May 30, 2007

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT... More bad timing on gas tax boost

Editorial, Gloucester County Times, May 30, 2007

How come New Jersey's governors have such a knack for dropping gasoline-tax bombs as prices at the pump are soaring?

Gov. Jon Corzine one-upped previous crash-and-burn attempts to boost state motor fuel taxes by speculating about an increase during Memorial Day weekend, when the media were already feeding on stories of people who cut back on holiday trips because of record-high fuel prices.

Particularly on TV, the possibility that New Jersey might look at raising the gas tax became "an end to bargain gasoline" at least, compared to other states. It doesn't matter that Corzine hasn't actually proposed a gas tax increase, that lawmakers haven't rallied to support one, or that the Associated Press article about Corzine's comments on a possible tax boost used the term "someday" in the first paragraph.

Corzine's not the first governor to shout "gas tax" when the momentum is running the other way. If any of them had figured out that the time to gain traction for this is when gas prices are receding (they do go down, sometimes) the tax would not have remained at 14.5 cents a gallon for 19 years. It's now the nation's third lowest per-gallon tax.

If the state can't pay for badly needed highway projects, if mass transit can't be funded without big fare increases, and if the state can prove it has stopped squandering what is supposed to be in the supposedly self-replenishing Transportation Trust Fund a moderate gas tax increase would make sense. In fact, 5 cents a gallon a few years back after the trust fund was first run into the ground would have made the most sense.

A gas tax increase doesn't need to eat the full price advantage that New Jersey has over other states. In fact, it's important that New Jersey keep its advantage, since motorists from surrounding states willingly pay our motor fuel taxes and still save money.

But here we are again, addressing the subject when pump prices rightly have motorists fuming, and when commuters who use the New Jersey Turnpike and the Garden State Parkway face uncertainty about what the governor's "asset monetization" program will mean. Hint: It'll mean higher tolls, even if Corzine is disinclined at the moment to actually sell the roads to some foreign power.

Drivers won't react kindly to that kind of double whammy, nor should they. The shame, though, is that this overrides any rational discussion of when or why the gas tax might need to go up. Let's hear it for good timing, again.

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May 30, 2007

McHOSE: ADD GAS TAX HIKES TO THE ANNUAL TOLL INCREASES JUST AROUND THE CORNER

BEYOND THIS YEAR’S BUDGET, NO QUESTION NEW JERSEY RESIDENTS WILL BE PAYING MORE

Assemblywoman Alison Littell McHose, a member of the Assembly Budget Committee today said that while Democrats keep touting the lack of tax hikes in this year’s proposed budget, they keep dropping hints that more are to come after this year’s election.

“After five years of tax and spend policies, it appears that this year’s budget will at best be a one-time, election-year pause from tax hikes,” said McHose R-Sussex, Morris and Hunterdon. “Last week we learned that a possible lame-duck asset sale may include annual toll hikes and now we here the first rumblings of a coming gas tax increase.”

An Associated Press story yesterday reported that Governor Jon Corzine has said the gas tax may have to be increased someday to help pay for the state’s mass transit and highway needs. “It’s certainly something we have to take into consideration in regard to our transportation capital needs and financial needs for mass transit in particular, so we'll review that,” Corzine said in the story.

About a week ago, state Sen. Raymond Lesniak told reporters the proposed state asset sale of New Jersey toll roads may be structured differently than a lease and will likely have to include a guaranteed annual increase in the tolls paid by commuters on the Garden State Parkway and New Jersey Turnpike.

McHose noted that even this year’s minor bump in property tax relief, which will miss some taxpayers altogether, is funded largely through last year’s sales tax hike.

“Even when tax relief is provided it is paid for with other tax hikes,” she said.

McHose said that while the budget to be voted on next month may not include any major tax hikes, it appears that this will be a short-lived approach to state budgeting.

“We hear of a variety of plans to boost state revenue through tax hikes and asset sales, but we hear very little about ways to cut state spending,” McHose said. “With New Jersey residents already paying some of the highest taxes in the nation we should be looking at how we can reduce government spending. Instead if you listen to the Democrats it looks like we’ll be returning to those familiar tax hikes after November.”

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May 29, 2007

MUNOZ: FIRST IT IS ANNUAL TOLL INCREASES, NOW COME THE GAS TAX HIKE WARNINGS

NEW JERSEY COMMUTERS WILL PAY MORE SOON

Assemblyman Eric Munoz today warned New Jersey motorists that as gas prices continue their steady climb, Democrats are sending clear signals that other commuting expenses are also about to increase – probably not long after this year’s election.

“All New Jersey residents need to do is read the newspaper and they can see the warning signs that more tax hikes lurk beyond this year’s election,” said Munoz, R-Union, Essex, Morris and Somerset. “Last week we learned of a plan to guarantee annual toll increases and today we learn that Governor Corzine is again exploring the idea of a gas tax hike.”

“Haven’t New Jersey taxpayers had enough?” Munoz asked. “After 94 tax increases in the past five years this is outrageous.”

An Associated Press story today quoted Governor Jon Corzine as saying that that the gas tax may have to go up someday to help pay for mass transit and highway needs. “It’s certainly something we have to take into consideration in regard to our transportation capital needs and financial needs for mass transit in particular, so we'll review that,” Corzine said in the story.

Just last week state Sen. Raymond Lesniak told the press that the proposed state asset sale of New Jersey toll roads will likely have to include a guaranteed annual increase in the tolls paid by commuters on the Garden State Parkway and New Jersey Turnpike.

“New Jersey commuters already pay too much,” Munoz said. “They pay too much for gas, too much in property taxes, too much in sales taxes, too much in tire taxes and now they may be paying too much in tolls and gas taxes. It is time for state government to start cutting costs and reducing wasteful spending instead of looking for the next tax hike.”

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May 29, 2007

MUNOZ AGAIN URGES GREENSTEIN TO SCHEDULE HEARING FOR JESSICA LUNSFORD ACT

Just days after a number of bills to crack down on sex offenders were voted out of committee, Assemblyman Eric Munoz today sent a letter to Assembly Judiciary Committee Chairwoman Linda Greenstein again requesting that her committee consider the “Jessica Lunsford Act” before breaking for the summer.

“I noticed that on May 21 your committee approved several very worthy pieces of legislation dealing with sex offenders, but I was disappointed you chose not to include the ‘Jessica Lunsford Act’ as part of that agenda,” said Munoz, R-Union, Essex, Morris and Somerset. “I feel strongly that this bill will help to make our children safer from these sexual predators.”

Munoz had sent a letter to Greenstein on April 10 requesting a hearing for his bill, A-960, which was first introduced in May 2005 and has languished ever since. This legislation expands on provisions of a 2005 law sponsored by Munoz that required electronic monitoring of sex offenders.

Under A-960, in addition to providing for the electronic monitoring, child protection zones could be created and criminal penalties would be enacted for individuals convicted of harboring sex offenders. Named after a 9-year-old Florida girl who was kidnapped and murdered by a convicted sex offender, the “Jessica Lunsford Act” 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.

