N.J. legislators inching toward override of Christie’s gay marriage veto

N.J. legislators inching toward override of Christie’s gay marriage veto (via NJ.com)

TRENTON — Under the din of a bustling election season, there’s a quiet movement afoot to make gay marriage a reality in New Jersey by the end of the year. Advocates have been working to convince state lawmakers — including a number of Republicans…

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O’Scanlon Reiterates His Support Of Gay Marriage

Various news sources are reporting that Assemblyman Declan O’Scanlon (R-Monmouth) has “broken with Governor Christie” over the issue of same sex marriage.

The news reports are inaccurate.

O’Scanlon was never “with” Governor Christie on the same sex marriage issue. He’s been on the record as favoring the Marriage Equality and Religious Exemptions Act since February of 2012 when the bill passed both houses of the legislature and was vetoed by Christie.

O’Scanlon was absent from the February 2012 vote because he was attending Senator Jennifer Beck’s wedding in Jamaica.   Upon his return to New Jersey, he told triCityNews that he would have voted for the bill had he been present and that he would vote to override Christie’s veto if it ever comes up for a vote.

triCityNews is not published online.  Publisher Dan Jacobson verified my recollection of O’Scanlon’s quotes on the phone this evening.

The issue is in the news again because marriage equality advocates have been in Trenton this week lobbying for an override of Christie’s veto before the end of the legislative session in January.

The Marriage Equality and Religious Exemptions Act passed the Senate with a vote of 24-16 and the Assembly by 42-33, with 5 Assembly members, including O’Scanlon and Mary Pat Angelini not voting.   An override requires a 2/3 affirmative vote.  In order for an override to succeed, the bill needs three additional yes votes in the Senate and 12 yes votes in the Assembly. O’Scanlon and Angelini represent two of the needed yes votes. Republican Assemblywoman Holly Schepisi of Bergen County also didn’t vote in 2012.  Schepisi said she would vote to override, leaving the bill needing 9 votes to pass in the Assembly.

If there is a override vote, it probably won’t occur until the “lame duck” session after the November election and before the new legislature takes office in January.

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Kyrillos: Economic Opportunity Act Should Lead To More Tax Reform

With bi-partisan fanfare, Governor Chris Christie signed the Economic Opportunity Act yesterday afternoon. The new law,which Christie reshaped with his conditional veto, is far-reaching legislation designed to make New Jersey more competitive in economic development and job creation.

Economic incentives for business and development will now be more generous and easier to obtain.

State Senator Joe Kyrillos, a primary sponsor of the bill, celebrated the enactment of the legislation and called for more comprehensive tax reform.

“We got this done to boost New Jersey’s private-sector economy, because many Republicans and Democrats realize that this legislature desperately needs to do more to attract and retain job creators,” said Kyrillos (R-Monmouth). “We came together; we compromised to create more opportunities for New Jersey families. This should be the bridge to comprehensive tax reform that New Jerseyans have been waiting on for far too long.”

“It is encouraging that Democratic prime sponsor Senator Lesniak acknowledged the following during Thursday’s session: ‘We know that New Jersey cannot compete not only with our surrounding states but we can’t compete internationally because of the cost of doing business here we know is high,’” Kyrillos added. “This is a problem that Senate Republicans have tried to permanently address for years. With more Democrats now realizing the issue, the chances that this legislature will finally fix this state’s non-competitive tax structure are much better. When we get this done, residents won’t have fear that our sons and daughters will be forced to flee this costly state to start their families elsewhere, or that they won’t be able to find solid jobs because employers can’t afford to operate here.”

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Casagrande Introduces Legislation To Nullify Absurd Texting Decision

Assemblywoman Caroline Casagrande announced yesterday that she will introduce legislation that will protect the sender of a text message from civil liability if the receiver of the text is involved in a car accident while reading the message.

Thank goodness, and let’s hope that legislation get fast tracked

In what can only be considered a gift to the overpopulated legal community, the Appellate Division of New Jersey’s Superior Court last week ruled that senders of text messages could be liable for accidents that occur while the receivers are reading them “when a texter knows or has special reason to know that the intended recipient  is driving and is likely to read the text message while driving, the texter has  a duty to users of the public roads to refrain from sending the driver a text at  that time.”

