Democrats Must Go on the Record to Overcome “Poison Pills”
Senate Minority Leader Thomas H. Kean (R-Essex/Morris/Somerset/Union) released a legal opinion from the non-partisan Office of Legislative Services (OLS) which indicated that Governor Corzine’s proposal to raid dedicated funds for arts, tourism and shore protection purposes may be unconstitutional. The Governor’s Fiscal Year 2010 budget proposes to suspend various “poison pill” laws used to dedicate funding for certain purposes.
“Governor Corzine’s administration has asserted that he is allowed to set aside the laws of this State when fashioning his budget, ” said Kean. “The OLS legal opinion questions his unrestrained view of executive power, and instead notes that the State Constitution likely requires the enactment of separate legislation to allow him to shift investments in the arts, tourism and shore protection to fund his pet projects.”
A separate vote on a bill to shift the state’s art, tourism and shore protection investment will allow for a separate public debate on the merits of those actions.
The OLS opinion notes that an attempt to override the “poison-pill” laws that dedicate funding for the arts, tourism promotion and shore protection would run afoul of the one object provision of Article IV, Section VII, paragraph 4 of the State Constitution.
Kean noted that the Democrat-controlled Legislature enacted separate legislation in 2008 to divert $9 million in dedicated shore protection monies to State park operations. “The Trenton Democrats had no problem enacting legislation to raid the shore protection fund last year. The difference now is that there is an election coming this November.”
“It is time for the Governor to reconsider his circumvention of the State Constitution and direct his allies in the Legislature to introduce separate legislation to accomplish his proposal to raid dedicated arts, tourism and shore protection funds. If he refuses to proceed in a constitutionally-appropriate manner, we will strongly consider taking legal action to compel him to respect the rule of law.”
Click here to view a scanned version of the OLS legal opinion.
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March 11, 2011