The bill has bipartisan support and 42 co-sponsors, more than enough to pass the General Assembly if put up for a vote. The Munoz bill is supported by the Lunsford family.

"This bill is a critical component of any comprehensive effort to protect our children from sexual predators,” Munoz said. “I urge my colleagues to support this legislation and will do everything I can to bring attention to this issue before the Legislature recesses at the end of June.”

A copy of Munoz’s letter to Greenstein is attached.      

May 29, 2007

Linda Greenstein
Chairwoman, Assembly Judiciary Committee
7 Centre Drive, Suite 2
Monroe Township, New Jersey 08831

Dear Assemblywoman Greenstein:

This letter is a follow-up to my correspondence of April 10 in which I requested that you post my bill, A-960, for discussion and a vote at the next meeting of the Assembly Judiciary Committee.

As you know, A-960, known as the “Jessica Lunsford Act,” concerns the sentencing of sex offenders and persons who harbor them, requires electronic monitoring of certain sex offenders and creates child protection zones.  This bill expands on provisions of legislation signed into law in 2005, S-1889, of which I was a prime sponsor. That bill dealt only with the electronic monitoring of sex offenders and did not include several key provisions of my original bill which are now part of A-960.

I noticed that on May 21 your committee approved several very worthy pieces of legislation dealing with sex offenders, but I was disappointed you chose not to include the “Jessica Lunsford Act” as part of that agenda. I feel strongly that this bill will help to make our children safer from these sexual predators. I also would note that my bill has 42 co-sponsors representing broad bipartisan support.

In your comments to the Star-Ledger you noted that you wanted to take a closer look at how Megan’s Law, “is being carried out across the state of New Jersey,” adding that, “We’ve tried to do it on a piecemeal basis; the time is now to take a comprehensive look at it.” If you wish to take a comprehensive approach to this issue, I believe that you must include the “Jessica Lunsford Act” as part of that discussion.

This is why I am requesting that you convene another meeting of the committee to consider this very important bill. Should you have any questions regarding this legislation, please do not hesitate to contact me.
       
Sincerely,

Eric Munoz, M.D.
Assemblyman, District 21

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May 29, 2007

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT... Shorten effective date for dual-office ban

Editorial, Courier-Post, May 29, 2007

This is what makes this bill such a sham. Never mind that serving local and state constituents might cause conflicts of interest and other disruptions to taking care of the people’s business. But this bill is clearly not about serving the people. It’s about bending the will of the people to serve the entitlement mentality of the legislative majority...We urge Assembly and state Senate members to stop the subterfuge. they should not grandfather in dual-office holders. A “reform” bill shouldn’t take years to end this practice.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT... A single cure for double dipping

Editorial, Trenton Times, May 29, 2007

This is not the bill New Jersey voters want to see. Not by a long shot. If the Legislature and the governor are truly interested in restoring some measure of confidence in state government, dual-office holding should be ended once and for all. The 19 members of the Legislature who currently hold mayoral, council or freeholder positions simply should resign from the state job or the local job and open up the democratic process to the many other citizens who are perfectly capable of serving in those positions. Dual-office holding, or "double dipping," as it's sometimes called, has inflated state pension costs and led to numerous conflicts of interest.

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May 29, 2007

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT...No exemptions
from ethics rules

Editorial, Home News Tribune, May 25, 2007

In typical Jersey fashion, its politicians in Trenton are moving toward approval of legislation that would ban dual elected office-holding but exempt themselves from the restrictions. To add insult to injury, the Statehouse crowd no doubt will crow about how righteous it was in the pursuit of "more ethical government" once the measure is law. It's all baloney, of course. This initiative is pure self-preservation and self-advancement.

Granted, the proposal would outlaw holding more than one elected office, a stated goal of Gov. Jon S. Corzine. But the legislation would grandfather in current lawmakers and allow them to keep any positions they hold as of Feb. 1, 2008 –
it’s fatal flaw.

Conversely, the governor has pushed for a ban that would take effect before the state budget is signed and sealed by the end of June, a deadline that is completely reasonable and smart.

The exception legislators want to carve out for themselves is troubling on multiple fronts.

For one, it perpetuates a conflict of interest for lawmakers forced to divide loyalties between their respective constituencies.

For another, it eventually will create two separate and unequal classes of Statehouse occupants — those who can and those who can't occupy a second office.

There also is the likelihood that between now and the 2008 cutoff there will be a rush by current legislators to nail down extra elected positions to further feather their nests, especially for those lucrative pension benefits that come with extra positions; the far-off deadline, unfortunately, provides them with ample opportunity to sneak in under the wire this fall. So while roughly one out of six lawmakers holds a second elected position now, that percentage very easily could rise.

The bottom line remains that there has never been any advantage to the citizens of New Jersey, and as seen there are numerous disadvantages, under the exceptions that lawmakers want to extend to themselves. So why allow them? Greed and the lust for power, pure and simple.

Talk is that leadership in both the Assembly and the Senate each supports a ban that begins on Feb. 1, with the grandfathering clause thrown in. Passage could come as early as next month. It's a shame and an insult. Several immediate and all-out bans on dual office-holding have been floated along the way. All were worthy, yet none gained ground. And so it appears that the good of the citizenry is about to take a back seat once again to the personal advantage of lawmakers.

Should state residents be surprised? Not at all. That widespread distrust regarding the Legislature that permeates New Jersey is built on deals like this, in which when push comes to shove it's the public that winds up on its backside, eating dirt.

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May 25, 2007

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT... State assets simply
can't be replaced

The Daily Journal

Editorial, The Daily Journal, Cumberland County, May 25, 2007

The Corzine administration seems determined to get a
one-time infusion of cash for some of our state assets -- one
way or another.

There was a lot of public opposition to selling or leasing the Garden State Parkway and New Jersey Turnpike to a private company (most likely a foreign one), so apparently the administration has abandoned that idea. But the same questions and concerns we had about the first plan we have about this new one being floated.

Administration officials won't discuss the unfinished plan, but lawmakers said they expect Gov. Jon Corzine to propose it in a couple of weeks. According to a Democratic lawmaker, the idea is to create a new agency set up as an independent corporation, which would raise funds through investors. The state would be paid between $10 billion and $15 billion up front to help cut debt and pay for unspecified needs, while toll revenues -- that would include annual cost-of-living increases on the toll roads for decades to come -- would be used to pay off investors.

Our concerns haven't changed.

We're concerned about the public having to pay more and more each year to get where they have to go on some of the busiest highways in the country, with no toll relief in sight. We're concerned about the long-term maintenance of the toll roads once an "independent state agency" takes control. How much independence are we talking about? Will this agency be beholden to the public or to the investors, who are only concerned about making a profit?

Our concerns don't end there.

We're also concerned that with guaranteed higher and higher tolls, drivers will choose to take non-toll roads, overburdening them and adding to the cost of maintaining these roadways. And who will select the members of this agency and will it, like so many other agencies, become a place to reward political and personal friends?

