Judge: Christie can cut pension contribution payment

JUNE 25, 2014, 12:32 PM LAST UPDATED: WEDNESDAY, JUNE 25, 2014, 11:06 PM
BY MELISSA HAYES AND JOHN REITMEYER
STATE HO– USE BUREAU
THE RECORD

Governor Christie won in court Wednesday, but the victory will likely be short-lived as he heads for a showdown with the Legislature over pensions and taxes today, a fight likely to go right back before the same judge.

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Superior Court Judge Mary C. Jacobson asks a question arguments Wednesday, June 25, 2014, in Trenton.

At stake is the security of the state pension system, tax rates for New Jersey’s wealthiest residents and the viability of the next state budget. This fight between Christie, a Republican, and Democrats who control the Legislature comes as both have struggled to move the state out of a sluggish economy and have seen New Jersey’s credit rating downgraded six straight times.

The Legislature is readying today to advance a new state budget — supported by revenue from tax hikes that Christie opposes — that would make a bigger state payment into the pension fund and one that Christie has threatened to reject with his veto pen.

That could send the issue right back to state Superior Court Assignment Judge Mary C. Jacobson of Mercer County, who said Wednesday that Christie is allowed to reduce the pension contribution in the current fiscal year, which ends midnight Monday, by nearly $900 million to help close a $1 billion revenue shortfall.

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