Special Session Needed to Address Bloated Budget

By John Gorman

Senator Christopher "Kip" Bateman (R-16) is calling on Governor Jon Corzine, Senate President Richard Codey and Assembly Speaker Joe Roberts to put everything else aside and convene a special session of the legislature to address New Jersey’s bloated budget.

"Governor Corzine should use his authority to freeze spending and impound appropriated but unspent monies for the remainder of this budget year," stated Bateman. "He should then call a special session of the Legislature to develop a budget for next year that is balanced exclusively with spending cuts."

"The latest statistics from the state’s labor department are an indication that the economy is slowing down faster than expected and the Governor needs to take immediate action to remedy this situation," Bateman continued.

State labor officials say 2007 was not nearly as good for job creation as they initially thought and that last month New Jersey lost nearly10, 000 jobs. This represents more than half of all jobs lost in the entire United States. It also represents the state’s largest one-month decline in almost five years.

"These job losses are a direct consequence of the high cost of living and doing business in New Jersey," added Bateman. "Over the past six years the Democrat majority increased and expanded taxes 101 times and increased spending by $11 billion. Governor Corzine claims that he is trying to rectify New Jersey’s reckless spending habits, however the budget has increased 20 percent in the two years he has been in office. New Jersey residents cannot afford symbolic gestures of fiscal responsibility. A special session needs to be convened."

JOHN GORMAN can be reached via email at jgorman@njleg.org.

Related topics: budget, special session, Kip Bateman

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