Finally, the state will have to find other revenue sources to replace the more than $715 million those toll roads bring in now, and there are no guarantees that once the state gets its hands on the money from this onetime, up-front cash infusion that it will spend the funds wisely. In fact, it's almost guaranteed it won't.

We will know more details in a couple of weeks, but if it resembles the plan as outlined this week, it looks too much like mortgaging the future to meet the needs of today.

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May 25, 2007

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT... Keep judges off panel

Editorial, Asbury Park Press, May 25, 2007

A bill approved by an Assembly committee this week would prohibit lawmakers from serving on the Joint Legislative Committee on Ethical Standards. That's a good start. But the bill, pushed by Assembly Speaker Joseph J. Roberts Jr., D-Camden, restricts membership to retired judges and prosecutors. It should keep them off the ethics panel as well.

We prefer a bill sponsored by Assembly Minority Leader Alex DeCroce, R-Morris, that would create an eight-member panel consisting entirely of public members. An ethics committee will not be effective unless its members are free of partisan loyalties. That's why judges and prosecutors should be barred from serving: Many of them are politically connected.

"It's clear the ethics committee's been broken," Roberts said Monday. "It's time to fix it." He's got that part right. The current 16-member panel - eight lawmakers and eight public members — has done nothing but find excuses to dismiss complaints. If a new panel is formed, its first order of business should be to review every complaint dismissed since the panel convened Oct. 23, its first meeting in 17 months.

The committee is a laughingstock. Its members spent four hours at the October meeting debating who should be chairman. The person they finally settled on bailed out three months later after landing a sinecure at Rutgers University. They also debated whether they had jurisdiction over lawmakers steering money to entities for whom they or their spouses work. After concluding they did, they dismissed nearly every complaint.

At a meeting earlier this month, a retired state senator and judge, called by one panel member the "poster boy" for damaging the Legislature's reputation, fell two votes shy of becoming the next chairman. The lunacy of that meeting prompted Roberts to call for change. Yes, change is badly needed. But only if it results in an ethics panel unencumbered by political ties.

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May 24, 2007

NEW JERSEY DRIVERS: NOTE THOSE TOLL RATES THIS MEMORIAL DAY WEEKEND – THEY’LL BE GOING UP EVERY YEAR FOR THE REST OF YOUR LIFE

DEMOCRAT LEGISLATOR ACKNOWLEDGES CORZINE’S
‘ASSET SALE’ WILL GUARANTEE ANNUAL TOLL INCREASES

Republican members of the Assembly Transportation and Public Works Committee today voiced their objections to elements of Governor Corzine’s proposed lease of New Jersey toll roads
which will apparently guarantee an annual increase in tolls on those highways.
           
“There are many questions that need to be resolved regarding this proposed sale of state assets, but one thing I cannot support is an annual increase in tolls,” said Assemblyman Sean Kean, R-Monmouth.  “Motorists are already getting slammed with higher gas prices this spring, and I don’t think they will appreciate having an ever-increasing toll burden added to those costs.”
           
An Associated Press story today quoted State Sen. Raymond Lesniak as saying that Governor Corzine’s plan will likely involve creating a new state agency that will essentially sell or lease the rights to future state toll road revenue to investors. This would include a guarantee to the investors of an annual increase in tolls on those roads.
           
Assemblywoman Jennifer Beck, R-Monmouth and Mercer, said she has had reservations about this asset monetization scheme from the start and now some of those fears are being realized.

“When you examine the impact this deal will have and the state’s finances, tolls, transportation management strategies, increased traffic on local roads, it looks very unattractive,” Beck said.  “This is a policy the residents of New Jersey will live with for most of the next century, and I think when all the facts are placed on the table we will see that this is a bad deal for our residents.”

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May 24, 2007

CHATZIDAKIS  BILL TO SAVE ENERGY COSTS THROUGH THE USE OF ENERGY EFFICIENT LIGHT BULBS ADVANCES FROM SENATE COMMITTEE

BILL SEEKS TO EXPAND USE OF FLUORESCENT LIGHT BULBS

The Senate Economic Growth Committee today approved legislation sponsored by Assemblyman Larry Chatzidakis requiring the State to replace incandescent light bulbs with compact fluorescent light bulbs and directing the Board of Public Utilities (BPU) to educate the public on the benefits of compact fluorescent light bulbs.

“One important way for the state to save on energy costs is to adopt more energy efficient practices,” said Chatzidakis, R-Burlington. “At a time when we are seeking to cut government costs this proposal is a common sense way to do so within state government. And at the same time we should be educating the general public on the advantages of these energy efficient light bulbs for their own use.”

The bill, A-3983, would require the Division of Purchase and Property, the Director of the Division of Property Management and Construction, and any State agency having authority to contract for the purchase of goods or services, within three years after the date of enactment to replace all incandescent light bulbs used in State buildings with compact fluorescent light bulbs
whenever possible.

Noting that only 5 percent of the bulbs sold in the United States are compact fluorescent, this bill would further require the Board of Public Utilities, within 30 days after the date of enactment of this bill into law, to undertake a public education and awareness campaign to inform businesses and homeowners of the benefits of compact fluorescent light bulbs.

“Studies indicate that compact fluorescent light bulbs use two-thirds less energy than a standard incandescent bulb and last up to 10 times longer,” Chatzidakis said. “These studies state that replacing a 100-watt incandescent light bulb with a 32-watt compact fluorescent light bulb will save at least $30 in energy cost over the life of the bulb.”

The bill already passed the Assembly 78-1 and now heads to the full State Senate for consideration.

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May 24, 2007

BECK SAYS NEW DEMOCRAT BILL TARGETING
DUAL OFFICE HOLDING MISSES THE MARK

ASSEMBLY BILL BEING FAST-TRACKED
EXEMPTS CURRENT DOUBLE-DIPPERS

Assemblywoman Jennifer Beck, who is the sponsor of a bill ending dual office holding immediately, today warned that a new dual office holding bill sponsored by Assemblyman Michael Panter, and possibly being fast tracked in the General Assembly, was carefully crafted to protect current dual office holders in the Legislature.
           
“Dual office-holding presents a myriad of problems ranging from the inherent conflict of interest it can create to the strain it puts on the financing of the state pension and benefits system,” said Beck, R-Monmouth and Mercer. “We need to eliminate dual office holding and we need to do so in a way that does not allow this troubling problem to fester for years to come.”
           
The Panter bill includes language stating that dual office holding is prohibited except for “any person who holds the office of member of the Senate or the General Assembly and, at the same time, holds any other elective public office on the effective date” of his bill. The bill has been put on second reading by the Speaker with no committee hearing.
           
Beck is the sponsor of Assembly Bill A-3972, which has no such grandfathering provision. This bill requires an individual who holds multiple elective public offices to resign from all those offices except one within 30 days of the bill’s enactment. If not the person will forfeit all elective offices except the one that he or she was most recently sworn into. Her bill also applies to appointed government positions for legislators.
           
