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This is the true enabling of bi-partisanship action. Even though, as Republicans, we are in the minority, we will be able to choose legislation to be voted on up and down by the legislature. So we can finally post for votes all of the Governor’s Tool Kit bills which specifically deal with cost savings for local and county governments and school districts. We can have an up and down vote on a new school funding formula, like the Fair School Funding constitutional amendment; we can vote to reform civil service which has long been championed by Senator Oroho and Assemblyman Chiusano; we can vote to eliminate COAH and costly low income housing mandates; and we can vote on Assemblyman Scott Rudder’s constitutional amendment to broaden the powers of the Council of Local Mandates to make the body more proactive in eliminating costly mandates on our governments.

And in this spirit of bi-partisanship, we see Democrat proposals like The "Common Sense Shared Services Act”; allowing high performing school districts to be monitored by the DOE under the New Jersey Quality Single Accountability Continuum (NJ QSAC) every seven years rather than every three years, or the bill to require the Mandated Health Benefits Advisory Commission to study the financial impact of all enacted mandated health benefits. All of these bills received bi-partisan support in the past and should be enacted.

By enacting ACR-131, every Member of the Legislature, both Democrat and Republican, would have to go on the record, once and for all, on where they stand on lowering property taxes. No one would be able to hide behind anyone else or point the finger at the other side of the aisle. The debate would be out on the open and the votes on the record for all to see.

So far, nine of our colleagues have joined us and sponsored ACR-131. We have advocated to them why a special session on property tax reform is necessary and beneficial. As members of the minority party in the legislature, we can finally be allowed to set the table to go after what the vast majority of residents of New Jerseywant: to rein in high property taxes.

Assemblywoman Alison Littell McHose (R-24) represents Sussex, Warren, and Morris Counties and Assemblywoman Donna Simon (R-16) represents Hunterdon, Mercer, Middlesex, and Somerset Counties.