Governor Chris Christie reacted to the New Jersey Supreme Court decision that he has the authority to cut pension payments from the State Budget and that the political branches of government…the Governor and Legislature…not the Court…must “deal with one another to forge a solution to the tenuous financial status of New Jersey’s pension funding in a way that comports with the strictures of our constitution,” by calling for “all interested parties” to come together and solve the New Jersey’s pension and benefit crisis “once and for all.”
“This decision is an important victory not only for our taxpayers who simply cannot afford these unsustainably high costs, but for limited, constitutional government that recognizes the proper role of the executive and legislative branches of government,” the Governor said in a statement issued by his office, “The Court’s position is clear, as is mine, it is time to move forward and work together to find a tangible, long-term solution to make our pension system and public employee health benefit costs affordable and sustainable for generations to come. In light of today’s decision, I urge all interested parties to come back to the table and partner with me to finally solve this problem once and for all.”
Assemblyman Declan O’Scanlon, R-Monmouth, the Assembly Republican Budget Officer, said,
TRENTON — The state Supreme Court ruled on Tuesday that Gov. Chris Christie can slash billions of dollars in contributions from New Jersey’s troubled public employee pension system. The court’s ruling caps an intense fight for pension funding and deals a major blow to the state’s labor unions, who challenged Christie’s spending cuts. Christie had sought… Read the rest of this entry »
Governor Chris Christie and former Governor Tom Kean Sr celebrate the first annual Livingston Day, April 11, 2013. Photo by Tim Larsen/Governor’s Office
TRENTON — Former Jersey Gov. Tom Kean had strong words of warning about Gov. Chris Christie’s recent lack of progress in solving the state’s pension crisis, but said the Republican governor shouldn’t be counted out of the 2016 race for the White House. Visiting St. Petersburg, Fla., to give the commencement address at Eckerd College on… Read the rest of this entry »
TRENTON — State Senate President Stephen Sweeney does not leave room for doubt when he says the Democratic-led state Legislature will fully fund New Jersey’s public worker pension system next year. “We’re going to fund it,” he said. Democratic leaders say they’re forging ahead with plans to make a $3.1 billion contribution into a pension system… Read the rest of this entry »
TRENTON — Republican members of the state Assembly Budget Committee on Wednesday criticized New Jersey’s largest public worker union of taking the easy road by shutting down pension talks and demanding full funding without offering any alternatives. The assemblymen, in a brief news conference following a budget hearing on Department of Education funding, leveled accusations of… Read the rest of this entry »
Assembly Minority Leader Jon Bramnick. MMM file photo
UNION TOWNSHIP — Assembly Minority Leader Jon Bramnick on Tuesday said Democratic legislative leaders shouldn’t side with unions in asking the courts to order the restoration of $1.6 billion in state pension payments cut by Gov. Chris Christie. They should come up with the money themselves. “I think it’s simple: I just don’t think that we… Read the rest of this entry »
In New Jersey, school districts pay the salaries of their teachers, but it’s the state that picks up the costs of their retirements. Cities and towns, meanwhile, cover their employees’ salaries as well as their retirement costs. That split responsibility is at the heart of one of the core elements of the… Read the rest of this entry »
Faced with an unexpected Court Order yesterday requiring a pension payment of $1.57 billion by the end of June and with a national media glare upon him, Governor Chris Christie will deliver his Annual Budget Address to a joint session of the New Jersey Legislature this afternoon at 2 p.m.
You can watch the address here live, courtesy of NJTV and Youtube:
Christie decries pension ruling as ‘liberal judicial activism’
TRENTON — In a blow to Gov. Chris Christie a day before he reveals his latest state budget proposal, a state judge ruled today that the governor must restore a $1.57 billion cut he made to public worker pension payments in New Jersey’s current budget. Superior Court Judge Mary Jacobson sided with a group of public… Read the rest of this entry »
TRENTON — In two days, Gov. Chris Christie will go before the state Legislature and present a budget with repercussions for his own presidential ambitions and New Jersey’s financial fitness. Both are in the grips of ailing infrastructure and pension systems that are expected to dominate the upcoming budget process. Endorsing an unpopular gas tax increase… Read the rest of this entry »
