ve said they still plan to try it later on.

The state budget signed July 2 by acting Gov. Richard J. Codey calls for $150,000 million in revenue resulting from the refinancing of $2 billion in bonds backed by the state’s share of its settlement with Big Tobacco – a lump sum of $3.5 billion that’s been almost entirely frittered away to finance years of bloated spending promulgated by Trenton.

The Legislature’s plan – or should we say the plan of Democrats who control the Legislature – to borrow to cover current expenses isn’t only illegal, it’s also dumb. No homeowner – at least not one with brains – would refinance a mortgage to pay for a loaf of bread or a gallon of milk. Why? Because those everyday items – an individual’s current expenses – would end up costing double or triple their actual price by the time the loan is paid off. The state’s latest plan to borrow money to pay operating expenses is no different, other than its scale.

For all the talk by Statehouse Democrats about a lean new state budget, little by little the public is finding out the same old gimmicks still apply. Sooner or later these tactics will spell ruin – if they haven’t already.

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August 4, 2005

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT...NO END TO FISCAL GIMMICKS
Editorial published August 4, 2005

State officials are once again resorting to financial gimmicks to help balance the books — this time with plans to refinance $2 billion in bonds to generate $150 million that can be used to make the numbers add up in this year's budget.

When will they stop spending what they don't have?

Officials weren't swayed by a legal opinion issued Tuesday by the nonpartisan Office of Legislative Services that concluded the latest fiscal stunt violated the state constitution. Hopefully, they'll be persuaded to drop plans to refinance the bonds after being notified Wednesday that Senate Minority Leader Leonard Lance, R-Hunterdon, and Assembly Minority Leader Alex DeCroce, R-Morris, plan to file suit today to challenge that interpretation in court.

Last year, you may recall, the state Supreme Court ruled New Jersey's constitution prohibits the state from borrowing money to pay for operating expenses. About $5 billion has been borrowed for that purpose over the past three years.

The OLS ruling, requested by Assembly Republicans, didn't faze acting Gov. Codey. Treasury Department spokesman Tom Vincz said administration attorneys concluded the "transaction" passed constitutional muster. Now, it will be left to the courts to decide.

Lance said he would support refinancing only if it was done to take advantage of lower interest rates. "What I do not favor is borrowing over and above that to balance the state budget," Lance said. Neither do we. Borrowing more than needed is still borrowing to balance the budget. That has to stop.

The state needs a new mindset — one focused on spending less rather than taxing more. End the borrowing binge. Reduce debt instead of increasing it. If as much effort and enterprise went into finding ways to cut costs as to finding gimmicks to bring in more revenue, the state would be on the road to financial recovery.

August 8, 2005

KEAN AND CORODEMUS EXPRESS CONCERN ABOUT GOVERNOR’S OFFICE INVOLVEMENT IN HOMELAND SECURITY GRANT PROCESS 
WILL SEND LETTER TO U.S. ATTORNEY CHRIS CHRISTIE ASKING HIM TO LOOK INTO POSSIBLE MISAPPROPRIATION OF STATE GRANT FUNDS

Assemblymen Sean Kean and Steve Corodemus today said they are disgusted by reports that the Governor’s Office worked in conjunction with the Attorney General’s Office in steering homeland security grants to Democrat legislative districts and that officials described the program as “Christmas Tree funding.”

Kean and Corodemus also said they will send a letter to U.S. Attorney Christopher Christie asking him to looking into a variety of state grant programs, including the homeland security program, to see if state taxpayer dollars were being misappropriated.
“Playing politics with the safety or our citizens is unacceptable, but it appears that’s exactly what this administration has done,” said Kean, R-Monmouth. “It is now clear that the administration was instrumental in steering these grants as if they were nothing more than political pork for favored legislative districts.”

Today’s edition of The Star-Ledger reports that based on e-mails, letters and other correspondence obtained under the Open Public Records Act (OPRA), the Codey administration played a key role in distributing these grant funds to legislative districts controlled by his own party.

In some correspondence officials in the Attorney General’s Office denied having responsibility for where the money would go and indicated the Governor’s Office would make those decisions. In another memo from an official in the AG’s office the program is described as “Christmas Tree funding.”

At the time the political disparity in grant awards was first reported, Codey spokeswoman Kelley Heck said the governor's office “didn't play a role in the awarding of those grants.” At the Assembly Budget Committee hearings this spring, Attorney General Harvey testified that to his knowledge all grants were distributed based on merit not politics.

“Today’s reports are a serious blow to the credibility of the administration on this issue,” said Corodemus, R-Monmouth. “For months the Attorney General and the administration have denied any political motivation for the distribution of this money. That clearly is not the case.”

Kean and Corodemus noted that questions have been raised about the distribution of funding from a number of state grant programs including those administered by the Department of Community Affairs (DCA) and the Department of Law and Public Safety.

“In some cases it appears money was steered to programs that wouldn’t even qualify for the funds under that grant program,” Kean said. “We will be asking the U.S. Attorney to look into whether this represents a misappropriation of taxpayer dollars.”

Corodemus said that because of the extensive involvement of the AG’s Office in these grant distributions, an investigation into this issue must be conducted by someone outside of state government.
“We know we cannot rely on the Attorney General to look into this matter,” Corodemus said. “Hopefully the U.S. Attorney will be able to shed some light on these concerns.”

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August 10, 2005

KEAN TO APPEAR ON HANNITY AND COLMES TO DISCUSS HOMELAND SECURITY FUNDING
WILL TALK SPECIFICALLY ON FOXNEWS SHOW
ABOUT LACK OF FUNDING FOR WALL TOWNSHIP

Assemblyman Sean Kean will be featured on a segment of Hannity and Colmes this evening on the FOXNews Channel to discuss his concerns regarding the state’s decision to reject homeland security grant applications for political reasons during last year’s grant process.

“I welcomed the reporter from FOXNews to Wall Township today to tour some of the facilities that could be targeted in a terrorist attack,” Kean said. “I’m hoping to draw attention to the fact that there are towns in this district that should qualify for these homeland security dollars.”

Last week Kean called on mayors in his district to resubmit their applications from last year and for the Codey administration to consider granting the funding for these needs through a $40 million local government grant program placed in this year’s budget by the Democrats.

Kean’s 11th Legislative District received no money through the state homeland security grant program last year, despite the fact that the district hosts the nation’s largest privately owned airport in Wall Township, a major reservoir, and ferry terminals that provide access to New York City.

“Towns with legitimate homeland security-related needs deserve a fair shot to receive this grant money,” Kean said. “I see no reason why these homeland security needs could not be funded out of this new grant program in Treasury.”

The Fiscal Year 2006 budget approved July 2 included a $40 million line item in the Treasury Department for the “Property Tax Assistance and Community Development Block Grant program.” This is a program that has been used in the past to provide money to politically connected legislative districts.

Of the $8.3 million in local domestic preparedness grants awarded last year, $7.8 million went to Democrat-controlled legislative districts while only $523,454 went to Republican districts. Since 2002, $21.3 million of the $22.9 million in grants (93 percent) have gone to towns in Democrat-controlled legislative districts.

Kean will appear on the Hannity and Colmes show on FOXNews Channel tonight at 9:00 p.m. EDT.

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August 11, 2005

BODINE AND DeCROCE CALL FOR HOMELAND SECURITY COMMITTEE MEETING TO INVESTGATE GRANTS
LAWMAKERS WANT ANSWERS ON DISTRIBUTION OF STATE HOMELAND SECURITY FUNDS

Assembly Republican Leader Alex DeCroce and Assemblyman Francis Bodine, member of the Assembly Homeland Security & State Preparedness Committee, today called on Assembly Speaker Albio Sires to call for a legislative hearing to investigate the current controversy surrounding the distribution of state homeland security grants.

“While the Democrats are insisting that this money is not being distributed based on political considerations, the numbers contradict that claim,” said Bodine, R-Burlington. “The safety of our citizens should be our paramount concern in deciding where this money will be spent. The security of our state should not be politicized.”

