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Bridget Kelly formally announced her candidacy for Bergen County clerk

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the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Hackensack NJ, Bridget Kelly formally announced her candidacy for Bergen County clerk.

If the name sounds familiar Kelly, a Republican, was once a deputy chief of staff for Governor Chris Christie, and was convicted in 2016 along with Bill Baroni, deputy executive director of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, of fraud and civil rights violations for their roles in re-directing access lanes to the George Washington Bridge in Fort Lee in 2013 “creating a massive four-day traffic jam” as retribution against the town’s  Democratic mayor for refusing to endorse Christie’s re-election. Known as “Bridgegate” , it preceded the fall from grace of then governor Chris Christie .

Continue reading Bridget Kelly formally announced her candidacy for Bergen County clerk

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Democrat Phil Murphy likes New Jersey grapefruit’s and broccoli

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“NJ” Grapefruit martini

October 19,2017

the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Ridgewood NJ, while everyone was watching the Yankee game , the two candidates for New Jersey Governor had their second debate . Most New Jersey voters seemed to be resigned to coming calamity and have zero faith in New Jersey politicians .

Republican Kim Guadagno has attempted to stay on her tax cutting message . During the debate she appeared calm, confident and comfortable and in an attempt to distance her self from Governor Chris Christie , she unequivocally pledged not to appoint him to the U.S. Senate in the event that Senator Bob Menendez resigns.

Voters seem luke warm to her tax cut pledge , most feeling Trenton lakes any credibility and Kim often comes off sounding like former governor and EPA chief “the air is ok, barrow from the pensions” Whitman .

On the other hand Democrat Phil Murphy known as Corzine 2.0 , has promised to make New Jersey a “sanctuary state” , he says he will raise your taxes in a massive tax increase of $1.3 billion . He treads water and will not commit  to extending the 2% arbitration cap for police and firefighter salaries and would not say weather the ethically challenged Democratic Senator Bob Menendez should resign if convicted of bribery. Murphy continues to push the Connecticut model, under the “tax the rich” mantra . The Connecticut model fell flat ,because the “rich” moved and so did General Electric and Aetna the states two largest tax payers and employers ,leaving Connecticut  on the verge of bankruptcy and collapse .

In probably the most telling question in the debate , Murphy clams to like New Jersey grapefruit’s and broccoli yes you heard me , while Kim likes Jersey tomatoes and cranberries, once again proving that you can buy a nomination , but it helps to live here and know something about the state your trying to govern .

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New Jersey to Modernize Public Safety Communications across the State adopts wireless network solely for first responders

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August 4,2017

the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Ridgewood NJ,  Governor Chris Christie is helping transform first responder communications in New Jersey by “opting in” to FirstNet. With his decision, FirstNetand AT&T will deliver a specialized wireless broadband network to New Jersey’s public safety community. This will make New Jersey one of the first states in the country to bring first responders advanced technologies that will help them save lives and protect communities.

“New Jersey is proud to take this important step for first responders in our state. The decision to join this network means FirstNet and AT&T will deliver a highly secure, next-generation solution for our public safety community, building, maintaining and operating it at no cost and no risk to our state,” said Governor Christie.

AT&T, in a public-private partnership with FirstNet, will drive innovation and create an entire system of modernized devices, apps and tools for first responders.

This is one of the most economical and technologically advanced decisions Governor Christie will make for the State’s first responders and the residents they serve. The FirstNet network will transform the way New Jersey’s fire, police, EMS and other public safety personnel communicate and share information. Specifically, FirstNet and AT&T will:

Connect first responder subscribers to the critical information they need in a highly secure manner when handling day-to-day operations, responding to emergencies and supporting large events, such as game day at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford.
Create an efficient communications experience for public safety personnel in agencies and jurisdictions across the State during natural disasters. This includes seasonal hurricanes along the New Jersey Shore like Hurricane Sandy.
Enhance network coverage in rural areas. This will benefit first responders and residents throughout New Jersey’s topographically diverse landscape. First responders will also have access to dedicated network deployables for additional coverage and support when needed.
Drive infrastructure investments and create jobs across the State.
Usher in a new wave of innovation that first responders can depend on. This will create an ever-evolving set of life-saving tools for public safety, including public safety apps, specialized devices and Internet of Things technologies. It also carries the potential for future integration with NextGen 9-1-1 networks and Smart Cities’ infrastructure.

“Opting in to FirstNet underscores New Jersey’s commitment to ensuring first responders are capable of meeting constantly evolving challenges,” said Jared Maples, Acting Director of the New Jersey Office of Homeland Security and Preparedness. “As one of the first states to opt-in, New Jersey continues to be a national leader of public safety technology innovation.”

The FirstNet solution that will be built in New Jersey was designed with direct input from the State’s public safety community. As a FirstNet early builder participant, New Jersey shared best practices for the network’s implementation, especially as it relates to deployables. FirstNet has also been meeting with New Jersey’s officials and public safety personnel for several years to address their unique communication needs. This includes:

Giving first responders access to a reliable network connection and extending coverage along the Jersey Shore and in the Pine Barrens as well as other areas throughout the state
Taking extra steps to protect the network in hurricane-prone areas
Improving interoperability for public safety across the state as well as with neighboring states
Providing feature-rich services at highly competitive rates

“New Jersey has been at the forefront of public safety broadband, and with Governor Christie’s decision to join FirstNet, the state is once again leading the nation,” said FirstNet CEO Mike Poth. “FirstNet and AT&T are pleased to offer a plan that surpasses the challenges that New Jersey’s bravest face every day, and we look forward to delivering the network for public safety in the Garden State.”

The decision enables FirstNet and AT&T to begin creating an entirely new wireless ecosystem for public safety communications. New Jersey’s first responder subscribers will have immediate access to quality of service and priority to voice and data across the existing nationwide AT&T LTE network.

Preemption for primary users over the AT&T LTE network is expected by year-end. This means fire, police, EMS and other public safety workers will have dedicated access to the network when and where they need it – 24/7/365, like their mission.

“Governor Christie is making public safety a priority,” said Chris Sambar, senior vice president, AT&T – FirstNet. “His decision will bring an entirely new communications experience to New Jersey’s first responders. And it’s our honor to equip the state’s public safety community with the cutting-edge tools they need to help protect New Jerseyans every day and in every emergency.”