What is a “special reason to know?”  That is new legal distinction that will have to be defined in another expensive court decision, unless Casagrande’s common sense legislation is passed and signed into law before the next ambulance chaser gets his law school buddy on the bench to define it.

Imagine the cases, and legal fees, this new legal liability will create.  Imagine the increases in insurance premiums, auto, homeowner’s, and business liability, this will cause.

If a spouse texts “pick milk” to his or her significant other during rush hour, and the receiving spouse gets into a car accident, the couple’s homeowner’s insurance company will get dragged into the law suit filed by the ambulance chaser.

Imagine the deposition questions asked at $250+ per hour per attorney:

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Government for the “servants” by the “servants”

Happy Labor Day.

Today we can celebrate that “government of the people, for the people and by the people” has perished from this State.

It has been replaced by government of, for and by the government workers’ unions, bureaucrats protected by civil “service” laws and contracts, and the politicians, protected by gerrymandering and incumbency, who have abdicated the most fundamental functions of government to said unions and bureaucrats. The so called public “servants.”

There have been eight people killed violently in Newark, either by shooting or stabbing, in the last seven days.

If this was a partisan political post, I’d be slamming Newark Mayor Cory Booker for the rise in crime in his city over the last over the last three years.

But that would be disingenuous.  Violent crime in Newark declined from 2006, when Booker was elected mayor through November of 2010 when he laid off the 167 city police officers that had been hired since he became mayor.

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HANDLIN CRAFTING PLAN TO STOP STORM SCAMMERS

ASSEMBLYWOMAN PROPOSES  DOUBLING CONSUMER FRAUD FINES FOLLOWING A NATURAL DISASTER

While remaining vigilant against post-Hurricane Sandy scams, Assemblywoman  Amy H. Handlin is drafting legislation that would double the fines against those  who commit fraud after natural disasters, while working with residents and state  and local officials on preventing storm scams before they happen.

“It takes a special kind of deviant to prey upon those who have  tragically lost their home and possessions. They deserve a double dose of  penalty,” Handlin, R-Monmouth, said. “I’ve already heard from many constituents  who have been targeted by storm scammers who claim to be mold remediators,  contractors or financial advisers. We need to deliver a strong message that  attempting to steal from storm victims will carry severe penalties.”

Constituents who suspect fraud or corruption, or have evidence of waste  or abuse of public funds, should contact Assemblywoman Handlin’s office at (732) 787-1170 or [email protected]. The  Assemblywoman will forward incidents to the proper state and local authorities  and wants to monitor potential fraud to see if any patterns emerge.

“Federal funding to help New  Jersey recover will soon be approved and we need to be  extra vigilant against unscrupulous schemes that would re-victimize innocent  people who have already suffered too much,” Handlin said. “If we keep everyone  informed and work together we can ensure that this relief funding doesn’t wind  up like the old school construction program in which billions of dollars  disappeared in a cloud of waste, fraud and abuse.”

Handlin’s legislation would double maximum consumer fraud penalties to  $20,000 for a first offense and $40,000 subsequent offenses if the victim had  also been victimized by a natural disaster. The penalties mirror stiffer fines  imposed against senior citizens. The proposal would also apply consumer fraud  penalties to an unlicensed person who offers to perform a service that requires  a license, such as mold remediation.

Handlin’s district includes some of the communities hardest hit by  Hurricane Sandy.

• For tips on avoiding Sandy-related scams, visit: http://www.state.nj.us/governor/news/news/552012/approved/20121105a.html
• For tips on hiring a reputable home contractor, visit: http://www.njconsumeraffairs.gov/brief/improve.pdf

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Governor Chris Christie Calls On State Legislature To Act On Tax Relief At Special Session

Remarks As Prepared For Delivery

Good afternoon, Lt. Governor Guadagno, Senate President Sweeney, Speaker Oliver, and all the members of the Legislature.  I take my constitutional powers and responsibilities seriously, as I know you do.  When there are pressing matters that I believe must be addressed, it is my responsibility to call our Legislature into special session. 

