Warning that “pigs will be charging down State Street” in Trenton if voters elect a Democratic governor after he leaves office, Gov. Chris Christie on Tuesday urged New Jersey’s business community to join his fight against public employee unions. Matt Arco, NJ.Com Read more
December 8, 2015
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood NJ, Senator Kevin O’Toole (R-Bergen, Essex, Morris, Passaic) said New Jersey’s addition of 15,200 private-sector jobs in October and an updated total of 24,100 new jobs in the past two months shows that Republican reforms are working and the state’s economic rebound would be enhanced with the advancement of more Senate Republican jobs policies.
“New Jersey is creating jobs at a fast pace under Governor Christie’s administration not seen in recent memory, thanks to ample reductions in red tape and our investments in real private sector job creation, workforce training and smart economic development,” said O’Toole, a member of the Senate Budget & Appropriations Committee. “Our unemployment rate has fallen nearly a full point this year to 5.4 percent, and in the months ahead we’re on track to recover all of the 258,000 jobs lost under the previous administration. Indeed, this is a far cry from what happened under the previous governors where taxes and fees were raised 115 times while the unemployment rate skyrocketed to 9.8 percent.”
O’Toole emphasized, “Not counting Great Recession years, the 15,200 private-sector jobs we created in October alone are more than twice the 7,400 private-sector jobs created in former Gov. Jon Corzine’s best year and more than six times the 2,400 jobs created in Gov. Corzine’s second-best year.”
Senator O’Toole also pushed for the continued advancement of the Senate Republican’s 36-bill package to jumpstart job creation and economic growth without costing taxpayers extra money. So far, 15 of the bills have garnered Senate Democrat sponsorship; 12 have garnered Assembly Democrat sponsorship; the Senate has advanced or fully passed 11 of them and the Assembly has advanced or passed a number of them as well, and the governor just signed into law an innovation bill to help start and grow small businesses by allowing private online investments.
“The investments and incentive programs we’ve enacted under this governor to attract and retain job creators are working, and must continue in a transparent and accountable way until legislative Democrats allow votes on bills to make New Jersey’s nation-high taxes competitive with other states,” O’Toole said. “This new state jobs report is positive and we need to continue that momentum built under Governor Christie by passing Senate Republican solutions to lower costs of doing business and cut even more red tape.”
Sweeney pushes forcing bigger N.J. pension payments by changing constitution
State Sen. President Stephen Sweeney introduced legislation Monday that would cement state officials’ promises to fund government workers’ pensions in the New Jersey constitution. Samantha Marcus, NJ.com Read more
DECEMBER 2, 2015 LAST UPDATED: WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 2, 2015, 6:43 PM
BY HUGH R. MORLEY
STAFF WRITER |
THE RECORD
The New Jersey Commission of Investigation (SCI) on Wednesday released a report targeting businesses known as multi-dealer locations that the agency said enable hundreds of car dealers to operate beyond the state’s regulatory authority.
The report, which identifies 11 multi-dealer locations (MDLs) in the state – including five in Bergen and Passaic – said they are part of a system that is open to abuses, such as non-payment of taxes by the dealers at the location, consumer fraud, and “suspicious financial transactions on a domestic and international scale.’’
Most of the report focused on the activities at one MDL, New Jersey Auto Dealers Mall in Bridgeton in Cumberland County, where 1,214 dealers are registered. The report said that dealer was a “sham that serves as the foundation for an amalgam of consumer and bank fraud, unpaid taxes, suspicious financial transactions and other questionable, unscrupulous and possibly illegal activities.” The owner also had ties to organized crime, the report said.
New Jersey voter turnout reaches a new low
The percentage of registered New Jersey voters who cast a ballot in this year’s general election tumbled to the lowest level in more than nine decades. Associated Press Read more
ELEC: PAC Dollars Spurred Elections Spending to Over $30 Million
Independent special interest spending drove the cost of this year’s legislative general election above $30 million, according to this morning’s new 2015 elections analysis of disclosure reports by the Election Law Enforcement Commission (ELEC). The spending, which still is considered preliminary, already has established a record high for a year with just Assembly members running. Politicker Staff, PolitickerNJ Read more
Where did the money go in N.J. Assembly races?
Independent committees spent more than $2 million in the three districts where Democrats picked up four seats in last month’s state Assembly election that awarded the party its largest majority in the lower chamber since 1979. Samantha Marcus, NJ.com Read more
“investment ” = tax increases and taxpayer giveaways
NOVEMBER 26, 2015, 10:21 PM LAST UPDATED: THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 26, 2015, 10:27 PM
BY DUSTIN RACIOPPI
STATE HOUSE BUREAU |
THE RECORD
For nearly six years, Governor Christie has presented himself as the last line of defense between Democrats and taxpayers’ wallets, resisting spending increases and vetoing “more tax increases than any governor in American history,” as he often tells voters.
With two years left in Christie’s final term, and with the state facing a host of costly and pressing issues, two of the most visible and most likely Democrats to run for governor have been offering clues into the fiscal policy of a post-Christie New Jersey.
Central to each of their plans for reviving the economy, upgrading the state’s aging network of roads and bridges and growing the middle class is what they call “investing.” The word they don’t use is “spending,” and spending tends to mean an increase in taxes.