 

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Governor Chris Christie Declares a State Of Emergency Maintaining Essential state government services During Shutdown

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July 1 2017

the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Trenton NJ,due to the state shut down  government services such as state parks and Motor Vehicle Commission offices will be closed.

Today, Governor Chris Christie signed the following Executive Order:

Executive Order 228 – Declaring a state of emergency and maintaining that essential state government services continue operating for the people of New Jersey, as the failure of the Legislature to act on a Fiscal Year 2018 State Budget by tonight’s constitutional deadline forces the closure of state government.

“This order is necessary to maintain the protection, safety and well-being of the people of New Jersey while I attempt to convince the Legislature to send me a fiscally responsible budget that I can sign and re-open New Jersey’s government, ” said Governor Christie. “This was completely avoidable. But Assembly Speaker Vincent Prieto needlessly stalled the budget process, forcing the closure of New Jersey government and inconveniencing everyone living in and visiting our state.”

Included among the essential functions that will remain in operation: State Police, state correctional facilities, key child welfare services, state hospitals and treatment facilities, NJ TRANSIT, and operations linked to the health, safety, and welfare of the public, including certain environmental and health monitoring. The state closure also will NOT impact the State Lottery, casinos and racetracks. For details on non-essential services that will be closed as well as operations that will remain open, check the website of that department or agency.

Links to many major state agencies and a brief description of services impacted are provided below.

Department of Environmental Protection:All state parks, recreation areas, forests, and historic sites, including Island Beach State Park and Liberty State Park, will be closed; all public events within state parks and historic sites will be cancelled. The following will also be closed: permitting offices for Air, Historic Preservation, Land Use, Site Remediation, Solid Waste, and Water Supply; Green Acres and Blue Acres offices; Office of Dispute Resolution; Office of Permit Coordination; most of the Division of Fish & Wildlife (Wildlife Management Areas and on-line services will not be impacted); NJ Geologic Survey; and Rebuild by Design projects.

Department of Transportation: Construction will continue, as will emergency repairs and some roadside safety services. The rest areas on I-295 in Deepwater, Salem County and on I-80 in Knowlton, Warren County, will be closed.

New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission: All MVC agencies and inspection stations will be closed. Online services will still be available.

Department of Law & Public Safety:  Juvenile Justice Commission operations, State Medical Examiner Offices, and other public safety operations will continue, but some administrative offices will be closed.

Department of Health: The public will not be able to obtain copies of birth and marriage certificates, or copies of adoptees’ original birth certificates. No new certifications or renewals will be issued for EMTs, paramedics or Certified Nursing Assistants.

New Jersey Department of Labor:Unemployment Insurance and disability determination services will remain operational. Temporary Disability Insurance claims, Wage and Hour claims, and Family Leave Insurance claims may be filed, but they will not be processed. One Stop Career Centers (state not county services) will be closed; Workers Compensation Courts will be closed. Division of Vocational and Rehabilitation Services will be closed.

Department of Children and Families:Child abuse hotlines, protection services and response teams will continue to operate. Schools for children with special needs will remain open.

Department of Military and Veterans Affairs: Veteran’s Haven North and South will remain in operation and National Guard will remain on call.

Department of Banking and Insurance: All offices will be closed except the IURO (health insurance internal appeals program).

Department of Community Affairs:Inspections related to construction codes, fire safety, fairs and fireworks displays will continue, however some public services will not be available.

Department of Corrections: Prisons and halfway houses will remain operational, although some inmate services will be impacted.

Department of Education:Katzenbach School will remain open. Phone help desks, customer service, and all other related staff-based assistance functions will be unavailable and all core public functions will be closed.

Economic Development Authority:  EDA will not process any payments to businesses from any program (such as the Business Employment Incentive Program) which funding source needs to be authorized by the FY 2018 Appropriations Act.

Department of State: The travel and tourism welcome centers will be closed.

Department of the Treasury: July 1 pension checks have been processed and mailed. Taxation call centers and walk-in facilities will be closed. The Division of Risk Management will be closed, however the scheduling of medical appointments, treatments and services for injured workers will remain ongoing.  The Division of Pensions and Benefits will be closed, although it will continue payment of health provider claims and life claims, and continue to process changes to family status for health benefits.

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Governor Chris Christie Delivers Draft Legislation to Allow Immediate Treatment for Diagnosed Drug Addictions Without Prior Authorization by Insurance Carriers

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January 24,2017

the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Trenton, NJ –  Governor Chris Christie delivered draft legislation today mandating that people seeking immediate treatment for diagnosed substance abuse disorders should no longer wait for prior authorization from their insurance carriers, making good on a promise he made during his State of the State address earlier this month.

“When a person who is in the throes of a deadly drug addiction realizes he or she needs help, they should not be blocked at the treatment center doors because their insurance carrier requires a prior evaluation that could take weeks to complete. Their lives hang in the balance; they cannot wait, which is why I am expediting the legislative process by delivering a draft bill to legislators who are eager to introduce it,” said Governor Christie.

The proposed legislation carries multiple provisions, including:
•    No one will be turned away for insurance reasons from treatment if a licensed provider prescribes substance abuse disorder treatment
•    Insurance coverage for treatment of a substance abuse disorder will be required and any waiting period that could derail a person’s recovery will be eliminated
•    No longer will lives be put at risk by layers of needless bureaucracy; people diagnosed with a substance abuse disorder will have covered treatment for 180 days, starting the day they need it, including long term out-patient treatment with no interference from their carrier
•    Covered medication-assisted treatments will be required to be provided without the imposition of prior approval from a carrier
•    Onerous pre-payment obligations imposed by providers will be prohibited, and instead, patients will only be required to pay their copayment, deductible or co-insurance for their treatment
•    In addition, treatment for substance abuse disorders must be covered by the carrier to the same extent as any other covered medical condition without increased copayments, deductibles or co-insurance
•    The Office of Attorney General will be tasked with monitoring this system to prevent waste, fraud or abuse, and to ensure providers are not improperly treating patients or filling beds that could be used by others in need of treatment.

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Governor Chris Christie : Printing public notices in newspapers is nothing more than an ‘unfunded mandate’

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file photo by Boyd Loving

December 20,2016

the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Ridgewood NJ, Ridgewood NJ, Governor Chris Christie today released the following opinion editorial on legislation being considered that would update mandates requiring certain legal notices to be published in newspapers. It can be found in full below or on medium.com.

