Lou in the News

Courier Post Staff
May 13, 2011

Staff members for three South Jersey legislators will hold a "mobile office" here on May 26.

Staffers will assist the public from 9 a.m. to noon at the Oaklyn Municipal Building on the White Horse Pike at Clinton Avenue. They will represent state Sen. James Beach, D-Voorhees, and Assembly members Louis Greenwald, D-Voorhees, and Pamela Lampitt, D-Cherry Hill.

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NJ Assembly to Hold Public Hearings on 2011-2012 State Budget
Tom Hester Sr., NewJerseyNewsRoom.com
March 2, 2011

New Jerseyans will have three chances in the next three weeks to address the Assembly Budget Committee on their views of Gov. Chris Christie’s proposed $29.4 billion 2011-12 state budget.

The public hearings are set to begin Tuesday at 9:30 a.m. in the Statehouse Annex in Trenton. The hearing will focus on health, human services, senior citizen, family and children’s issues .

The second hearing will be held March 16 at 9:30 a.m. at the University Hall Conference Center at Montclair State University, 1 Normal Ave. in Montclair. The focus will be on education, higher education and local government matters.

The third hearing will be held March 23 at 9:30 a.m. at Camden County College, Blackwood Campus, 311 College Dr. in Blackwood. The focus will be on public safety, economic development, transportation, environment, arts, history and cultural Issues and other topics.

NJ Spotlight
Linda Moss
March 4, 2011

Count the Garden State Film and Digital Media Job Act as one casualty in the tug-of-war between the Democratically controlled state legislature and Gov. Chris Christie over how to best fix the state’s economy.

The bill, which was designed to attract more TV, film and animation business to the Garden State, was one of five tax-incentive measures that failed to win the necessary votes on Thursday to override a Christie veto. Most Republicans switched their previous positions and voted against the measure. Originally, the film tax-incentive bill had won overwhelming bipartisan support.

"The Senate Republican caucus has once again made it clear that they are more than willing to be told what to do out of fear of going against their governor," said Senate Majority Leader Barbara Buono (D-Middlesex) deriding the Republicans for their change of heart. Although the package of five jobs bills failed to win the override, two tax-cut bills aimed at small businesses were sent back to the governor for his signature.
No Stranger to Controversy

The Garden State Film and Digital Media Jobs Act has been controversial from the start. It was originally nixed by Christie even though an independent study, commissioned by the state Economic Development Agency at the governor's request, said the tax-incentive program generated "significant employment" in the Garden State and broke even on net tax transfers.

Philadelphia Inquirer
Editorial
February 23, 2011

Listening to Gov. Christie's budget address Tuesday, you might think he was throwing his hat in the ring to become governor of the United States.

Don't dwell on rising property taxes or program cuts, Christie said, in effect. New Jerseyans, be proud instead that your governor is leading a nationwide austerity revolution.

From coast to coast, governors are following New Jersey's lead, Christie argued. In California, New York, Wisconsin, and Ohio, they're cutting wages and benefits for public employees and health care for the poor.

Forget all that talk about Christie running for president. To hear him tell it, he's leading the country from his desk in Trenton. He even threw in a complaint about "Obamacare."

"Some thought the change might come from the federal government, but that hasn't been the case," Christie said. "The change is coming from the states, and the charge is being led by New Jersey."

That alone won't console New Jersey residents, who haven't felt real improvement from Christie's budget cuts. Jobs are still hard to find, and property taxes are higher than ever.

Thousands of teachers have been laid off, putting pressure on districts to increase class sizes. In Camden, about 40 percent of the police and firefighters are gone due in part to the loss of state aid. In some cases, emergency response times are up. This, too, is part of what Christie calls "the New Normal."

Courier Post
Jason Method
February 23, 2011

RENTON — Gov. Chris Christie, declaring that New Jersey needed to do "big things," proposed a $29.4 billion budget designed to cut taxes for residents and businesses and further rein in spending in a state facing mounting fiscal obligations amid a still stagnant economy.

Christie called for business tax cuts and an increase in property tax rebates and aid to schools. But his budget also plans to cut payments to nursing homes and move 121,000 senior citizens and disabled into managed care plans.

In addition, Christie wants to continue to reduce the size of the state work force, freeze salaries and force employees to pay more toward their health care.

In a speech interrupted by applause 25 times, mostly by fellow Republicans, Christie said New Jersey had reached a "new normal," and needed to adjust to the economic reality.

"There will be sacrifice. There will be political difficulty," Christie said. "And not everyone can have everything they want. But we are going to stick to the course of making New Jersey ready for a brighter future. I am not going to back down. And I am not going to slow the pace."

Overall spending on state services and state aid will rise by less than 1 percent. Administration officials said they will reduce spending by 2.6 percent in the budget that begins on July 1, but that is only achieved by applying a $506 million pension contribution, planned for next year, to the current budget.

Highlights of Christie's plan include: