Christie has Democrats hopping mad!

It was very interesting this week to see the reaction of Governor Chris Christie's executive actions to get the state's fiscal situation under control. In case you missed it and only read the newspapers, here is the action the Governor took this week (from the Office of the Governor, NJ):

Withholding $475 million in local school aid for the balance of the fiscal year, with the amount of individual aid reductions tied to surpluses in the school districts. The withheld aid will not result in any reduction in approved school spending this year.

• A $62.1 million reduction in aid to county and senior public colleges and universities, also tied to existing surpluses.

• A $12.6 million reduction in hospital Charity Care, representing a 4.2 percent reduction.

• Capture of $158 million in unexpended balances from the Board of Public Utilities‐administered Clean Energy Fund.

• Capture of $13.8 million in surplus balance from the Homestead Rebate program.

• Take a balance of $15.9 million in unused grant money remaining due to reduced service
requirements in the Division of Youth and Family Services. Delayed programs and capital projects total more than $115 million. There was no reduction in municipal aid.

Other programs that sounded good in theory but failed in practice are being scrapped and their balances used in the budget solutions. InvestNJ was designed to spur job growth by giving out tens of millions of dollars to businesses at a rate of $3,000 per new hire. However, it experienced only limited success. Consequently, $57.9 million in InvestNJ funds will be used in the budget solutions.

Funding for the Office of the Public Advocate is being discontinued, and its present balance of approximately $600,000 will be used in the budget solutions. Necessary functions of the Public Advocate will be consolidated into other parts of state government.
Where possible, the Administration focused first on programs where there would not be
any negative effect on programs. That analysis resulted in $454 million in savings or areas of over funding. The targeting of waste and abuse resulted in approximately $70 million in savings.

This is just the beginning – a down payment – on the Administration’s plan to go deeper in finding wasteful spending in the new fiscal year.

After years of watching former Governor Corzine tell us he "didn't take this job to be scrooge", it was refreshing to see an adult approach to governing the state. And if you wondered if these changes are serious, all you need to do it watch the reaction from the Democrats who caused this mess:

NJ Democrats take aim at Gov. Christie's cuts to NJ Transit, school funding
The Star-Ledger - NJ.com

Democrats critical of Christie's budget
Philadelphia Inquirer

NJ Gov. Christie's state of fiscal emergency decree brings fury from Democrats
NJ.com (blog)

Apparently Governor Christie is stirring up a bees nest. And he is just getting started. Keep it up Governor.

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NJ Lame Duck Session: Let them smoke pot!

It appears that the normal gaggle of lame duck hi jinks will be a bit curtailed this political season (from NJ.com):

Although chances are dwindling for Democrats to enact laws before Republican Gov.-elect Chris Christie takes office Jan. 19, lawmakers said most of their grand plans — with the exception of medical marijuana — have fizzled, many with gut-checks over the state’s fiscal crisis. In addition, the transition from Democratic Gov. Jon Corzine to Christie has focused more Corzine’s nominations of allies to state entities than last-minute legislative moves.

"Lame duck’s becoming so anticlimactic," said Senate Majority Leader Stephen Sweeney (D-Gloucester), who will become Senate president when the new session begins Jan. 12. "There are very important pieces of legislation that are going to move through, but the energy level in past lame ducks seems different." Many bills faded because they would have required new spending without the state revenue to support them, Sweeney said.

Translation: We are teetering on the edge between citizens carrying pitchforks and torches to Trenton versus quietly doing some last minute tidying up. Apparently someone in Trenton has figured out that there is no money left. And that has spoiled the party.

But don't worry, at least they can legalize marijuana use in the state:

But lawmakers are clearing a path for seriously ill residents to legally use marijuana to ease their pain. The qualifying illnesses are cancer, multiple sclerosis, HIV/AIDS, seizure disorder, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and "any other medical condition" approved by the state Health Department, according to the latest version of the bill (S119).

I really don't have an opinion regarding medical use of marijuana and would defer to sound medical advice on its applicability for really ill patients. It does however seem a little bit strange when you see something like this as a part of a lame duck session as it is not without some controversy. And we all know that these sessions are usually the time to stuff pet programs down NJ citizens' throats that couldn't get approved when the sunlight is on and accountability is high.

At least for now this isn't going to cost us anything.

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