“On Thursday, the Legislature advanced a commonsense piece of legislation that was first proposed in 2004 and will reform the archaic practice of requiring taxpayers and private businesses to pay for costly legal notices in print newspapers. The legislation provides the option of posting notices online and citizens will be allowed to take advantage of modern technologies that are already in use by the vast majority of the people in our State.

“It also saves money.

“The current unfunded mandate that is being addressed by this legislation costs New Jersey taxpayers and private citizens more than $80 million per year. That is $80 million annually from property taxpayers, including those facing the nightmare of foreclosure.

“The taxpayers and citizens of New Jersey can no longer afford this arrangement and thanks to technology, they don’t have to.

“In the case of foreclosures, every family going through that trauma is charged an average of $910 just for the legally required newspaper notices. That is unconscionable and in response to the advancing legislation the New Jersey Press Association proposes increasing those charges.

“As a result, required legal notices earned newspapers approximately $14 million for the 12-month period ending in October 2016. And these costs were borne by the 15,764 financially distressed people who had just suffered a foreclosure of their home in that time period. This is simply unacceptable.

“Today, there are more than 65,000 foreclosures currently pending in New Jersey. That’s $59 million in potential revenue going to private media outlets that can instead be saved by citizens experiencing a foreclosure. Giving them a choice to post online at no cost helps them prevent losing what little equity they may have left or sinking them further into debt.

“For government entities, hundreds of millions of dollars of future resources to be spent on required legal notices could now be made available for public schools and other municipal and county services rather than on an outmoded method which has been supplanted for the majority of New Jerseyans by the Internet.

“The NJ Press Association has acknowledged the inescapable truth – newspapers have a vested interest in seeing this reform movement fail, and it is why they are making baseless charges to support taxing homeowners and bilking those subject to foreclosure unnecessarily.

“For years newspapers have enjoyed a statutorily-protected monopoly on the publication of a vast array of legal notices. Monopolies are always bad for our economy and, in this case, awfully expensive for our citizens.

“The facts are clear: nearly 90 percent of New Jersey households have an internet connection and 100 percent of the state’s public libraries provide free internet access to their more than 43 million annual visitors. Only 22 percent of New Jerseyans buy a print newspaper. This reform will bring New Jersey government directly to the people, who primarily spend their time online accessing information – for free. According to a Pew Research Center study from this summer, 81 percent of adults get their news from online sources or through mobile devices.

“Contrary to the flailing assertions of the NJ Press Association, there will be no lack of transparency and no harm to the public as a result of this reform. These are merely scare tactics by their paid Trenton lobbyists designed to protect the interests of newspaper companies who argue for a free press, but are really arguing for a taxpayer funded subsidy in disguise. This bill, and their fight over it, unmasks their greed.  In fact, their true disinterest in transparency and the public’s access to information through a free press – not to mention their undeniable hypocrisy – are fully displayed by the fact that this op-ed was refused publication.  I was therefore left with no choice but to disseminate this opinion myself, which will no doubt be read by a vast majority of the population online.

“The truth is this reform legislation maintains the requirement for local governments to provide advance public notice for matters such as meetings, agendas, bid requests and contract awards, while also establishing the requirements for public websites to ensure ease of access for the public. Government entities and individuals would still be able to fulfill notice obligations, but what would no longer be mandatory is the requirement of publishing an exorbitantly expensive notice in a newspaper.

“Although the NJ Press Association insists that this reform bill will result in an overwhelming burden for municipal staff, they intentionally ignore the basic facts. Most importantly, they ignore the fact that this legislation is optional. If municipal clerks can’t manage to transfer the text of a legal notice and post it on their website, they are not required to change their process. However, 532 of the 565 municipalities in New Jersey already maintain websites that provide public notices and information – adding the legal notices that are currently published in newspapers will not be a major leap.

“The New Jersey Association of Counties, the New Jersey State League of Municipalities, the New Jersey Conference of Mayors and the New Jersey School Boards Association all support this bill. The only group raising alarms on behalf of municipalities is the NJ Press Association.

“In 2004, when a nearly identical bill was proposed, Assemblyman Wisniewski, then-Assemblyman (now Senator) Gordon, and then-Assemblywoman (now Senator) Weinberg voted for it.  Yet now they have the chutzpah to turn their backs on the taxpayers they serve in order to further their misguided political agenda.

“We must update and modernize the public notification responsibilities of local government so that residents are fully informed and we eliminate the outrageous cost for the taxpayers of New Jersey. It will permit a greater number of citizens access to government. The NJ Press Association’s attempts to hang on to an antiquated, self-serving, money making statutory scheme is shameful. The Constitution guarantees a free press, not a government-subsidized one.

“That is why I support this bill, and all taxpayers who don’t have Trenton lobbyists arguing for government-ordered profit for them, should as well.”

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Is Comedian Piscopo Making the Rounds for a 2017 NJ Gubernatorial Bid ?

Paul DiGaetano and Joe Piscopo

photo of BCRO Chair Paul DiGaetano and Joe Piscopo by Margaret Cenci Frontera

Is Comedian Piscopo Making the Rounds for a 2017 NJ Gubernatorial Bid ?
October 24,2016
the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Ridgewood NJ, New Jersey native and former Saturday Night Live star Joe Piscopo came to the statehouse today for an afternoon sit-down with Governor Chris Christie.

 The purpose it seems is that the radio show host, Piscopo is feeling out a run for governor next year.Piscopo has also been seen making the rounds most notably for Italian American Heritage Month .

Piscopo formerly a Democrat,now an independent and would run as a Republican.While ex-Goldman Sachs Phill Murphy has been out and about for the Democrats ,Assemblyman Jack Ciattarelli, a Republican from Somerset County, has already announced his candidacy; and LG Kim Guadagno is expected to kick off her campaign after the presidential election.

 Since many insiders say the state’s finances are a joke , a comedian might just be what we need.
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BREAKING FURTHER UPDATE : MAJOR TRAIN ACCIDENT CLOSES HOBOKEN TRAIN STATION

Hoboken Train Station Crash

September 29,2016

the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Ridgewood NJ, A New Jersey Transit train crashed into the terminal in Hoboken. The incident happened at around 9am on Thursday. It’s been confirmed  Pascack Valley Train #1614, departs Spring Valley 7:23 am(?) due to arrive at 8:30 am. Train came in on Track 4 .

Initial report is over 100 injuries .

Massive Emergency services response.

Hoboken is shut down to non emergency services.

Correction 1 confirmed dead by Governors Christie and Como  , not passenger someone standing on the platform .

PATH service to HOB will be operating full rush hour service .

Shuttle buses from HOB to SEC running.

Cause of accident is still unclear .

It is being reported that major damage has been done to the train  station including a partial roof collapse. Reports from riders say no indication that anything was wrong.

Rail service is suspended in and out of Hoboken due to a train accident at Hoboken station. NJT bus and private carriers are honoring NJT rail tickets and passes. PATH & HBLR is suspended in/out Hoboken. NY Waterway accepting rail tickets/passes. 
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Governor Christie Announces Counterfeit Fentanyl Ban and Expanded Recovery Coach Program

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September 27, 2016

the staff of the Ridgewood blog

New Jersey Combats Opioid Abuse with New Initiatives During National Recovery Month

Trenton NJ,  Expanding his commitment in the fight against opioid addiction in the Garden State, Governor Chris Christie today announced new initiatives in recognition of National Recovery Month, including an Emergency Order to ban the manufacture, distribution, sale, and possession of seven illegal knock-offs of the highly addictive opioid “fentanyl” and an expansion of the state’s Recovery Coach Program.

“We are doubling down on our efforts to combat the epidemic of opioid addiction – a pervasive crisis in communities and neighborhoods throughout our nation. This past summer, I was joined by 45 other governors in a compact through the National Governors Association to carry on this battle, and today we continue New Jersey’s leadership role, in part, by becoming one of the first states to take on the use, sale, and distribution of illicit fentanyl analogs produced by drug trafficking networks,” said Governor Christie.

The Office of the Attorney General and its Division of Consumer Affairs is issuing an Emergency Order to ban the manufacture, distribution, sale, and possession of seven illegal knock-offs of the highly addictive opioid “fentanyl” which are being manufactured by drug dealers. Additionally, the Governor announced the expansion of the Recovery Coach Program, which connects persons who have been saved from drug overdoses to people who can help them find treatment.

These initiatives were among several unveiled by the Governor as he was joined in his outer office by cabinet members and former Governor James E. McGreevey, director of the New Jersey Reentry Corporation (NJRC), which was funded by the Christie Administration to provide addiction treatment, transitional housing, job training and employment to ex-offenders with substance use disorder.

FENTANYL EMERGENCY ORDER

This Emergency Order issued by Attorney General Christopher S. Porrino adds seven “fentanyl analogs” – derivatives of the regulated prescription drug – to the list of Schedule I Controlled Dangerous Substances (CDS) in New Jersey, subjecting them to the strictest level of state control.

Used to treat acute pain, fentanyl is up to 50 times more powerful than heroin and 100 times more powerful than morphine. Fentanyl knock-offs, often more potent than their legal prototype, have been sold on street corners across New Jersey, usually disguised as much less potent drugs like heroin, oxycodone, or other abused prescription drugs. The result has been deadly. Last year, the federal Drug Enforcement Administration listed New Jersey as one of five states hit hardest by a “surge” in fentanyl-related deaths. The total had reached 150 by mid-year, according to the latest available statistics.

“Those responsible for supplying the drugs that caused these deaths will no longer be able to fly under the legal radar in our state,” said Attorney General Porrino. “We are empowering our law enforcement agencies with the legal clout to arrest and fully prosecute anyone caught manufacturing, distributing, or possessing these lethal drugs.”

Knock-offs covered by the order include: Furanyl Fentanyl, 3-Methyfentanyl, 3-Methyl Butyrylfentanyl, Valeryl Fentanyl, Norfentanyl, Para-Florobutyryl-Fentanyl, and Carfentanyl. Under the order, manufacture, distribution, sale, or possession of the chemicals is now a third-degree crime. Violators are subject to a fine of up to $25,000 and imprisonment for a three- to five-year term. The Order will remain in effect for 270 days, or until a regulation is adopted through an administrative process to formally classifying the counterfeit drugs as Schedule I CDS.

EXPANSION OF THE RECOVERY COACH PROGRAM

Already demonstrating success in Camden, Essex, Monmouth, Ocean and Passaic counties, the Recovery Coach program connects people who have been saved from drug overdoses – often with the opioid reversal drug Narcan — with recovery coaches who can provide guidance and support and help them into treatment for their addiction. The Governor announced the program will be expanded into six more counties – Atlantic, Bergen, Burlington, Hudson, Gloucester and Middlesex.

Recovery coaches, who often are in recovery themselves, are on-site in hospital emergency rooms in the five counties where the program already operates. They tap into their own personal recovery experience to help individuals when they are most vulnerable and need support.  This initiative ensures a continuum of care for individuals recovering from an overdose reversal.

NARCAN REBATE EXTENSION

The Christie administration reached a deal this summer with Amphastar Pharmaceuticals, Inc., to extend for another year the ability for police departments and other public first responder entities to continue purchasing the opiate antidote Naloxone at a significant discount. Under that agreement, California-based Amphastar will continue to provide a $6 rebate for each Amphastar Naloxone syringe purchased.

Naloxone – often referred to by its most commonly known trade name Narcan – is an opioid antagonist drug used to reverse overdoses of heroin and other opiate-based narcotics. More than 500 law enforcement agencies across the state, including the New Jersey State Police, are now trained and equipped to administer the drug. Statewide, there were 7,222 deployments of Naloxone by law enforcement and EMS personnel in 2015. Law enforcement and EMS have deployed Naloxone more than 6,000 times so far this year.

In 2015, New Jersey became the third state to obtain a contractual commitment from Amphastar to provide discounts on Naloxone-related purchases. Under the new agreement struck with Amphastar, the Attorney General’s Office will continue to act as administrative conduit in the rebate process.

LEGACY OF FIGHTING ADDICTION

The initiatives announced today continue Governor Christie’s extensive efforts to combat the epidemic of opioid addiction, including: mandatory, statewide drug courts; expansion of New Jersey’s Prescription Drug Monitoring Program to include interstate data-sharing; statewide availability of the overdose reversal drug Naloxone (Narcan); a historic infusion of funding to expand capacity for behavioral health treatment; and formation of an Interim Management Entity (IME), a telephone hotline that provides access for the uninsured and those on Medicaid to addiction treatment.

Recently, the state’s Drug Monitoring Initiative at the Regional Operations and Intelligence Center earned national recognition by the National Governors Association and the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy for its groundbreaking efforts to monitor drug activity in the state. Their work there has enabled law enforcement and public health experts to better understand the supply chain, trends, implications, and threats from illicit drug activity and to notify the public of potentially lethal batches of drugs in the region as overdoses are reported.

In addition, this year marks the second anniversary of the Governor’s creation of the Facing Addiction Task Force, a 12-member team of leaders and experts from inside and outside of government to fight drug addiction through treatment and prevention.  Led by Pastor Joe A. Carter of the New Hope Baptist Church in Newark, the task force has been developing strategies to destigmatize, prevent and treat the disease of addiction with a comprehensive and multi-faceted approach.

In July, Governor Christie along with 45 other governors, signed the National Governors Association’s Compact to Fight Opioid Addiction, committing to fight the epidemic. That compact urges the governors to take steps to raise awareness of opioids and addiction, reduce the inappropriate prescribing of painkillers and facilitate treatment and recovery for those already addicted.

“We have made impressive gains in this fight, and we know there is more work to be done,” added Governor Christie. “With these new initiatives and the alliance of the National Governors Association, we should be able to help more and more people break the cycle of addiction, to reclaim their lives and to improve the lives of all of us dealing with the consequences of opioid addiction in society.”

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Governor Chris Christie Moves to Break the Cycle of Educational Failure in the Abbott Districts

School Choice by ArtChick
file photo by ArtChick
September 16,2016

the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Trenton NJ, Governor Chris Christie announced the Christie administration went to court on behalf of New Jersey taxpayers, to the Supreme Court, to say three things:” First, that this funding formula has failed for 30 years and that it needs to be overturned. Second, that the real thing that’s preventing us from teaching kids in these districts are the ridiculous work rules that are imposed upon us by statute and by collective bargaining agreements with the teachers union that prevents us from doing common sense things like, if there are going to be layoffs in our schools, that we should layoff the least effective teachers, not do layoffs, as we are required to do by state law, based purely upon seniority. If you’re there the longest you get to keep your job. If you’re there the shortest you lose your job. How does that ensure that children are getting a thorough and efficient system of education? And, how is it that in Camden, one of the worst school districts in the state, the union contract requires only four hours and forty five minutes of instruction for every seven and a half hour day that a teacher puts in. Four hours and forty-five minutes of instruction for every seven and a half hour day a teacher puts in. It’s these kinds of work rules and collective bargaining agreements that we are stuck with in this state that prevents these kids from having, in urban districts, that what they really need. Let’s talk about what happens in a lot of these urban districts, what happens is that the family life isn’t there often, to support what you need to do to make sure that your kids do well in school. Now sometimes this is because of broken homes but sometimes it’s in intact homes and because those families are struggling to make ends meet, sometimes those folks have to work three or four jobs to keep a roof over their heads, And when you have to do that you’re not going to be home at 3 o’clock when the kids get home from school. So who’s checking when they’re going to do their homework? Who’s encouraging them to do their reading. Who’s sitting down with them to help them do their math?  It’s not happening. So what should we do? Should we just give up on those kids and give up on those families who out of no fault of their own, are just working 15, 16 hours a day to keep a roof over their head. In those districts, we should have a longer school day. In those districts we should have a longer school year. If those children are falling behind, let’s spend more time with them. That kind of result, we should be willing to pay for. “Gov. Christie On Urban Education: We’re Tired Of Paying For Failure, We Need This System To Change

Christie went on to say, “I’ve had enough of sitting back and waiting. I’ve tried negotiating with the legislature. I’ve tried negotiating with the teacher’s union. I’ve tried every other course, today my patience has run out. For the first time, it’s your governor going to the court and saying enough is enough, on behalf of the people of this state we’re tired of paying for failure we need this system to change, we filed that today and we’re going to fight for you in the Supreme Court rather than have the educational interest being the ones who are always fighting there with her handouts saying they need more of your money. And the fact is no one knows how it is going to go but I’m not going to sit back and be a bystander in this. I want urban education to get better in this state. I want those families to have an opportunity for their children to achieve their fullest potential. I also want your families to be able to continue to live here. “
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Governor Chris Christie brings his Fair School Funding Message to Over Taxed Bergen County

Chris_christie_theridgewoodblog

July 29,2016

the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Fair Lawn NJ, Governor Chris Christie took his #fairschoolfunding message to Fair Lawn in Bergen County on Thursday, making the case for a new K-12 state aid formula to a town hall audience .

Governor Chris Christie proposed drastic changes to New Jersey’s school-aid formula that would distribute an equal amount for each student regardless of income, a move that would redirect money from cities to suburbs.

Over the past 30 years, New Jersey taxpayers have sent $97 billion to those 31 systems, while the other 546 have received $9 billion less. Worse yet by all standards the Abbott Schools have been a complete failure and are in violation of the very law that requires them to exist.

The average Ridgewood homeowner would save the second most at $4209 in Bergen County after Tenafly at $4478 .

Even Steve Sweeney’s home town, a leading opponent of the plan, way down in South Jersey would receive 58% more funding per student in addition to average net property tax decreases.

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Governor Chris Christie Proposes Fairness Formula for School Funding ; equal funding for every child in New Jersey

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Governor Chris Christie’s Speech On The Fairness Formula As Prepared For Delivery (Full text)

Hillsborough, New Jersey
June 21, 2016

We have two separate, but completely intertwined crises in New Jersey that must be dealt with.  They must be dealt with honestly and directly.  We cannot wait any longer to do it.  Property taxes and the failure of urban education.

Both of these crises are hurting all New Jerseyans, those affected both directly and indirectly.

Property taxes are the highest in America and the majority of those taxes are for local school taxes.

Urban education, despite 30 years of Supreme Court required intervention by the state, is still failing students and their parents at an alarming rate.  The theory from the Supreme Court was that money would solve the problem.