The request comes in the wake of reports that of the $8.3 million in local domestic preparedness grants awarded last year, $7.8 million went to Democrat controlled legislative districts while only $523,454 went to Republican districts. It has also been reported that 93 percent of the money distributed through this program since 2002 had gone to Democrat legislative districts.

“There is no excuse for this distribution of funds,” said DeCroce, R-Morris and Passaic. “There are Republican districts with casinos that draw millions of tourists, military facilities, nuclear power facilities, and other potential targets that got little or no money.”

With conflicting statements by the Codey administration and the Attorney General’s Office regarding who was in charge of distributing these funds and how those decisions were made, Bodine and Connors said it was time for a legislative committee to investigate this matter.

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August 11, 2005

PENNACCHIO CALLS ON DEMOCRAT LEADERS TO CORRET HOMELAND SEUCRUTY FUNDING CALAMITY

Assemblyman Joe Pennacchio today sent a letter to Assembly Speaker Albio Sires and Senate Budget Chairman Wayne Bryant requesting their cooperation in addressing the apparent politicization of the state homeland security grant process.

At a recent press conference, Republican lawmakers called on Acting Governor Codey and his administration to give previously overlooked applications a fair hearing and said that funding for these needs could be provided through a $40 million local government grant program placed in this year’s budget by the Democrats. 

In the letter, Assemblyman Pennacchio asked Speaker Sires and Senator Bryant to release Acting Governor Codey from any agreement he may have entered into with regard to how this money was to be allocated and allow him to use this money on protecting New Jersey citizens against the threat of terror.

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August 11, 2005

KEY COMPONENT OF GPS FOR SEX OFFENDERS BILL SIGNED INTO LAW, BUT MUNOZ DEMANDS GREENSTEIN HOLD HEARING ON MANDATORY SENTENCING PROVISION
HAD BEEN PROMISED A HEARING FOR THE MANDATORY SENTENCING REQUIREMENTS OF HIS VERSION OF “JESSICA LUNSFORD ACT”

TRENTON—  Assemblyman Eric Munoz, M.D. said he was pleased that Acting Governor Richard Codey today signed into law a bill requiring high risk sex offenders to wear a GPS device if they are released from prison, but demanded that Assembly Judiciary Committee Chairwoman Linda Greenstein keep her commitment to him that she would hold a hearing to consider his proposed mandatory 25 years-to-life sentencing for sex offenders.

“The bill that was signed today was not nearly as strong and comprehensive as the bill I introduced,” said Munoz, R-Union, Morris, Somerset, Essex. “The GPS tracking device is a key component of my legislation, but I believe we must enact the mandatory sentencing provision of my bill as well.”

The Munoz bill, A-4068, is named after a 9-year-old Florida girl who was kidnapped and murdered by a convicted sex offender. It requires those who would prey on a minor to be sentenced to at least 25 years in prison and, if they get out, to wear a GPS tracking device for life.

Munoz agreed to sign onto the GPS tracking bill sponsored by Assemblyman Doug Fisher in June only after assurances from Assembly Judiciary Committee Chairwoman Linda Greenstein that her committee would consider his original bill with the mandatory sentencing provision at their next committee meeting.

“Assemblywoman Greenstein must schedule a hearing to consider this key provision of the bill,” Munoz said. “Every day that passes without a hearing on this mandatory sentencing provision is another day sexual predators roam our streets and stalk our children. If we want to be serious about this issue, we need to keep these predators behind bars. Period.”

“The support for the Jessica Lunsford Act has been overwhelming,” said Munoz. The re-introduced bill A-4177 has 40 Republican and Democrat co-sponsors.  “It is encouraging that this legislation will finally become law so that we can keep sex offenders behind bars and away from our children. But, today’s action doesn’t go far enough and we need to immediately enact the mandatory sentencing provision to keep these offenders behind bars.”

John E. Couey, a convicted sexual offender who was living near Jessica, confessed to kidnapping and murder.  Couey has an extensive criminal record that includes 24 arrests for burglary, carrying a concealed weapon and indecent exposure.

