Senator Challenges Corzine to Use Red Pen on Specific Line Items
Senator Jennifer Beck (R-Monmouth) challenged Governor Corzine to use the line item veto power over at least five specific line items before signing the budget this afternoon.
Under the budget Governor Corzine is signing today, middle class taxpayers will pay an average of $1,200 more in taxes according to Rutgers economists. 1.2 million people will be kicked out of the property tax relief program according to the Office of Legislative Services. And the budget raids an EMT Fund and the Catastrophic Illness in Children Relief Fund.
“When Governor Corzine signs the budget bill today, he is stating that taxpayers, volunteer medical technicians, and middle class folks who need help paying medical bills are less important than pork, patronage, and waste, ” said Beck ”The Governor, at the very least, should remove the following spending items with the use of his veto power.”
1) There remains $8,000,000 in pork under the line item ”County Prosecutor Funding Initiative Pilot Program.” This special appropriation was designed to benefit 4 counties (Essex, Hudson, Mercer, and Camden) and has continued every year for the past few years.
2) Millions of dollars are set aside in the budget to pay politically appointed commissioners on various boards. They get paid just enough to qualify for full pension credit even though their boards generally meet once per month. For one of the boards, the Local Finance Board, there is also funding to provide the members with full health benefits. The pay for these boards is unnecessary. Many qualified folks would be willing to serve as volunteers.
3) The Law Revision Commission in Newark could be eliminated as it provides a function that could easily be performed by existing Office of Legislative Services staff.
4) Millions of dollars are set aside in the budget to pay the salary of nonunion political patronage appointments scattered throughout government in positions like government rep 1, government rep 2, government rep 3, confidential aid, etc. In fact, more than 20 people have been hired to work in the Governor’s office within the past year and a half – several from campaigns or the State Democrat Committee. But not only will Corzine not fire them, he is signing an agreement that he will not fire anyone while he is in office.
5) More than $100 million remains in the politicized and mismanaged Special Municipal Aid Program – a program that just several years ago was funded with less than $40 million. This program operated without so much as even an application until last year. No written guidelines exist for the expenditure of funds.
Link to Post:
http://www.senatenj.com/index.php/beck/beck-to-corzine-budget-puts-pork-and-patronage-first/3425
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February 23, 2010
