newjerseynewsroom.com

Governor cites $132 million cost

BY TOM HESTER SR.

NEWJERSEYNEWSROOM.COM

UPDATED

Citing the state government's fiscal difficulties, Gov. Chris Christie Friday vetoed three bills, angry Democratic legislators maintain were designed to help create jobs through the creation of a new homebuyer tax credit program and restore funding for family and women's health programs.

Christie said the legislation would add millions of dollars in unbudgeted additional state spending.

The governor said the state continues to confront historic economic and fiscal crises and that the bills would have added $132 million in state spending that was not accounted for in the new budget nor envisioned as part of the bipartisan agreement on a spending plan.

In a veto message to the Legislature, Christie wrote, "... state spending has been reset to levels the taxpayers can afford and supplemental spending that would return to the unchecked spending and out of control budget shortfalls of the past will not make it past the governor's desk."

Assembly Speaker Sheila Y. Oliver (D-Essex) said, "I will review these vetoes and discuss them with the Assembly Democratic caucus.

But I know this -- these bills are vitally important to women's health care, children, our economy and working class New Jerseyans. My inclination is that I expect to work with the Senate to put these bills back up for veto overrides. I expect a final decision soon."

The governor said he will continue to demand fiscal responsibility and accountability in government and advocate for the necessary reforms to put New Jersey on a stable financial foundation in the long run. He said continuing to make unsupportable expenditures will only take New Jersey backwards and follow the same path that led the state to its fiscal problems.

Democrats knew there was a very strong chance Christie would not go for a bill they sponsored that would have called for $100 million in state spending.

Assembly Budget Committee Chairman Lou Greenwald (D-Camden) said the veto of of Assembly bill 1678 will hurt the state‘s growth and economy for years. Greenwald sponsored the Assembly bill He said his bill, the New Jersey Homebuyer Tax Credit Program was approved overwhelmingly in both the Senate and Assembly.

The Assembly bill would have establish a three-year, $100 million Homebuyer Tax Credit Program, enabling New Jerseyans to qualify for up to $15,000 in tax credits. The credit would have been directed towards those who purchase new residential properties, a provision designed to stimulate the state's economy through new construction, textile purchases and ancillary activities.

Sen. Joseph F. Vitale (D-Middlesex), the vice chair of the Senate Health, Human Services and Senior Citizens Committee and sponsor of S-2134 said the legislation would restore nearly $25 million which was cut from the 2010-11 budget from the FamilyCare program to provide health care access to the uninsured, and S-2139 which would have restored $7.5 million in funds which were cut for women's health and family planning programs.

"This veto is a critical mistake that will damage our economy for years. It is catastrophic for New Jersey,'' Greenwald said of the homebuyer tax credit bill at the Statehouse. "The facts are simple and obvious to everyone but the governor. Home sales fell 23 percent in May, and 27 percent in June. Home construction has plummeted. Our unemployment stands at 9.6 percent.

"Just yesterday the New York Federal Reserve Bank detailed how New Jersey has yet to see strong signs of economic recovery, even as the region has started to pull out of the recession. While New York has rebounded strongly, I fear New Jersey, thanks to this veto, will hit bottom.

"We are now headed toward sharp cuts in home prices that hurt our larger economy,'' Greenwald said. "Carpenters, bricklayers, pipefitters, builders, banks and lenders will continue to struggle to find jobs. When a home is sold in New Jersey, income generated from real estate related industries and additional expenditures such as furniture and appliances totals nearly $40,000. That will not happen. Tax revenues that would have more than made up for the $33 million spent on this program in the first year will not be generated.''

Assemblyman Vincent Prieto (D-Hudson), a prime sponsor of the homebuyer tax credit legislation, said, "This bill had the potential to lift New Jersey out of this massive recession once and for all by stimulating job growth, home buying and consumer spending. With the stroke of his pen, the Governor has set New Jersey back even further on the path to economic recovery.

"Construction, in particular, has been the slowest industry to rebound in New Jersey, as evidenced by the federal report released yesterday, Prieto said. "If the governor truly wants to turn New Jersey around then he should be willing to embrace any worthy idea regardless of where it originates from."

Assemblyman Paul D. Moriarty (D-Gloucester) said, "This is just another slap in the face from the governor to middle class New Jerseyans that started with his budget, continued with today's veto and likely won't end until he has made the state unaffordable for all but the richest 1 percent of the population.

"This program would have stimulated the economy on two fronts: it would have provided an incentive for prospective homebuyers to make a purchase, pumping money into the real estate market and all the surrounding local businesses that benefit from a new homeowner; and it would have put out-of-work architects, engineers and construction workers back to building homes and off the state's unemployment rolls,'' Moriarty said. "The governor's actions today don't just fly in the face of logic, they fly in the face of economics as well."

Commenting on the veto of the Senate bills, Sen. Loretta Weinberg (D-Bergen), chairwoman of the upper house's Health, Human Services and Senior Citizens Committee and sponsor of S-2139, that would have restored the $7.5 million in funds for women's health and family planning programs, said, "It's a sad day when the governor ... decides to put political ideology ahead of the health and safety of women and men across the Garden State.

"The governor has perpetuated a myth that this decision has to do with budget choices,'' Weinberg said. "However, when pressed, he was able to find $65 million in funds which were squirreled away in the budget to maintain Bergen County's blue laws. He did so by revising tax collection revenues. No new funding source, just a prediction that more money will magically fall into our laps.

"He was able to find $5 million at the last minute to secure Senator Doherty's vote on the budget and relieve businesses from further fees,'' Weinberg said. "Again, no identified funding source. These are important causes, and I support them. But when weighed against women's health and family planning funding, there's absolutely no question where the State should be spending our money.

"Governor Christie has sided with conservative politics against the women of the Garden State. However, despite this setback, we will push for a veto override,'' Weinberg concluded. "The bill was approved by a veto-proof majority in the Senate, and I believe we can win more support in the Assembly in an override attempt.''

Vitale said, "The governor's veto of these bills represents a colossal mistake in terms of ensuring health care access for people who have nowhere else to turn. Not only are these vetoes inhumane, they also make little fiscal sense when you consider that the state will face much larger health care costs in terms of providing medical care for the uninsured.

"Governor Christie's veto and his continuing disregard for the well-being of tens of thousands of working parents, places their health and lives in jeopardy,'' Vitale said. "The governor's veto will drive people to seek treatment in federally-qualified health centers, which aren't adequately funded to meet the increased demand, and emergency rooms, taking resources away from true emergency cases. When you add in the fact that the governor has slashed funding for the AIDS drug program, more people will become sick, and more demand will be placed on our health care safety net than ever before.''