Giving the certainty of tax relief to our citizens and making our state more competitive with our neighbors in job creation—today—will allow us to put more New Jerseyans back to work this summer.  What could be more important for us to do today?

I know it’s been a long year and I know over the last few weeks each of you have been working hard to bring this legislative session to a successful conclusion.  We did many great things together.  But there is one greater thing left to do—lock in tax relief today that will help to create new jobs tomorrow.

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The Return of Corzine Democrats…..and Whitman Republicans

Photo Credit: NJ.com

Governor Chris Christie has taken to the town hall stump declaring that the Corzine Democrats are back.

“In the last couple weeks, we’ve seen an ugly type of Democrat start to rear its head again,” Christie said during a town hall last week. “I think you thought you had slayed this type of Democrat in 2009 — that you had taken the wooden stake and out it through this type of democrats heart. But I am here to tell you today that I fear this type of Democrat has returned to the state legislature. You know what kind of Democrat I’m talking about: A Corzine Democrat.”

The governor will likely expand on the Corzine Democrats theme at his town hall meeting in Brick this afternoon, as he did last evening in his statement about the budget passed by the Democratic State Legislature yesterday:

“With today’s budget, Corzine Democrats reversed course and sent a loud and clear signal that they want to go back to the eight years prior to my administration when taxes and fees were raised every 25 days. After two years without raising taxes, the only way to feed the Corzine Democrats’ obsession is to hold tax relief hostage. I will not allow New Jersey to go back to the same failed policies that nearly put our state over a fiscal cliff. Tax relief for our hardworking families is long overdue and that is exactly what I will continue fighting for.”

But the budget the Democrats passed doesn’t raise taxes once every 25 days.  It doesn’t raise taxes any day.  It also doesn’t reduce income taxes as Christie’s budget proposed.  Nor does it reduce property taxes as the proposal that Senate President Steve Sweeney reneged on would have done.

The budget that the Democrats passed spends $400 million less than the budget Christie proposed.

Christie’s budget would have increased spending 8% with a phased in 10% income tax reduction.  It relies heavily on one shot gimmicks and increased borrowing.  Christie’s revenue projections, which the Democrats have acceptted, are based upon extremely optimistic assumptions that seem to have little grounding in reality. New Jersey’s economy would have to suddenly start growing faster than the rest of the country in order for Christie’s revenue projections to come close.   That sounds a lot like the fiscal cliff that the Whitman/DiFranceso/Bennett Republicans drove New Jersey over in the 1990’s until New Jersey voters kicked them out of power in 2003.

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No Vote In Assembly On Legal Ads Bill

S2072/A2082 will not be voted on in the Assembly today according to a report by State Street Wire, Politickernj’s pay site.

As today is the last day of the legislative session, Speaker Sheila Oliver and other Democratic caucus members have killed the bill.

Assemblyman Albert Coutinho (D-29, Newark), a former sponsor of the bill told State Street Wire that he would introduce a similar bill in the new session that also addresses concerns of those who opposed this bill.

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Running Out The Clock?

With Just 56 Days Remaining In The Session, Let’s Hope The Legislature Gets Back From Their Current Vacation Ready To Finally Address Some Of New Jersey’s Most Pressing Issues

“You know we have more work to do, the tool kit has to happen. We have to find a way to put a tool kit together, again I’m sure it will be some kind of a compromise, but the core principles will be the same. … We need to continue to work now and seize the momentum that the Governor said to continue to make improvements in New Jersey.”– Senate President Steve Sweeney, Press Conference On Bipartisan Property Tax CapCompromise, July 3, 2010

THE LEGISLATURE HAS FAILED TO TAKE ACTION ON KEY ELEMENTS OF GOVERNOR CHRISTIE’S REFORM AGENDA

MEANWHILE, SEVERAL OTHER CRITICAL TOOL KIT REFORM BILLS LANGUISH IN THE LEGISLATURE

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