They were wrong. Very wrong. And the results prove it.  They have not solved our failures in urban education and, in the process, have led to New Jersey to be amongst the highest taxed states in America.  They have required the legislature and Governors to craft ridiculous school funding formulas that cheat thousands of families out of funding and thousands more from a valuable education.  Those days must end.  It is time to change the failed school funding formulas and replace it with one that will force the end of these two crises—the property tax scandal and the disgrace of failed urban education.

New Jersey spends the 3rd most in the nation per pupil on K-12 education.  For the upcoming fiscal year we spend 13.3 billion dollars on aid to K-12 education.  How do we spend it?  $9.1 billion goes back to school districts in direct aid.  $3.25 billion is to pay for the pensions and health benefits for retired teachers.   $936 million goes to pay the debt on schools, mostly in urban districts, to build new schools.  $13.3 billion—and that does not count the money paid in local property taxes.

Who gets the $9.1 billion? Well, that begins to tell the story.  By order of the Supreme Court, and coerced acquiescence by the elected branches of government, this coming year $5.1 billion goes to the 31 urban or SDA districts.  $4 billion goes to the remaining 546 districts.  That’s right.  58% of the aid from the state’s taxpayers goes to 5% of the state’s school districts. 42% of the aid goes to the remaining 95% of our districts.  This is absurd.  This is unfair.  This is not working.  And it hasn’t been working for 30 years.

Over the last 30 years, New Jersey taxpayers have sent $97 billion to the 31 SDA school districts.  The other 546 districts in the state received $9 billion less over the same 30 years.  $97 billion divided among only 31 SDA districts while the families in 546 other districts had to divide $9 billion less.  The inequity is appalling and it has only gotten worse as the years have passed.

In 1990, 23% of the state’s students, representing the SDA districts, got 41% of the state aid.  Today, while still representing only 23% of the state’s students, they receive 59% of the state aid.

Has that enormous differential in state aid brought greater achievement in the 31 districts?  No. Absolutely not.  Tragically so for the families in those districts and for the taxpayers all across New Jersey who have been footing the bill for the last 30 years.

Just take a sample of graduation rates.  The statewide graduation rate is 90%.  How have we done in the 31 districts where we have invested $97 billion over the last 30 years?  Asbury Park—66%.  Camden—63%.  New Brunswick—68%.  Newark—69%.  Trenton—68%.  27 of the 31 districts are below the state average, despite the exorbitant spending over the last 30 years.  Spending does not equal achievement—never has and never will.  There are  exceptions and those should be noted right here.  In Harrison, Long Branch, Millville and Pemberton they have exceeded the statewide graduation rate.  In Union City, the have seen extraordinary growth under very trying circumstances and the leadership in those districts deserve great credit.  But despite nearly $100 billion to those 31 districts in the last 30 years from taxpayers all over New Jersey, failure is still the rule, not the exception.  That is an unacceptable, immoral waste of the hard earned money of the people of New Jersey.

Worse than the wasted money is the lives that were not given the chance to reach their full potential.  We accept that subpar performance and pay a fortune for it.

Do not let anyone tell you that failure is inevitable for children in those 31 districts or that money is the answer.  The Academy Charter High School in Asbury Park had an 89% graduation rate compared to 66% in Asbury Park; Academy spends $17,000 per pupil while the traditional public schools spend $33,000 per pupil.  The LEAP Academy Charter School has a 98% graduation rate in Camden, while the district has a 63% rate; LEAP spends 16,000 per pupil while the school district spends $25,000 per pupil.  In Newark, the North Star Academy Charter has an 87% graduation compared to the citywide rate of 69%; North Star spends $13,000 per pupil compared to $22,000 per pupil district wide.

Over and over again we see the same issue:  money spent without results for the families we are meant to serve.  It is a false claim and always has been.  It is failing families and their children.  It is bankrupting our state. It is driving families from their homes and New Jersey.
The failure of the educational system in those 31 districts is the first tragedy.  The second tragedy is this system has caused us to have the highest property taxes in the nation.

New Jerseyans regularly say that the issue that is their number one concern is property taxes.  The highest in the nation and a burden on families in every corner of New Jersey.  What drives these taxes?  52% of property taxes statewide are spent on the school tax and in many districts it is as high as two-thirds.  But here is the unintended consequence of the unfair school funding formula:  in those 31 SDA districts, they spend a fraction of their property taxes on schools as compared to the rest of the state.  That’s right—the statewide average percentage of property taxes spent on schools is 52%; in the 31 SDA districts it is half that—only 26%.  Are they taxing less? Oh no, they are just growing the size of their municipal government.  The statewide average percentage spent on municipal government is 30%; in the 31 SDA districts it is nearly double—a whopping 54%!  When you look at some of the individual districts, it is appalling.  Asbury Park spends 60% less of their property tax dollars on schools than the state average, while their city spends 64% more than the state average on their municipal government.  Trenton spends 18% less of their property taxes than the state average on schools but spends an enormous 387% more than the state average on their municipal government.  In Paterson, 49% less on schools; 251% more on their city government.  East Orange, 39% less on schools; 379% more on city government.  It is outrageous.  It is unacceptable.  But it is perfectly predictable.

If you require the state to pay the overwhelming percentage of the school costs in these 31 districts, they are left with the choice:  do we tax less or just spend more on the growth of government?  The answer is resounding in most of the 31 SDA districts—the people of the rest of the state pay over 80% of the costs of our schools and we will spend our money to build oversized municipal governments—with no relief for local or state taxpayers.  The abuses abound.  Take Trenton for example.  The Presidents of both the PBA and AFSCME locals receive full municipal pay to work only for the unions.  No time working for the people; only for the unions.  No wonder it costs so much.

How do we fix these problems? First, we must fix the tax problem because that is the one that affects each and every New Jerseyan and threatens the future of the affordability of our state.  I propose we do this by changing the school funding formula.  I propose the Fairness Formula; equal funding for every child in New Jersey.

If we were to take the amount of aid we send directly to the school districts today (in excess of $9.1 billion) and send it equally to every K-12 student in New Jersey, each student would receive $6,599 from the State of New Jersey and its taxpayers.  Every child has potential.  Every child has goals.  Every child has dreams.  No child’s dreams are less worthy than any others.  No child deserves less funding from the state’s taxpayers.  That goal must be reached, especially after watching the last 30 years of failed governmental engineering which has failed families in the 31 SDA districts and taxpayers all across New Jersey.