In late January Beck made a motion during an Assembly floor vote on Senate Bill S-17, which would have changed the dual office-holding clause in that bill to incorporate the provision’s of Beck’s stronger ban. The Democrat majority voted to table her motion.      
The weaker dual office holding provision in that bill was later removed by the Senate and during the Assembly floor vote on that new bill in February, Beck again made a motion to amend the bill to include her immediate ban on dual office holding. This motion was also rejected by the Democrat majority.
           
“With all due respect to my colleague, if we are going to fast-track a dual office holding ban, it should be one that actually solves this problem – not one specifically designed to create loopholes,” Beck said. “I believe that my bill is the comprehensive approach we need to stamp out this obvious conflict of interest that continues to cost our state’s taxpayers.”

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May 23, 2007

DOHERTY BILL TO DECREASE SIZE OF COUNTY TAX
BOARDS COULD SAVE STATE $2.5 MILLION

OLS RELEASES FISCAL ESTIMATE OF PROPOSAL

Assemblyman Michael Doherty today announced that an Office
of Legislative Services (OLS) fiscal estimate of his legislation repealing a 2005 law that increased the number of county tax board commissioners could save the state almost $2.5 million over the next three years.
           
“Today’s fiscal analysis by OLS should provide added incentive
for the Democrat majority to move this legislation,” said Doherty.
“We did not need to expand these tax boards two years ago and with the potential to save nearly $2.5 million by eliminating these additional positions, we certainly don’t need these larger
boards today.”
           
Doherty’s legislation, A-3927, would decrease the membership of county taxation boards to the 2004 level. County taxation boards that currently have five members would be reduced to three while boards with seven members would decrease to five. According to the new OLS fiscal estimate this would save the state $808,000 per year, or nearly $2.5 million over the next three years.

The 2005 legislation increased county tax boards by two members each. However, according to data provided by the state Division of Taxation, tax appeals have decreased across the state from 93,340 in 1992 to 13,883 in 2005. Doherty was the only Assembly legislator to oppose the original bill two years ago.

“New Jersey is facing an on-going financial crisis resulting from runaway spending and excessive borrowing,” said Doherty. “We need to seize every opportunity available to save taxpayers dollars and reduce the size of our bloated bureaucracy. This bill is a good place to start and I call on the Democrat majority to move this bill forward before the summer recess.”

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May 23, 2007

DANCER BILL PERMITS VICTIMS OF SEX OFFENSES
TO OBTAIN RESTRAINING ORDERS AGAINST OFFENDERS

Legislation sponsored by Assemblyman Ronald Dancer, that permits victims of sex offenses to obtain temporary and permanent restraining orders against their offenders, was approved Monday by the Assembly Judiciary Committee.
           
“Too often it seems the offender is given more protection than the victim. This law is designed to protect and maintain the safety of the victim,” explained Dancer, R-Burlington, Mercer, Monmouth and Ocean. “The bill would create a formal procedure for existing court rules and stress the need for restraining orders in sex offense cases.”
           
According to the legislation, A-3711, in any case involving a
sex offense the victim may obtain a temporary restraining order against the defendant at any time after the defendant is indicted or charged with the sex offense.  The court would be allowed to grant the following specific relief against the defendant:

• An order restraining the defendant from entering the residence, property, school, or place of employment of the victim and requiring the defendant to stay away from any specified place that is named in the order and is frequented regularly by the victim.
  
• An order restraining the defendant from making contact with the victim, including an order forbidding the defendant from personally or through an agent initiating any communication likely to cause annoyance or alarm including, but not limited to, personal, written, or telephone contact with the victim, the victim's employers, employees, or fellow workers, or others with whom communication would be likely to cause annoyance or alarm to the victim.

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May 21, 2007

PENNACCHIO BILL TO ELIMINATE VETERANS’ DISCHARGE
PAPER FEE A STEP CLOSER TO BECOMING LAW

Legislation sponsored by Assemblyman Joe Pennacchio that would eliminate the $6 fee imposed by county clerks for a certified copy of a veteran’s discharge paper was approved today by the Senate Law and Public Safety and Veterans’ Affairs Committee.       
           
Under current New Jersey law, county clerks charge $6 for a certified copy of a veteran’s discharge paper. Of this amount, $5 is paid to the State and $1 is retained by the counties. Bill A-341 will allow veterans to obtain a copy of their discharge papers free of charge.
           
“Eliminating this fee is the very least we can do for all the men and women who have served our country with dignity and honor,” said Pennacchio, R-Morris and Passaic. “You can’t put a price on their service. When our country asked them to serve, they unselfishly took up the mantle to defend freedom here and around the world, whether it was during the two World Wars, Korea, Vietnam, the Gulf War or in our current conflict in Iraq and Afghanistan.
             
“Six dollars may not sound like a lot, but really it seems rather ludicrous to make veterans pay for their own discharge papers when they put their lives on the line to defend this country,” he continued. “It’s the right thing to do and I encourage my fellow lawmakers to fully support this legislation.”

The bill heads to the full Senate for consideration.

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May 21, 2007

BECK URGES ASSEMBLY STATE GOVERNMENT
COMMITTEE TO ADOPT BILL AMENDMENT
STRENGTHENING ETHICS COMMISSION

Assemblywoman Jennifer Beck today urged the members of the Assembly State Government Committee to adopt an amendment to legislation changing the composition of the Legislative Committee on Ethical Standards to close a loop-hole created by that panel that allows state dollars to be steered by legislators to their employers.
           
“It doesn’t matter who sits on the ethics commission if that panel abides by a recent ruling opening the door for a blatant conflict of interest among legislators,” said Beck, R-Monmouth. “If we are going to make this ethics commission more effective, we must go beyond simply changing its membership and adopt meaningful standards of ethical conduct for the commission to enforce.”
           
Beck noted that the ethics committee recently ruled legislators can, under current law, work to secure noncompetitive grants for their employers while ignoring similarly situated organizations in the process, as long as none of the money actually goes directly into their pockets as cash.
           
The committee was considering Assembly Bill A-200 which replaces the current panel which includes eight legislators and eight public members with a new commission that made up of eight former judges and prosecutors.
           
Beck urged the committee to adopt an amendment to the bill stating that, “No member of the Legislature shall use that office to seek a specific grant or loan for an employer, or any other source of personal or family income, if that grant or loan is directly awarded by the Legislature through the appropriations act or if the grant or loan is awarded through a program over which the Legislature or its members have substantial authority or control.”
           
Assemblyman Sean Kean moved the amendments but they were voted down by the majority.
           
“There do need to be changes to the membership of the ethics commission, but we cannot ignore the substantive issues as well,” Beck said. “Sadly, without reversing the precedent created by the recent rulings of the committee, the new committee members' hands will be tied behind their backs.”

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May 21, 2007

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT:
Assembly proposes another 'tax relief' gimmick

Editorial, The Record of Hackensack, May 20, 2007

NEW JERSEYANS can't afford election-year gimmicks. The Assembly is considering a proposal to dedicate all of the money collected from last year's sales tax increase toward property tax relief. It sounds good. So does a cure for baldness, a pill for instant weight reduction and a deal on a bridge to Brooklyn.

