By Kate King
New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie ordered state officials to
develop a plan by Saturday to shut down all nonessential road
projects after a stalemate in Trenton led to the state's depleted
transportation fund's expiration.
Mr. Christie, a Republican, issued an executive order late
Thursday night declaring a state of emergency and directing the
state Transportation Department to craft a shutdown plan. The
governor didn't specify when the shutdown would take effect.
"When the plan is done and reviewed, the public will be informed
on the exact projects impacted," a spokesman for Mr. Christie
said.
The work stoppage hits the construction industry during its busy
season, and some union members reported that they had been laid off
Friday, said Greg Lalevee, the business manager for the Local 825
Operating Engineers union. He couldn't specify how many workers
lost their jobs.
"We're in the spot where our people should be working and
stockpiling hours...to cover their benefits for wintertime," said
Mr. Lalevee, who also sits on the Transportation Trust Fund
Authority, the agency that finances the state's transportation
system.
Mr. Christie blamed the shutdown on Senate Democrats, who oppose
an Assembly bill that would increase the gas tax by 23 cents, to
37.5 cents a gallon, and cut the state sales tax to 6% from 7%.
The Democratic-controlled Assembly passed the legislation early
Tuesday morning following hours of late-night negotiations with Mr.
Christie at the Statehouse.
"The Senate's inaction ignored the benefits the package would
bring to the overburdened taxpayers of New Jersey," the governor
said in a statement.
Senate Democrats pointed out that Republicans in their chamber
also oppose the Assembly bill and accused the governor of
manipulating the crisis to advance his national political
agenda.
Mr. Christie, who is serving as transition team chairman for
presumptive GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump, is expected to
be part of Mr. Trump's administration if he wins.
Assemblyman John Wisniewski, a Democrat and chairman of the
Transportation and Independent Authorities Committee, said the
governor wanted to secure a major tax reduction that would be
embraced by conservatives nationwide.
Mr. Wisniewski pointed out that the Assembly bill was endorsed
by Americans for Tax Reform, an antitax group founded by
conservative activist Grover Norquist.
"This has nothing to do with some noble crusade on his part to
protect taxpayers," said Mr. Wisniewski, who voted against the
Assembly bill. "He's looking to burnish his Republican
credentials."
A spokesman for the governor said, "I don't need to wade into
this type of banal nonsense from the usual partisan snipers."
Assembly Speaker Vincent Prieto said the governor's executive
order underscored the importance of quickly reaching a
compromise.
"This is too important for jobs -- especially in our
construction industry -- and our economy to allow this to
continue," Mr. Prieto, a Democrat, said in a statement.
The Assembly is willing to compromise, Mr. Prieto said, "as long
as it's a bill the governor will sign."
Senate President Steve Sweeney, a Democrat, said in a statement
Friday that he was disappointed by the governor's executive order.
"Most painful will be the workers laid off because of this
immediate stoppage, " he said.
In the order, the governor said that a shutdown was necessary to
preserve the fund's few remaining dollars for essential projects.
Emergency work and federally funded projects would continue without
interruption.
While state authorization of the fund expired Thursday night,
the Transportation Department said it had enough money to continue
work through early August.
Sen. Bob Gordon, a Democrat, said the governor's executive order
was a ploy to ratchet up pressure on the Senate to pass his
preferred bill, which Mr. Gordon described as financially reckless.
The shutdown is disingenuous, Mr. Gordon said, because until
recently the governor had dismissed Democrats for describing the
depleted transportation trust fund as a crisis.
"Now all of the sudden he's saying we have an emergency and he's
stopping work on ongoing projects," Mr. Gordon said. "We are not
going to be pressured. We want to do this in a deliberative way
that fully analyzes the long-term implications of what we're
doing."
Sen. Tom Kean, a Republican, said the same charge could be
leveled against Democrats who left the Statehouse on Thursday
without reaching a compromise with the Assembly and governor's
office.
"They chose to leave Trenton hours early rather than stay and do
the work and find a solution," Mr. Kean said. "That was
disheartening."
Mr. Kean, who is opposed to a 23-cent gas-tax increase, doesn't
support the Assembly bill or a competing proposal by the Senate.
The Senate's plan would also raise the gas tax 23 cents in exchange
for a phaseout of the state estate tax over several years.
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
July 01, 2016 20:03 ET (00:03 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2016 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.