Politics & Government
NJ Spotlight: The Next Budget Battle
The Democrats got the budget they wanted -- all $30.6 billion of it. Now the Republicans get what they want: a Christie veto. Here's where it gets interesting
This article was written by Mark J. Magyar for NJ Spotlight
United for at least a day after almost two weeks of bitter infighting, the Democratic majorities in the Senate and Assembly yesterday approved a $30.6 billion budget.
"There are some calling this a 'Democratic' budget. I simply say it is a budget for New Jersey," Senate Budget Committee Chairman Paul Sarlo (D-Bergen) insisted.
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The victory celebration may be short-lived, with Gov. Chris Christie saying last night that he won’t sign the budget and the only question being what form of veto he will wield. He could veto the budget outright, do a conditional veto that would force the legislature to return today, or just veto individual line items that would still leave the budget intact.
There was virtually no question that Christie would also veto the Democrats’ accompanying millionaire's tax, something even its sponsors appeared resigned to for much of yesterday’s floor debate.
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An Election-Year Budget
Still, more than anything, it is an election-year budget for embattled Democrats, who will be defending their 24-16 control of the Senate and 47-33 edge in the Assembly in November. That task was made more difficult when 22 Democrats from South Jersey, Essex and Hudson counties -- led by Senate President Stephen Sweeney (D-Gloucester) and Assembly Speaker Sheila Oliver (D-Essex) -- joined with Republicans to pass a new law that will increase the pension and health benefits payments of public employees while taking away their right to bargain on healthcare issues for four years.
The budget and millionaire's tax that each passed the Senate and Assembly yesterday on strict party lines will give Democrats the opportunity to campaign this fall on a platform claiming that they voted to provide full state aid for the first time to every school district and to restore a property tax freeze for senior citizens and Earned Income Tax Credits for the working poor. It also includes more money for police, women’s health clinics, family planning and a slew of other programs.
Continue reading this story in NJ Spotlight.
Mark J. Magyar teaches labor studies at Rutgers University and is a regular contributor to New Jersey Spotlight. A veteran Statehouse reporter, he served as deputy policy chief for Governor Whitman and as policy director for the independent Daggett for Governor campaign in 2009.
Originial Post: The Next Budget Battle, June 30, 2011