In 1978 Couey was accused of grabbing a girl in her bedroom, in the course of burglarizing her home. Couey was sentenced to 10 years in prison; however he was paroled in 1980.  In 1991, he was arrested in Florida on a charge of fondling a child under age 16. 

“It’s unthinkable that we can require Martha Stewart to wear a tracking device, but not dangerous sexual predators. New Jersey can learn from Florida’s tragedy.  These predators will know if they get out, we will track their every move,” said Munoz. 

The additional provisions in Assemblyman Munoz bill not considered today include:

• A mandatory 25 years to life penalty for all sexual assaults on a minor.

• Increasing the penalty on an individual(s) who harbors a sexual predator fugitive.

• Requiring all sexual offenders to wear the GPS tracking device as a condition of bail if they are arrested for a sexual offense.

• Requiring all sexual offenders to wear the GPS tracking device as a condition of parole. 

• Establishing a 2500 foot “child protection zone,” an exclusionary zone statewide for all schools, day care centers and playgrounds for all convicted sexual offenders and sexual predators in the New Jersey.

“I am glad to have the support from so many of my colleagues on both sides of the aisle but it is time for Assemblywoman Greenstein to keep her commitment and do schedule a hearing,” said Munoz, “We must pass this bill now to prevent tragedies like the death of little Jessica Lunsford.”

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August 12, 2005

GREGG: NO MORE MONEY FOR SCHOOL CONSTRUCTION IN THE ABBOTT DISTRICTS UNTIL SCHOOL FUNDING SYSTEM IS FIXED
LAWSUIT SEEKING MORE MONEY FOR SCHOOL CONSTRUCTION PROGRAM IS MISGUIDED AND WASTEFUL

Assembly Republican Conference Leader Guy Gregg today said that legal action filed by the Education Law Center seeking more money for school construction projects in the “Abbott Districts,” ignores the problems with the current program and seeks to grab more taxpayer cash with no regard to how that money will be spent.

“We have heard of numerous instances of waste and mismanagement at the School Construction Corporation and in the Abbott Districts,” said Gregg, R-Sussex, Morris and Hunterdon. “We shouldn’t allocate any more money to the SCC until we’re convinced those problems have been fully resolved.”

Responding to reports that the $6 billion allocated to Abbott Districts for school construction costs is about to be depleted, the Education Law Center Thursday went to the Supreme Court asking that the court order more funding for the program.

In a 15-page report issued this April by Inspector General Mary Jane Cooper, the SCC was said to be “vulnerable to mismanagement, fiscal malfeasance, conflicts of interest and waste, fraud and abuse of taxpayer dollars.”

The Codey administration has made steps to reform the management of the program, but Gregg said that the Legislature should investigate other examples of wasteful spending in the Abbott districts before pledging anymore money to the SCC.

“There are school districts in this state that can’t get an extra dime of state aid, but we want to dump billions more into a flawed program,” Gregg said. “It isn’t fair that other districts have to cut programs and staff, while we ship billions of dollars to a handful of school districts where the money is routinely wasted.”

Gregg said now would also be a poor time to dedicate more money to the program given that the Commissioner of Education has suggested that the state change the criteria for determining what districts are and are not “Abbott” districts.

“At a time when we are considering whether it would be wise to revise the list of schools that qualify as Abbott Districts, this request for more money is premature,” Gregg. “No more money should go to this program until we have done a serious review of this state’s approach to school funding.”

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August 15, 2005

PENNACCHIO SAYS PORT AUTHORITY SHOULD NOT AID NEWARK IN ITS FISCAL MISMANAGMENT
PROMISING A SETTLEMENT FIGURE BEFORE AGREEMENT
IS REACHED IS BAD POLICY FOR THE PORT AUTHORITY

Assemblyman Joe Pennacchio today said that Newark continues to demonstrate its inability to manage its finances and urged the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey not to become an accomplice to that city’s disturbing record of fiscal shenanigans.

“The state sends more than $700 million in aid each year to Newark, yet somehow the city is never able to balance its budget,” said Pennacchio, R-Morris and Passaic. “Now they are asking the Port Authority to promise them money in a lawsuit settlement so that they can balance their books on a budget where most of the money has already been spent.”