Last year, Governor Corzine proposed increasing the sales tax from 6 percent to 7 percent to reduce the state's massive debt. Trenton legislators had a different idea. They wanted all the money to go toward property tax relief. The government shut down and a compromise was reached: Half of the new revenue went toward property tax relief and half toward debt.

Well, not exactly. There were last-minute pet-projects inserted
by legislators, more commonly known as Christmas tree items, perhaps worthy, but costly nonetheless. The state was, and is, drowning in debt. Taking money needed to reduce that debt and earmarking it toward property tax relief only serves to fund a tax break that was never sustainable in the first place.

Municipalities may be jumping for joy that homeowners will see tax relief. But the coin is two-sided. Where is the money to pay down the debt? Where is the money to fund needed initiatives
in education and health care, for example? Trenton should be reducing the cost of government. That, ultimately, will
reduce taxes.

But instead of bold, new thinking, legislators are engaging in the same spineless, shameless pandering that has driven up property taxes and state debt for decades. Democrats delivered some property tax relief last year. Adding more relief irresponsibly is a throwback to the McGreevey administration. Do Democrats want voters reminded of McGreevey's fiscal irresponsibility when they go to the polls in November?

No one wants to pay high property taxes, but clearly, legislators do not want to pay down the state's debt. We need hard choices and Trenton distributes hard candy. Sugar coating debt is not
a solution.

There are not enough state assets to sell to offset continued
fiscal irresponsibility. If there is less money to pay toward the state's operating costs, new revenue sources are needed.
Where are those sustainable new revenues?

Despite all the Democrats' promises of tax and ethics reform, little has been accomplished in the State House. A constitutional convention is not technically needed for reforming the system; the Legislature could do the job -- could do ITS job -- now. But it has not and it appears disinclined to do it in the future. Maybe a constitutional convention is the only way.

The Corzine administration does not support dedicating tax revenue toward a specific use because that would tie its hands. Corzine understands how to raise and invest money. The Legislature historically has understood only how to spend money.

Snake oil will not feed families, pay mortgages or provide social services. Snake oil greases the way for politicians to slide back into their legislative seats.

Almost a year has passed since state government shut down last July. If the Legislature indeed is successful in achieving the sales tax sleight of hand it could not achieve last year, it will be proof that the current crop of legislators are incapable of doing their jobs.

If that is the case, voters have a simple decision: In November, vote the snake oil salesmen (and saleswomen) out of office.

#####

May 21, 2007

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT:
Open space funding shouldn't be tied to
privatization plan

Editorial, The Express-Times, May 20, 2007

New Jersey Gov. Jon Corzine is recuperating quickly enough from his parkway crash to practice some hardball politics. Last week he took on environmentalists on two fronts. He agreed to go along with Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell's plan to dredge five feet from the Delaware River shipping channel, provided Pennsylvania pays most of the local cost and gets rid of the muck. This is a long-overdue accord that will allow big ships to reach the ports of Philadelphia and Camden.
 
Corzine picked the wrong fight, however, in trying to couple farmland-open space preservation funding to his idea to lease state assets such as the New Jersey Turnpike, Garden State Parkway and the state lottery. Environmental groups and Republicans charged him with holding the Garden State Preservation Trust "hostage" to his plan to privatize public assets to pay for preservation programs.
 
A 30-year renewal of the trust calling for a new round of bonding was expected to go before the voters in a November referendum, but Corzine has effectively blocked it. He wants to allow a one-year, $30 million renewal of the preservation fund while he figures out how to milk the highways or the lottery to plug recurring state budget holes.

Corzine is right in one respect: Borrowing to pay today's bills with tomorrow's debt, without checking the growth of employee costs for pensions and other benefits, is a road to disaster.

Yet the sale or leasing of state assets is still a public pipe dream, based on similar deals in Illinois and Indiana. Financial experts are warning that states need to take long, hard looks before signing such contracts.
 
There's another way to deal with this. Corzine should allow the voters to have their say on renewing the preservation trust in November. Until then, he has six months to educate people on the cost of borrowing and come up with a plan to raise money differently. If that plan calls for privatizing public assets, it too should be put before the voters.

#####

May 18, 2007

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: Turnpike plan still a gimmick

Editorial, Daily Record of Morris County

Signs emerging from Trenton are that the silly idea of leasing New Jersey toll roads to a private operator is not going to happen. Residents should breathe a sigh of relief, sort of.

We say sort of, because the latest plan, while better, still has some problems. As Assemblyman John Wisniewski, D-Middlesex, the chairman of the transportation committee, noted, "Tens of billions of dollars of leveraged money to theoretically pay off leveraged money, I'm not sure is in the best long-term interests."

He raises a good point. Under the proposal, the Turnpike Authority would borrow money to benefit the state as a whole and then recoup the money through toll increases. S, instead of the state selling assets like the Turnpike Authority, the authority would borrow money on the strength of future toll revenue.

This is preferable to relinquishing control of our toll roads to a private entity, but it's still a gimmick designed to yield a huge sum of money now that will have to be paid off in the future. Just how high would tolls rise? The state should not use gimmicks such as these, which is, of course, something Gov. Jon Corzine said he would not do when he ran for office.

#####

May 17, 2007

ROONEY: DEMS IGNORED LAW TO SUFFICIENTLY FUND SERVICES FOR PEOPLE WITH DEVELOPMENTAL DISABILITIES

2008 DEADLINE FOR WAITING LIST ELIMINATION
FAST APPROACHING

As the deadline for eliminating the waiting list for community residential services for people with developmental disabilities fast approaches, Assemblyman John Rooney today chastised the Legislature for failing to provide the necessary funds to properly implement the law which he sponsored in 1997.

“Instead of having people with developmental disabilities and their families submit their names to a list for needed services, I sponsored this law with the intent that the Legislature would provide enough funds in the state budget each year to provide sufficient aid to community residential and day programs in an effort to meet the needs of the developmentally disabled and their families,” explained Rooney. “However, we’re at the end of the 10-year deadline and we are nowhere near having eliminated the waiting list. In fact, it has grown.”

Rooney said it would have cost the state about $50,000 to $60,000 a year per person to provide adequate services, including community residential, day program and respite care for caretakers and thus eliminate the waiting list for such services.

In 1997, the Legislature passed bill, A-1001, which required the Commissioner of Human Services to develop and submit a plan to eliminate the developmental disabilities community residential and day program waiting list by 2008. At the time, Rooney said, there were about 6,000 names on the list. Today, that number has grown to 8,000, he noted, under the Democrat’s watch.

“I am sad to report that this law has been an abysmal failure because the Democrat-controlled Legislature has failed to provide sufficient funding for these programs in the state’s annual budgets through the years,” said Rooney, R-Bergen.

“The fact of the matter is the Democrats have ignored the developmentally disabled community since they assumed power six years ago. At this point in time, the need for that waiting list should have been near non-existent. Instead, the 2008 budget is here and the list has ballooned by more than 2,000 which means a whole lot of folks with developmental disabilities are lacking critical services.”