Both likely gubernatorial candidates, Senate President Stephen Sweeney and Phil Murphy, a former ambassador to Germany, say that not all investment amounts to tax increases, but they also agree that some sort of future tax hike is inevitable. Specifically what kind of tax increases, and how many, is not being discussed. (A third likely Democratic gubernatorial candidate, Mayor Steven Fulop of Jersey City, has been more circumspect about his plans, but he came out forcefully this week against the Christie administration’s effort to bring development — possibly including a hotel and an amusement park — to Liberty State Park.)
nj senate president steven sweeney
Americans for Prosperity: Benevolence, The Latest Victim of NJ’s High Taxes
New Jersey Ranks 46th in the Nation for Charitable Giving
Ridgewood NJ, New Jersey’s confiscatory tax climate is responsible for the highest property taxes and worst business climate in the country, but it is also having another deleterious effect. Today, New Jersey ranks among the least philanthropic states in the country according to a new report from the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC).
“The season of giving is upon us, yet how sad is it that New Jersey has reached the point where people can no longer afford to be as generous as they would like to be because of high taxes,” remarked AFP state director Erica Jedynak. “We might as well refer to our income tax as the anti-benevolence tax.”
The ALEC report, State Factor: The Effect of State Taxes on Charitable Giving, examined data from 1997-2012 and revealed an inverse correlation between taxes and charitable giving. As stated in the report’s conclusion, “[I]ndividuals in states with high taxes donate less and individuals in states with lower taxes donate more.” New Jersey placed 43rd on ALEC’s list for the period 1997-2012 and 46th for the period of 2008-2012.
“As Ronald Reagan said, ‘the spirit of voluntary giving [is] ingrained in the American character.’ So it is with New Jerseyans of good will who would no doubt love to give more to causes they care about and to help those who are impoverished or sick,” said Jedynak.
“Yet, instead of being able to donate more to causes that dispense charity with a warm heart and lift people up, their hard-earned money is filtering through the cold hands of bureaucracy and ensnaring people in dependency.”
“There is little compassion in that, and it’s just one more reason we need ease the tax burden on New Jersey families.”
Sweeney, O’Toole Discuss Bipartisanship in Newark
It seems that South Jersey-based Senate President Steve Sweeney (D-3) is continuing his charm offensive in the northern part of the state as he continues to angle for a likely 2017 gubernatorial run. Today, Sweeney joined Republican Senator Kevin O’Toole (R-40) for an event at Newark’s North Ward Center to honor O’Toole for his dedication to the mission of the center: to help underserved populations. Alyana Alfaro, PolitickerNJ Read more
If you needed further proof that this is the era of the political outsider, a new poll shows nearly half of New Jersey voters lack confidence in either major political party to solve the state’s problems. Claude Brodesser-Akner, NJ.com Read more
“It takes a certain kind of stupidity to find yourself ranked dead last” Reader
New Jersey’s high property and income taxes contribute to its standing as the nation’s least attractive tax climate for businesses, according to a Washington tax policy group’s annual ranking of the 50 states. Samantha Marcus, NJ.com Read more
“This is one of my biggest, grave concerns — particularly with what’s going on in the world right now — that we’re providing a document,” said Assemblywoman Holly Schepisi (R-Bergen), one of the two Republicans on the panel who voted against advancing the bill. “With a driver’s license, you can do more than just drive. You can purchase a firearm in pretty much every state. You can board an airplane. You can open bank accounts.”
Schepisi said she doesn’t want New Jersey to send a message saying, “Okay, if you don’t have driving privileges, and if you are here illegally, come to New Jersey and you can get all these things.”
Instead, Schepisi said, the bill should be amended to include steps to make it safer — including fingerprinting applicants, setting up a waiting period, and requiring people to prove they’ve living in New Jersey for a substantial amount of time.
NOVEMBER 17, 2015, 1:40 PM LAST UPDATED: TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 17, 2015, 4:53 PM
BY DUSTIN RACIOPPI
STATE HOUSE BUREAU |
THE RECORD
Governor Christie on Tuesday officially notified President Obama that he will not accept any Syrian refugees following last weekend’s terrorist attacks in Paris, citing a “broken federal monitoring system” and the “very real threat” of an attack on New Jersey by the Islamic State.
Christie, who is running for the Republican party nomination for president, sent the letter a day after two dozen other governors announced they would close their states to Syrians fleeing the war-torn country. On Monday night Christie told conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt that he would not accept any refugees, a shift in his position from two months ago.
His refusal appears to have no authority, however. While states can refuse to offer their resources to the federal government, the Refugee Act of 1980 gives the president the power to allow refugees into the states. Florida Gov. Rick Scott also acknowledged in a letter to Congress on Monday that “it is our understanding that the state does not have the authority to prevent the federal government from funding the relocation of these Syrian refugees to Florida even without state support.” And foreign affairs, including immigration, are the responsibility of the president.
Given all that it took to get a medical marijuana program up and running in New Jersey, you might think that the idea of legalizing recreational use of cannabis would be low on the list of agenda items for lawmakers here. But, with states like Colorado and Oregon showing that legalization can prove to be a big budget boon without – so far – a terrible downside, New Jersey lawmakers are planning to at least start seriously talking about it. Senator Nick Scutari will hold a committee hearing on the issue Monday. David Cruz, NJSpotlight Read more
making sure the dead still vote Democrat
Barely 26 hours after Gov. Chris Christie vetoed a bill intended to overhaul New Jersey’s voting system and boost voter participation, Democratic lawmakers from both chambers met in a rare joint caucus to chart a new course. Samantha Marcus, NJ.com Read more
file photo by Boyd Loving
Dems Move Forward with Drivers’ License Option for Undocumented Workers
Democratic lawmakers want to pass legislation that would make it legal for undocumented workers in the state of New Jersey to obtain driver’s licenses. Max Pizarro, PolitickerNJ Read more