Pennacchio was referring to a report in the Star-Ledger that Newark officials asked for, and received, a letter from the Port Authority guaranteeing that it will provide the city with no less than $100 million in a pending lawsuit settlement.

The city wants to use the money pledged in that letter to close a $38 million budget deficit in its 2004 budget and a $62 million gap in this year’s budget.

The lawsuit stems from lease payments on Newark Liberty Airport and the settlement is still being negotiated.

“The Port Authority should be settling this lawsuit based on what makes the most fiscal sense for the agency and its toll payers – not the city of Newark,” Pennacchio said. “The Port Authority has more important concerns such as spending money on port security – something Newark with its shiny new trash trucks wouldn’t understand.”

The Port Authority gave what some described as a sweetheart airport lease deal to the city two years ago to help fund $200 million of the construction of a new sports arena.

Pennacchio called on the Port Authority to make no pledges to the city of Newark and said that if the city is looking for money to balance its budget it should look at the $200 million it is about to spend on the new arena.

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August 15, 2005  

BODINE AND CHATZIDAKIS CALL FOR HEARING
ON TRANSPORTATION TRUST FUND RENEWAL
 Assemblymen say system must be fixed now, not after the election

Assemblymen Francis Bodine and Larry Chatzidakis today sent a letter to Assembly Transportation Committee Chairman John Wisniewski calling on him to schedule a committee hearing to  discuss how to reform and fund the Transportation Trust Fund (TTF) program.

“As has been reported in the newspapers, the TTF is running low on cash and if action isn’t taken soon the state may not be able to afford vital road projects,” Bodine and Chatzidakis write in the letter. “As a prerequisite to any action with regard to funding the TTF, I think we all agree that the system is in need of comprehensive reform.”

The current funding program for the authority was enacted for the four-year period from fiscal year 2001 through fiscal year 2004. The four-year program is expected to run out of money soon and some newspaper stories have indicated that Democrats intend to increase the gas tax after the November election.

“We know there has been discussion of increasing the gas tax after the election, but we think that would be inappropriate and unfair to the state’s taxpayers,” the letter states. “Let’s discuss your legislation reforming the system and talk about the revenue side of the equation at the same time.”

Bodine and Chatzidakis said that rather than supporting a gas tax increase to merely help fund yet another expansion of the annual capital program, it is more beneficial to support fiscal restraint and reform of the present TTF structure.

They listed the following examples of missing revenues:

• Motor Vehicle Commission fees were supposed to be placed into the TTF. If the law had been obeyed $60 million would be credited to the account;
• Diesel fuel revenues and truck registration fees were to go to the TTF by law, but have been diverted.  This is a loss of $30 million;
• Toll roads were to pay into the trust fund but that money has also been diverted.  If placed into the TTF that would bring $24.5 million annually to the fund;
• Full credit is not given to the trust fund from the existing tax on motor fuel.  Currently the TTF is given $45 million for each penny of the 9 ½ cent tax. However, it really raises $52 million per penny.  If we were being honest that money would go into the TTF and bring in another $66.5 million annually; and
• There is another 1 ½ cents of the 10.5 cent motor fuel tax that has not been dedicated to the TTF.  If that were given to the fund, there would be another $78 million annually.

Bodine and Chatzidakis go on in the letter to tell Wisniewski that, “All of these issues should be discussed, debated and voted on now – not after November’s election. Respectfully, waiting for after election day to act on this problem when the TTF is in dire need of repair now, is irresponsible.”

“We hope you will agree and would consider scheduling this matter for discussion before the Transportation Committee sometime in the next couple of weeks,” the letter concludes.

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August 16, 2005

PENNACCHIO PRAISES COURT RULING DECLARING NEEDLE EXCHANGE ILLEGAL
COURT STRIKES DOWN EXECUTIVE ORDER, RULING ONLY THE LEGISLATURE CAN AUTHORIZE A NEEDLE EXCHANGE PROGRAM

Assemblyman Joe Pennacchio today praised a ruling by a New Jersey Superior Court Appellate Division panel blocking the state from implementing a proposed state-sponsored needle-exchange program created last year under an executive order enacted by former Governor McGreevey.