What would the effect of this change be for school aid in New Jersey?  75% of all New Jersey would get more state aid under the Fairness Formula.  That is how fundamentally unfair the current formula is to students and taxpayers.  And it is unfair in every part of this state.

In Margate, they would receive 428% more in aid.  In Fairlawn, 815% more in aid. In that town, when combined with our 2% property tax cap, this new aid would result in average drop in their school property tax of over 2,200 per household.  In Teaneck, 389% more in aid and an average drop in property taxes of nearly $1,600.  In Wood-Ridge, an 801% increase in aid and a drop in property taxes of over $1,800.  How about South Jersey?  In Cherry Hill, an increase in aid of 411% and a drop in property taxes of over $1,700.  In Haddonfield, an increase in aid of 1705% and a drop in property taxes of nearly $3,600.

The pattern is repeated everywhere.  South Orange aid up 912%, taxes down over $3,700. In Readington Township, aid up 410%, taxes down nearly $2,000. In Robbinsville, aid up 666%, taxes down over $2,600.  In Freehold Township, aid up 153%, taxes down over $1,500. In Chatham Township, aid up 1271%, taxes down $3,800.  In Wayne, aid up 1181%, taxes down over $2,100.  All over the state, we slay the dragon of property taxes by implementing the Fairness Formula.  For the first time in anyone’s memory, property taxes plummeting not rising.  And all through valuing each child and their hopes, dreams and potential the same.

Of course, we will make sure that we have the aid for special needs students so that they may reach their potential too.  They are the exception though; the overwhelming majority of students deserve the Fairness Formula and we intend to pursue it for them.

We want to see major changes to the failed model of education in so many of these 31 SDA districts.  We now see definitively that money has not made the difference over these 30 years but reforms have made the difference.  We will continue to advocate for those reforms and we will insist that this new funding formula reward our successful charter schools with funding that comports with their success.

It is fundamentally wrong that students in the SDA districts receive 5 times more in state aid than students in non-SDA districts; it is unfair to those students and unfair to the residents of those towns who have been forced for more than three decades to foot the cost of that failure and unfairness.

A funding formula that puts a higher value on one child over another is morally wrong and it has been economically destructive.  We cannot let it continue.

I will travel across the state this summer to talk about this plan to, for the first time in my lifetime, lower property taxes for the people of New Jersey and bring fairness to the funding of our schools.

We can do better and we must—in educating all of our children and in bringing fairness to our taxpayers.  No one should be denied an education because of where they call home—an no one should have to sell their home because they can any longer afford the property taxes caused by a perverse school funding formula that devalues their children in the eyes of the state budget.  After all, it is their tax dollars that, in part, fund that aid itself.

I have 18 months left in office and I will not permit these fundamental truths to not be spoken and acted upon.  I will demand that the Legislature try defend the indefensible—that one child is worth more than another in the eyes of the state depending upon their zip code; or they can come along with me to fix this issue and put an end to the misery of our property taxpayers and make history in New Jersey.  I am ready for the fight and I know the taxpayers of New Jersey are looking for us to finally solve this problem.

Thank you for your attention and, now, lets get to work.

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Governor Chris Christie’s Fiscal Year 2017 Budget Address

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Feb. 16, 2016 – Governor Chris Christie’s Fiscal Year 2017 Budget Address As Prepared for Delivery

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Trenton, New Jersey
February 16, 2016

Senate President Sweeney, Speaker Prieto, Lieutenant Governor Guadagno, members of the New Jersey State Legislature, friends, and my fellow New Jerseyans:

Today I come before you to present my budget for Fiscal Year 2017.

This is the seventh time I have presented a budget to this chamber, and I’m proud to say this for a seventh time.

This budget is balanced.

And once again it is balanced through fiscal responsibility, and not on the backs of our citizens, for the seventh straight year, this budget imposes no new taxes on the people of New Jersey.

I want to begin by saying thank you to the people of New Jersey for allowing me the great privilege of running for President of the United States.

It was the governing experience of this great state, the reforms we tackled here in New Jersey, the bi-partisan hard choices we made, and the recovery from one of the largest natural disasters in our country’s history, that I felt, prepared me for higher office.

While the result was not what I had hoped for, the experience has made me a better Governor, a better American, and a better person.

I owe that growth to the people of New Jersey and I intend to use it to make the next two years great ones for our state.

We have more work to be done here in New Jersey.

And I look forward to working together with all of you to get it done.

There are two key principles that are the foundations of the proposal I’m sharing with you today.

The first is fiscal restraint.

We’ve put New Jersey’s financial house back in order.

And we’re going to keep it that way.

The 2017 fiscal year budget calls for $34.8 billion in State appropriations.

Discretionary spending is $2 billion less than in 2008.

That means that 95% of all the growth in this budget is for pensions, government worker health benefits, and debt service.

We’ll return to that subject later.

We have showed that smart fiscal management and focusing on our real priorities allows us to do more with less.

The days of taxing and spending and wasting taxpayer money have gone to the dustbin of history where they belong.

The second principle is to continue advancing the hard reforms New Jersey needs, so we can build a stronger economy and make this State a better place to live — for our generation and the next.

These are the same principles that have underpinned everything my administration has done over the last six years and we’ve seen the results.

This budget builds upon these principles.

In it, we meet our obligations, we further our commitment to the most vulnerable, and we continue to make investments in the future.

This budget provides a pension payment that is the largest in our state’s history more than any administration ever before, contrary to the hyperbole from special interest groups.

With the State no longer forced to rely on one-shot gimmicks, non-recurring revenues are at the lowest level in more than a decade.

When we took office, one shot revenues were 13% of the state budget.

Today, they are less than 1%.

That is responsible fiscal management.

The surplus is higher than any budget proposed during the past 10 years, nearly triple the fund balance we inherited from the last Administration.

It reflects the reforms and hard-fought gains we have secured over the last six years to end waste and right the fiscal ship.

One additional example — the Unemployment Insurance Trust Fund.

When we took over it was billions in debt.

We have repaid the federal government, lowered taxes, and it now runs a healthy surplus, bolstered by an unemployment rate that has been nearly cut in half in the last six years.