Rooney said he is especially concerned about people with severe disabilities who have aging parents who are no longer able to care for them.

“This is a tremendous concern,” he said. “These folks are not able to care for themselves and their parents are no longer physically able to take care of them. Where do they go? What do they do? Had the law been implemented as designed, we wouldn’t be here today still asking those same questions.”

#####

May 16, 2007

MUNOZ RESOLUTION CALLING FOR U.N. ACTION
ON CAPTURED ISRAELI SOLDIERS RELEASED
FROM COMMITTEE

A resolution sponsored by Assemblyman Eric Munoz, MD, calling on the United Nations to take action to help free three Israeli soldiers who are being held by Hezbollah and Hamas militants in violation of international law, has been released by the Assembly State Government Committee.
           
“I want Israeli citizens here and abroad and the government of Israel to know that the United States and, in particular, the state of New Jersey, stands united with them in their efforts to bring these young men home safely,” said Munoz. “We need to remind people everywhere of this blatant and gross violation of international law.”
           
In the summer of 2006, Sergeant Ehud Goldwasser and Sergeant Eldad Regev, two reservists in the Israeli Defense Force, were kidnapped from within Israel by terrorists from the militant Islamic group Hezbollah while Israeli Defense Force Corporal Gilad Shalit was kidnapped by Hamas
           
Hezbollah’s refusal to return the Israelis resulted in a prolonged clash between Israeli military forces and Hezbollah in southern Lebanon last summer. 
           
Munoz, who sponsored the resolution, AR-244, said that neither the International Red Cross nor the families of Goldwasser and Regev have been able to contact them or receive assurances that they are well or even alive.
           
“The U.S. has always been Israel’s staunchest ally and we at
the state level will continue to do our part to support our Jewish friends,” said Munoz, R-Essex, Morris, Somerset, Union. “It’s
time for the United Nations to stand up and demand that these terrorists release these soldiers.”
           
Munoz noted that American Jewish organizations throughout
the U.S., including many here in New Jersey, have undertaken
a campaign to collect one million signatures demanding the immediate release of the three Israeli fighters.
          
Members of various Jewish organizations attended the
committee meeting where they spoke to committee members
in support of AR-244.
           
Marcy Lazar, a Westfield resident and vice president of the
Jewish Federation of Central New Jersey, said, “When Karnit Goldwasser, the wife of kidnapped Israeli soldier Ehud Goldwasser, stood before a group of visiting Americans in Haifa and told us about her determination to fight to bring him back,
we felt her dread and admired her strength. She asked us to please help her and we are.”
           
Gabrielle Flaum, of Millburn, who represents “Save Our Soldiers,” says the group is grateful for the support shown by the New Jersey Legislature and asked that both the Assembly and Senate quickly approve the resolution.
           
“We must stand up for social justice and let the terrorists
know this is wrong. Together, we can bring these soldiers
home,” she said.
           
Sam Cantor, a 17-year-old student from Millburn, joined Flaum and educated the committee on the details on the abduction of
the three soldiers.

The resolution now goes to the General Assembly for a vote.

An identical resolution, SR-94, sponsored by Senator Thomas Kean Jr. awaits consideration by the Senate State
Government Committee.

#####

May 16, 2007

CHATZIDAKIS BILL REQUIRING PRIOR STATE OR
COUNTY APPROVAL FOR HONEY BEE EXTERMINATION
CLEARS COMMITTEE

Legislation sponsored by Assemblyman Larry Chatzidakis that would require prior state or local approval before commercial pest removal companies can exterminate or move honey bee colonies was approved this week by the Assembly Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee.
           
“The honey bee is one of our state’s most well-known and economically beneficial insects and we need to be taking steps to bolster its presence,” said Chatzidakis, R-Burlington.
           
New Jersey has experienced a significant decline in honey bee population due to the varroa mite and the tracheal mite, which have been decimating honey bee colonies since the late 1980’s. This has caused major shortages of bees in New Jersey and neighboring states making it extremely rare to find naturally existing colonies.
           
The bill, A-3104, calls on the state to develop regulations, including any appropriate emergency health and safety exceptions, minimum response times for agricultural agencies or their designated responders, and any necessary enforcement and penalty provisions, to require commercial pesticide operators to contact county, regional or State agricultural agencies to either obtain assistance in relocating honey bee colonies, or approval to exterminate specific colonies.
           
“Without a robust honey bee population our state’s agricultural industry will be endangered,” Chatzidakis said. “These bees are responsible for pollinating crops such as blueberries, cranberries, apples, cucumbers and pumpkins and it is essential that we maintain the population to carry out this important work.”
           
The bill now heads to the full General Assembly for consideration.

#####

May 15, 2007

MUNOZ ASKS STATE ATTORNEY GENERAL TO JOIN EFFORT SEEKING SEX OFFENDER DATA FROM MySPACE.COM

Assemblyman Eric Munoz, MD, today asked Attorney General Stuart Raber to join the effort by eight other state Attorneys General seeking information from MySpace.com about known sex offenders who are members of the social networking website.
           
It was reported today that Attorneys General from North Carolina, Connecticut, Georgia, Idaho, Mississippi, New Hampshire, Ohio and Pennsylvania wrote a letter to a MySpace.com attorney requesting that its facilitators provide information on the number of registered sex offenders who use the site along with their names and addresses as well as the steps it has taken to warn users about sex offenders and remove their profiles from the site.
           
In a letter to Rabner, Munoz, R-Essex, Morris, Somerset, Union, writes, “I am asking that you do the same on behalf of the citizens of New Jersey in an effort to protect our most vulnerable – our children and teenagers.”
           
According to published reports, MySpace.com has knowingly failed to stop sexual predators from abusing its service by allowing these criminals to continue to target youngsters.
           
Munoz noted reports stating “almost 100 criminal incidents across the country involving adults who used MySpace to prey or attempt to prey on children.”
           
“I fear this is just the tip of the iceberg,” he said. “While it is the responsibility of parents to police what their children are accessing on the internet, it is government’s responsibility to protect its citizens from those deemed dangerous to society - in this case, convicted sex offenders.
           
‘Therefore, as our state’s chief law enforcement officer,” Munoz continued, “I am requesting that you join this effort to hold MySpace.com accountable by demanding its facilitators release the names and addresses of known sex predators and remove their profiles from their website.”
          
A copy of the letter is attached.

Dear Attorney General Rabner:

I write to request your participation in an effort that seeks to have MySpace.com release the names of registered sex offenders who use the social networking website to prey on children and teens.

As I am sure you are well aware, Attorneys General from eight states on Monday sent a letter to  MySpace.com requesting that it provide information on the number of registered sex offenders who use the site along with their names and addresses as well as the steps it has taken to warn users about sex offenders and remove their profiles. I am asking that you do the same on behalf of the citizens of New Jersey in an effort to protect our most vulnerable – our children and teenagers.

According to published reports, MySpace.com partnered with Sentinel Tech Holding Corp. in December to build a nationwide database with information on convicted sex offenders. The data shows that thousands of known pedophiles have been confirmed as MySpace.com members. Furthermore, in 2006, media outlets reported “almost 100 criminal incidents across the country involving adults who used MySpace to prey or attempt to prey on children.” I fear this is just the tip of the iceberg.