“This court ruling thwarts an effort by the executive branch to usurp the Legislature’s constitutional authority to pass laws,” said Pennacchio, R-Morris and Passaic. “This was an ill-conceived policy from the moment it was proposed and today’s ruling is a victory for common sense.”

The appeals court panel ruled today the state Legislature would have to change the law to prevent people who distribute needles from being accomplices to drug crimes. This means that anyone participating in a needle exchange program authorized by the executive order is in violation of state law.

In June a Mercer County court issued a preliminary injunction blocking implementation of the proposed needle-exchange program that was to be administered by the New Jersey Department of Health and Senior Services. The ruling came out of a lawsuit filed by the Assemblyman.

Last October, shortly before leaving office in disgrace, former Governor McGreevey signed an executive order permitting municipalities to provide needle handouts to heroin addicts. He did this because legislation creating such a program was stalled in the State Senate.

“These programs do not reduce the spread of disease, and they only encourage drug addicts to continue this self-destructive behavior.  This ruling is a victory for the health and safety of New Jersey's citizens,” concluded Pennacchio.

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August 17, 2005

MUNOZ TO DEMOCRATS: DROP THE LEGAL APPEALS AND FIX THE UNCONSTITUTIONAL BUDGET

Assemblyman Eric Munoz today called on the state to drop its plans to appeal a court decision last week holding that the state cannot borrow $150 million to balance its budget – a budget strategy that was already ruled unconstitutional by the state Supreme Court last year.

“This is just another example of the fiscal mismanagement which has become so common-place in the current administration,” said Munoz, R-Union, Somerset, Morris and Essex. “Forcing future generations of taxpayers to pay for today’s operating expenses is the height of fiscal irresponsibility.”

“Instead of trying to get away with this unconstitutional and fiscally reckless borrowing, the administration should go back to the drawing board and fix this budget.”

In a ruling handed down last week, New Jersey Superior Court Judge Linda Feinberg held that the state’s plans to borrow $150 million to balance the Fiscal Year 2006 budget violated the state constitution as interpreted in last year’s historic Lance v. McGreevey  Supreme Court decision. The state has announced plans to appeal.
When the state attempted to borrow $2 billion to plug a budget gap last year, Republicans took the administration to court to block the borrowing. In that case, Lance v. McGreevey, the Supreme Court ruled that using monies from bonds to pay for the state’s general operating expenses was a clear violation of article VIII, section 2, paragraph 2 of the state constitution.

This year, the administration quietly attempted to borrow $150 million as part of a refinancing scheme and then to put that money toward the general fund budget. Republicans again filed a lawsuit in state court and Judge Feinberg blocked the $150 million in borrowing.

“Instead of searching for legal loopholes to justify these fiscal gimmicks, why doesn’t the administration cut $150 million in pork spending from the budget,” Munoz said. “To drag this court case out will only cost the taxpayers more money, all in defense of a budgetary policy that will hurt taxpayers in the future.”

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August 17, 2005

DeCROCE WELCOMES QUIGLEY’S OFFER TO BRING  SAFETY CONCERNS TO HOMELAND SECURITY COMMITTEE

Assembly Republican Leader Alex DeCroce today renewed his call for Democrats to conduct legislative hearings to investigate the current controversy surrounding the distribution of state homeland security grants.

“Assemblywoman Quigley issued a press release today calling on Assembly Republicans to directly bring our concerns about the distribution of homeland security grants before the Assembly Homeland Security Committee,” said DeCroce, R-Morris and Passaic.  “We accept her offer and would gladly attend any hearing she might hold on this important matter.  Unfortunately, I do not believe her offer to be sincere.”

Last week, Assembly Republican Leader DeCroce and Assemblyman Francis Bodine sent a letter to Assembly Speaker Albio Sires and Assemblywoman Quigley urging them to call for a legislative hearing to investigate why politics was allowed to influence how homeland security funds were allocated.

“The safety of our citizens was jeopardized because selfish individuals put their political interests ahead of our security needs,” DeCroce said.  “ We asked Democrat leaders to schedule an immediate hearing on this matter so the people of New Jersey could sleep better at night knowing their safety is being provided for without regard to politics. I am still waiting for a response.”

Assembly Republican Leader DeCroce said Assemblywoman Quigley’s offer is just another game Democrats are playing to cover up their blatant and illegal misuse of homeland security dollars.

“Critical homeland security funds were misused,” declared DeCroce.  “There appears to be a cover-up and I doubt the Assemblywoman truly has the courage to call Democrat leaders, including Acting Governor Codey, Attorney General Peter Harvey and their staffs before her committee to question why they chose to divert security funds to politically preferred legislative districts.

 “This is not a political blunder that can be easily overlooked,” added DeCroce.  “Partisan games like this endanger the lives of New Jersey residents.”

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August 18, 2005

KEAN CALLS  FOR ATTORNEY GENERAL
PETER HARVEY TO BE IMPEACHED
SAYS HARVEY IS NOT FIT TO CONTINUE IN HIS JOB

Assemblyman Sean Kean, in light of the current controversy surrounding the distribution of state homeland security grants, has  directed the non-partisan Office of Legislative Services (OLS) to prepare articles of impeachment against Attorney General Peter Harvey. 

“I believe the time has come for Peter Harvey to be removed from his position as Attorney General,” said Kean, R-Monmouth.  “The Attorney General has allowed political concerns to influence the distribution essential security funds and should be removed because of misconduct.”

Kean said the charges of impeachment are for malfeasance and the misappropriation of state funds allocated for the protection of New Jersey residents in a time of war. 

“The Attorney General, as the highest ranking law enforcement official in the state, had the legal and ethical obligation to award these grant based solely on security needs, not politics,” added Kean.  “Politics should have never been allowed to influence the grant distribution process.  Someone must be held accountable for this gaffe.”

Kean said this matter could be resolved if Acting Governor Codey and Attorney General Peter Harvey took steps to rectify the situation.
“This issue could be resolved if the Attorney General and Acting Governor Codey took steps to ensure that never again will the grant process be tainted by the ugliness of politics,” Kean said.  “I also believe that towns who were overlooked because of political considerations should be allowed to resubmit their applications.  Perhaps this time, they will give every legitimate application equal consideration.”

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August 19, 2005

DeCROCE: ATTORNEY GENERAL’S MISUSE OF TERROR FUNDS IS A PARTISAN ANTIC
HARVEY’S OFFICE APPEARS CONSUMED BY POLITICAL CONSIDERATIONS, DESPITE SPOKESMAN’S DENIAL

Assembly Republican Leader Alex DeCroce today issued the following statement in response to comments by Attorney General Peter Harvey’s spokesman in which he claimed that calls for Harvey’s impeachment are just election-year “antics” that the AG’s Office will “ignore”:

“This statement was very ironic coming from an Attorney General’s Office that has turned the entire state homeland security program into nothing more than a partisan pork fund. If anyone is engaged in ‘antics’ it is Attorney General Harvey with his decision in conjunction with the Governor’s Office to steer homeland security dollars to Democrat districts based on political considerations.

“It is no surprise that the Attorney General would choose to ‘ignore’ these calls for his resignation. After all, he ‘ignored’ the rules of ethical conduct in accepting those boxing tickets, has ‘ignored’ the rampant corruption in state government that is thankfully now being stamped out by the U.S. Attorney, and he apparently ‘ignored’ the safety and security of New Jersey residents in making decisions about where to direct homeland security dollars.

“Curt statements from his spokesperson will not erase the damage that this Attorney General has done to our state.”

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August 19, 2005

KEAN - MUNOZ - BRAMNICK - BLEE BILL CREATING DISEASE MANAGEMENT STUDY COMMISSION SIGNED INTO LAW

Acting Governor Codey signed legislation sponsored by Senator Tom Kean, Jr. Assemblyman Eric Munoz M. D., Assemblyman Jon M. Bramnick and Assemblyman Frank Blee that creates a 19 member Disease Management Study Commission into law.