While it is the responsibility of parents to police what their children are accessing on the internet, it is government’s responsibility to protect its citizens from those deemed dangerous to society - in this case, convicted sex offenders.

If the reports are accurate, it is then unconscionable that MySpace.com, with more than 65 million monthly visitors, has knowingly failed to stop sexual predators from abusing its service by allowing these criminals to continue to target youngsters.

Therefore, as our state’s chief law enforcement officer, I am requesting that you join this effort to hold MySpace.com accountable by demanding its facilitators release the names and addresses of known sex predators and remove their profiles from their website.

Your prompt attention to this matter is greatly appreciated.

Sincerely,

Eric Munoz, MD
Assemblyman
21st Legislative District

#####

May 15, 2007

DeCROCE: LINKING GREEN ACRES TO ASSET MONETIZATION WILL KILL SUPPORT FOR PROPOSAL

CORZINE’S MOVE IS AN EFFORT TO BLACKMAIL LEGISLATURE

Assembly Republican Leader Alex DeCroce today said that he is outraged by Governor Jon Corzine’s decision to link legislative approval of an asset monetization scheme to the Governor’s continued support for the New Jersey green acres open space preservation program and announced he will withdraw his
co-sponsorship of the bill as a result.
           
“Governor Corzine knows of the strong support for green acres funding and this is nothing less than an attempt to blackmail the Legislature to support his risky asset monetization scheme,” said DeCroce, R-Morris and Passaic. “As evidence by the co-sponsorship on ACR-10/229, green acres preservation is an issue that draws broad bipartisan support. But it will not have that support if the program is linked to a reckless budget gimmick that will damage this state’s long-term financial stability.”
           
Yesterday, Governor Corzine announced he would not support any bonding plan to fund the Garden State Preservation Trust and would only support the program contingent on the Legislature adopting his proposed asset monetization plan which may include selling the Turnpike or the State Lottery.
           
DeCroce noted that ACR-10/229 has been amended to now include language stating that the $175 million for the green
acres program can come from a state resource certified by
the treasurer to have not been “available as a source of State revenue, or as a State resource, before July 1, 2008.”
This is clearly a reference toward revenue from an asset monetization plan.
           
According to news reports Corzine has struck a deal with Democrat leaders in the Legislature to put $30 million of funding in the program for this year as a stop-gap until he gets is monetization proposal passed. DeCroce said he will be removing his name from co-sponsorship of the green acres funding resolution and that he believes other members of the Republican caucus may follow suit.
           
“I cannot accept a bill that provides a token amount of money
for preservation for a single year in exchange for 100 years of guaranteed toll increases,” DeCroce said.
           
“The green acres program was originally designed as an initiative that would be able to stand on its own without partisan bickering because it served the important purpose of preserving open space,” DeCroce said. “What Governor Corzine has done is to link this popular, bipartisan program to a very unpopular and politically explosive proposal. This move could have a devastating impact on green acres funding going forward.”
           
DeCroce said that the Governor’s decision was irresponsible
and that it has jeopardized the future of the state’s open
space program.
           
“With billions of dollars of wasteful government spending waiting to be attacked, Governor Corzine has chosen instead to threaten the future of open space preservation,” DeCroce said. “All so that he can win approval for a plan that is itself a form of long-term borrowing – getting an instant infusion of cash by signing away sources of revenue for the next 100 years.
I cannot support this plan.

#####

May 14, 2007

O’TOOLE/HANDLIN BILL TO CURB PUBLIC CORRUPTION PROFITEERING CLEARS ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE

MEASURE WOULD IMPOSE STIFF NEW PENALTIES ON THOSE FOUND GUILTY OF BETRAYING THE PUBLIC TRUST

A bill sponsored by Assemblyman Kevin J. O’Toole and Assemblywoman Amy H. Handlin that would impose stiff, new, and mandatory financial penalties on public officials found guilty of corruption today cleared a key Assembly committee and now heads to the floor of the Assembly for consideration by the
entire body.
           
“I’m delighted that this bill was finally brought to a vote. 
It’s high time that the people’s representatives step up to the plate and show the people of New Jersey that the Legislature is serious about stamping out corruption,” said O’Toole, R-Bergen,
Essex, Passaic.
           
The Public Corruption Profiteering Penalty Act, A-3005, would impose significant new fines for corruption tied to public contracts without eliminating the existing penalties that are already incurred for thievery and fraud.  Lawmakers and public officials would be subject to the fines enumerated in the bill—up to $500,0000— whenever they commit a crime in connection with the negotiation, award, or performance of a local, county, or State contract.
           
“This measure will go a long way to restoring the public’s confidence in state and local government by showing that the Legislature is willing to police and penalize its own,” Handlin said.  “While those convicted of abusing public resources will be punished by representatives of the courts, this bill will ensure that they are also punished by the representatives of the people.”
           
Both O’Toole and Handlin said the law would ensure that public officials entrusted with the responsibility of carrying out the people’s work and serving as stewards of their resources are subject to penalties proportionate to betraying that critical trust.
           
“It is my hope, that through this measure, we can begin to curb the public’s eroding confidence in government.  In the last few years, a sickening number of politicians and bureaucrats have been found guilty of misusing their public office to profit privately.  Abuse like that simply has to end,” said O’Toole.
           
O’Toole noted that there is a similar bill pending in the Senate.  “We look forward to the full Assembly having the opportunity to consider the bill as soon as possible, and I call upon the Senate leadership to bring to consideration, and approve, the same bill so that Governor Corzine can sign the measure into law without delay.  The people are demanding it,” he said.
           
Assemblywoman Handlin was equally optimistic.  “I’m grateful that the measure was released from the committee with unanimous bipartisan support,” she said.  “It’s essential that the citizens of New Jersey see that members of both parties are speaking with one voice in their efforts to root out the fraud and misconduct that fuel property tax increases and destroy the public’s confidence in state and local government.”

#####

May 14, 2007

O’TOOLE LEGISLATION ESTABLISHING CRIME FOR CORRUPTION OF PUBLIC RESOURCES CLEARS COMMITTEE

Legislation sponsored by Assemblyman Kevin O’Toole that would create a new crime of “Corruption of Public Resources” to target individuals who for personal benefit divert public funds from their intended purpose, was approved Monday by the Assembly Judiciary Committee.
           
“As stewards of public resources public officials are expected to act with honesty and integrity in determining how those tax dollars will be expended,” said O’Toole, R-Essex, Passaic and Bergen. “For anyone, whether a public official or a private actor in charge of public funds, to use public funds or resources for a purpose other than that for which they were intended is a violation of the public trust.”
           
The bill, A-2465, makes it a crime, with respect to a public resource which is subject to an obligation to be used for a specified purpose or purposes, to knowingly use or make disposition of that public resource or any portion thereof for an unauthorized purpose.
           
Under this legislation, if the public resource involved is $500,000 or more and was to be used to facilitate the performance of a governmental function or public service, this offense will constitute a crime of the first degree; the offense constitutes a crime of the second degree if the amount or value involved is $75,000 or more but is less than $500,000 and a crime of the third degree if the amount or value involved is less than $75,000.
           
“This legislation will send a clear message to both public officials and private individuals in charge of public dollars that these resources are not to be misused for an individual’s personal benefit,” O’Toole said. “This will make it easier for prosecutors to target public corruption by allowing them to prosecute individuals who improperly divert state or local resources for their own benefit.”
           
The bipartisan legislation is co-sponsored by Assemblyman Neil Cohen has already passed the State Senate 37-0 and will now head to the full Assembly for consideration.

#####

May 14, 2007

THOMPSON INTRODUCES BILL IMPLEMENTING SCI RECOMMENDATIONS TO ADDRESS CHARITY CARE WASTE

Assemblyman Sam Thompson has introduced legislation aimed at eliminating waste, fraud and abuse in the state’s charity care funding system through implementation of a number of recommendations made by the State Commission of Investigation (SCI) in its recent report on problems plaguing charity care administration.
           
“We must be aggressive in stamping out waste and abuse in all facets of government,” said Thompson, R-Middlesex and Monmouth. “It is unacceptable that with a cash strapped health care system and with a state budget teetering on the brink of fiscal disaster, there is such rampant mismanagement of tax dollars in the charity care system.”
           
The SCI investigated the state’s administration of charity care dollars and issued a report in April “Charity Care: An Ailing System,” which highlighted examples of waste and abuse in the system costing taxpayers tens of millions of dollars each year.
           
Thompson’s bill seeks to combat these problems by implementing the SCI recommendations including the following:

• Requiring the use of certain procedures by hospitals designed to ensure uniform collection from charity care applicants and transmission to the Department of Health and Senior Services (DHSS) of demographic and financial data;
• Establishing an inter-agency agreement with the Office of the Inspector General to investigate charity care claims, which the commissioner  reasonably believes may be fraudulent, with the same authority as that granted to the office to investigate complaints concerning alleged fraud, waste, and abuse of state dollars;
• Establishing a means, through the use of a toll-free telephone hotline or e-mail, by which persons may confidentially report suspected instances of fraudulent charity care claims to DHSS;
• Studying the feasibility of establishing a centralized electronic registry of persons who have been determined eligible for charity care and issuing distinctive identification numbers to those persons exclusively for the purposes of the registry.

“I believe these recommendations will help to eliminate much of the waste and abuse that has been identified in the charity care system,” Thompson said. “Hopefully we can adopt this legislation soon so that we can begin saving money going into the new budget year at the end of next month.”      

#####

May 11, 2007

THOMPSON APPOINTED BY DeCROCE
TO ASSEMBLY HOMELAND SECURITY COMMITTEE

CALLS ON COMMITTEE TO LOOK AT SECURITY GRANTS ISSUE

Assembly Republican Leader Alex DeCroce today appointed Assemblyman Sam Thompson, to serve on the Assembly Homeland Security & State Preparedness Committee saying that Thompson will bring dedication, experience and a strong work ethic to the panel.
           
“It is an honor to have the trust placed in me to be selected to serve on a panel that deals with critical life-and-death national security issues,” said Thompson, R-Middlesex and Monmouth.
“I look forward to working with this committee to ensure we are doing everything within our power to be prepared for and to prevent possible terrorist attacks in this state.”
           
Thompson has served in the General Assembly since 1998 and has been a leading advocate on veterans issues. He also is veteran of the U.S. Army and served for ten years as a member of the U.S. Armed Forces Epidemiological Board.
           
“I selected Assemblyman Thompson because I  know he will put his full energy and ability into the very important work of this committee,” said DeCroce, R-Morris and Passaic. “As a veteran, Assemblyman Thompson knows the importance of defending this nation and the freedom we enjoy, and he will bring an important perspective and expertise to this panel.”
           
In his first action as a member of the committee Thompson today sent a letter to the committee’s chairwoman, Assemblywoman Joan Quigley, stating his intention to raise the issue of homeland security grants at the next meeting. The homeland security grants in question were distributed between 2002 and 2005 and went overwhelmingly to Democrat-controlled legislative districts.
           
Thompson said he will raise this issue at Monday’s meeting and ask that the committee bring in the grants administrator to explain how the funding decisions were made as part of that program.

A copy of the letter is attached below.

Dear Assemblywoman Quigley:

Earlier today, I was appointed to the Homeland Security
and State Preparedness Committee.  I am excited at the prospect of joining the Committee this Monday at the special meeting you have called to discuss how we may better prepare our State to protect against terrorist attacks.  I want to give you advance notice that I intend to speak at Monday’s meeting to address an issue that has languished without attention for the past two
years – holding accountable those people in State government who were responsible for politically manipulating state homeland security grants less than two years ago in a way that short-changed many of my Republican colleagues’ legislative districts, and Jersey City as well.

It is well-documented that the State’s homeland security grant program was politicized as recently as Fiscal Year 2005. 

• 29 towns applied for homeland security funding in the home county of Fort Dix, but all were turned down.  14 towns applied for funding in legislative district 11 in Monmouth County, including the hometown of Fort Monmouth, but all were turned down.  8 towns applied for funding in legislative district 13 in Monmouth County, including towns adjacent to Naval Weapons Station, Earle, but all were turned down.  More than 100 towns, many with critical homeland security needs, saw their applications ignored for no other reason than the political affiliation of the legislators who represented them.

• The manipulation of the State homeland security grant program jeopardized your own district’s preparedness as well. Your own home city of Jersey City – the home of financial institutions and New York City’s neighbor -- was provided a scant $100,000 grant – only half the amount for which it applied.  

• 19 towns applied for funding in Senator Wayne Bryant’s legislative district in Camden County, and an astounding
  16 of them received funding – even towns with no known critical infrastructure or priority need for assistance. 
  One of those towns received a larger grant than it had applied for -- as did at least three other towns elsewhere in the State. 

• One grant was given to a nonprofit corporation to pay salaries even though grants were required by rules to only be available to municipalities to assist with the purchase of public safety equipment.

Sadly, this matter is not old news or a dead issue.  Several people who were involved in that scandalous grant program remain in high-paying and important positions where they are responsible for public security.  Steven C. Talpas, the grants coordinator in the Department of Law and Public Safety when the grants were awarded, is still in a $110,000 nonunion position with the Department of Law and Public Safety.

Until we make sure that the people responsible for this scandal are no longer in positions of trust and power, we will never have confidence that our own homeland security preparedness  is being guided by professionals who have the strength of character to resist letting politics trump merit.  We will continue to have preventable holes in our homeland security infrastructure.

For this reason, I intend to ask you at Monday’s meeting and every meeting thereafter, when you will bring before us, the grants administrator I referenced above, and other participants in that scandal, to ask them how the program was manipulated, and who was really responsible. 

I want to know who was responsible for wasting the time of hundreds of police chiefs throughout the State by enticing them to parti