"The Study Commission created under my legislation would bring together 19 members charged with exploring the principles behind disease management and determining what potential such programs hold to improve health care quality in New Jersey while reducing health care costs" said Kean (R-21).  "The Commission is to examine other states= experiences and to evaluate financial and non-financial incentives as well as technologies."

 "It is my hope that this Commission will be able to translate what many have called the future of healthcare delivery into real-time applications that will work for New Jersey" said Dr. Munoz (R-21) a prime sponsor of this legislation.  "One way to reduce health care costs and to better serve patients is to increase our focus on preventative health measures." said Dr. Munoz.

"This legislation creates a panel that is charged with studying ways to expand the reliance on these preventative health measures." said Bramnick ( R-21).  AThe Commission will  bring together all the appropriate players - including Commissioners of Health and of Insurance and representatives from the medical as well as the business community."

The legislation originated from a proposal made by Dr. Douglas Ratner, Director of Internal Medicine at Overlook Hospital in Summit, New Jersey.  Dr. Ratner, a medical colleague of Assemblyman Munoz, is a board certified doctor in internal and preventative medicine (Overlook Hospital) and a recognized leader in developing disease management programs.

"The aim of this legislation is to help those suffering with chronic conditions to enjoy a healthier and happier life," said Blee, R-Atlantic.  "This legislation also seeks to reduce the rising cost of healthcare by focusing on preventative medicine.  We can achieve this by reducing costly trips to the emergency room and inpatient hospital care."

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August 19, 2005

MUNOZ-BLEE BILL CREATING DISEASE MANAGEMENT STUDY COMMISSION SIGNED INTO LAW

Acting Governor Codey signed legislation sponsored by Assemblymen Eric Munoz and Frank Blee that creates a 15-member Disease Management Study Commission into law.

"One way to reduce health care costs and to better serve patients is to increase our focus on preventative health measures," said Munoz, R-Union, Morris, Somerset and Essex. "This legislation creates a panel that is charged with studying ways to expand the reliance on these preventative health measures."

The measure, A-3246, establishes a 15-member ANew Jersey Disease Management Study Commission," to assess disease management programs to determine their potential to improve health care quality while reducing health care costs.

The legislation originated from a suggestion made by Dr. Douglas Ratner, Director of Internal Medicine at Overlook Hospital in Summit, New Jersey.  Dr. Ratner, a medical colleague of Assemblyman Munoz, has published several research articles in medical journals on the importance of this issue.

"The aim of this legislation is to help those suffering with chronic conditions to enjoy a healthier and happier life," said Blee, R-Atlantic.  "This legislation also seeks to reduce the rising cost of healthcare by focusing on preventative medicine.  We can achieve this by reducing costly trips to the emergency room and inpatient hospital care."

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August 22, 2005

DeCROCE CALLS ON DEMOCRATS TO SCHEDULE SPECIAL SESSION ON PROPERTY TAXES
GOP LAWMAKERS PREPARED TO COME TO TRENTON THIS THURSDAY – OR ANY OTHER DAY -- IF SPEAKER CALLS SESSION

Assembly Republican Leader Alex DeCroce today sent a letter to Assembly Speaker Albio Sires urging him to schedule a special session of the General Assembly to deal with New Jersey’s property tax crisis.

“I am willing to bring my members to Trenton this Thursday for this special session,” DeCroce writes in his letter. “If not this Thursday, I also remain open to having the members of my caucus come to Trenton on any other day that you wish to schedule this session. But frankly, the taxpayers of this state have waited long enough for relief.”

DeCroce points out that he had called on Sires to schedule a special session on property taxes at the start of the summer, and that two months have passed with no progress on the issue.

“There is legislation (ACR-99) in the General Assembly that calls for a special session and it has more than 50 sponsors from both sides of the aisle,” DeCroce writes. “If everyone who has sponsored that resolution is sincere, there is no reason not to call this special session.”

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August 24, 2005