We’re now in our sixth consecutive year of private-sector job growth, the fastest in our state in fifteen years.

Consider that for a moment: since the turn of the century, private sector job growth in New Jersey has never been stronger than it is today, in this moment, under our leadership and reforms.

If you listened to the left wing groups and some in this chamber, you would think it is just the opposite.

But facts are a stubborn thing.

The housing market has experienced double-digit growth and building permits are at their highest number in a decade.

We’ve shrunk the size of our government, and are doing more with less.

We’ve achieved historic investment in our school system, seen our crime rates drop, and have closed a state prison.

And we’ve helped thousands of people whose lives have been blighted by drug addiction to get a fresh start.

All of this progress can lead us, with continued reforms, to a strong, stable economic outlook.

With every budget that I have presented in this chamber, New Jersey has continued to advance down the path towards a future of greater justice and opportunity for all.

When it comes to making the investments we need, we’ve never hesitated.

But we’ve shown that we can live within our means.

And today, it’s important that we continue to hold our course.

Because no matter how much progress we’ve achieved, all this can still be undone.

That’s right, reversed.

The private sector job growth, reversed.

The housing market recovery, reversed.

The smaller government we have achieved, bloated once again.

We live in a time when our national economy and the global economy face new threats.

New Jersey cannot stand alone — our state has to be ready to weather the economic storms as well as the actual storms.

In the eight years before I took office, taxes and fees had been increased 115 times, making New Jersey the most heavily taxed state in the nation and placing an undue burden on residents and job-creators alike.

Since taking office, I’ve held the line on taxes.

I’ve vetoed the millionaire’s tax every time it’s come to my desk.

I vetoed a legislative proposal to increase the Corporate Business Tax.

I have vetoed five income tax increases passed by this body.

As Governor, I’ve also provided well-needed tax relief.

Last year, I raised the State earned income tax credit from 20% to 30% of the federal credit in concert with the signing of the FY16 budget.

My 2011 Business Tax Reforms have saved the business sector over $3 billion.

And by far, the broadest impact benefitting New Jersey taxpayers was our collaboration on the 2% property tax cap, which has brought property tax growth to a near halt, averaging less than 2% statewide since we passed the cap.

That compares to 7% per year in the 10 years before the law was enacted.

We are making real progress rolling back taxes that should never have been enacted in the first place.

If we stop exercising this type of fiscal restraint, if we back away from the reforms we all fought to achieve these past six years, then we’re going to go back to the bad old days.

Bureaucracy and mediocrity and wastefulness are like weeds.

You need to keep ripping them up and we know there are plenty of powerful special interests who would like to go back to the old days of giveaways on the back of our taxpayers.

We need to continue our work together and enhance the competitiveness of New Jersey.

Instead, just in the past two weeks, yet another economically irresponsible constitutional amendment was proposed by the Legislature that would mandate a near doubling of the minimum wage, which will have a chilling effect on the steady growth of our small business sector.

This proposed increase is on top of those imposed just three short years ago through, again, a constitutional amendment.

The New Jersey Business and Industry Association just released a report on out-migration from New Jersey caused by high taxes and expensive mandates.

Their study concluded that 2 million residents and $18 billion in annual income left our State over the last 10 years.

These facts are not debatable.

They come directly from internal revenue service statistics, not from the rantings of some left-wing think tank.

Are they leaving for Florida, North Carolina, and South Carolina?

Yes, their warmer climates and more inviting tax structures are tempting.

But who are the top two states we are losing citizens to?

Pennsylvania and New York.

The only thing warmer there is their lower taxes.

Those who propose higher taxes and more regulation in this chamber better look in the mirror and to our borders before they act.

62% of businesses surveyed said they would not open another location in New Jersey if they were to expand.

66% said they would not retire here.

67% said they take the estate and inheritance taxes into consideration when making business decisions.

This isn’t a hypothetical policy debate anymore, 2 million people and $18 billion have fled our State as a result of our tax structure.

It is not only older New Jerseyans.

In fact, New Jerseyans 18 to 34 years old leave more than any other age group.

We are losing both, with our antiquated and tone-deaf tax policies.

The time to act is now.

I’ve already called for repeal of the Estate Tax.

What has the legislature done?

They’ve called for yet another government mandated doubling of wages, and an amendment that will cause a $3 billion tax increase on all New Jerseyans.

Where does it end?

Some people in this room want to address the next generation of funding for the Transportation Trust Fund solely on the back of taxpayers by imposing a hike on gas prices without any discussion of tax fairness.

Never mind that we’re already one of the most heavily taxed states in the country, and excessive taxes are driving people and businesses to other states.

And never mind that my administration has repeatedly welcomed, and continues to welcome, the Legislative leadership to reach a sensible, equitable agreement on this issue.

In fact, I was ready to act last year and Democrats refused because of your mid-term elections.

That’s the fact.

The TTF was last renewed five years ago, and that authorization is expiring because that was the length of its term.

To imply that the TTF is in crisis and is suddenly and unexpectedly “running out of money” is a politically driven mischaracterization.

Remedies for any fix of the TTF cannot be made in a vacuum.

The reality is that New Jersey is fully able to support the current capital program as originally proposed in the current five-year authorization.

My administration continues to examine ways to control cash flow and make the most of every taxpayer dollar that the TTF spends.

So, while we wait for realistic proposals and for a legitimate discussion on tax fairness, not just tax hikes, my administration has been hard at work analyzing cost drivers and ways to maintain its roadways in a more cost-effective manner.

There is time to reach a reasonable agreement.

But it will need to be the right one for the hardworking taxpayers of New Jersey.

As if an isolated gas tax hike and 79% government mandated wage increase on our small businesses isn’t enough, New Jersey families and businesses continue to face the potential of another economy-killing proposed constitutional amendment, championed by some in this room, which seeks to divide our state between the government world and the real world.

The constitutional amendment mandates pension payments and places government workers ahead of every other citizen of the state in our state budget.

Approval of this amendment would place government workers:

Ahead of our students.

Ahead of our hospitals.

Ahead of the disabled.

Ahead of our seniors.

And the burden of the cost would be put on the backs of the taxpayers.

Taxpayers who do not receive anything close to these levels of benefits in their lives, would be required to pay for exactly what the public sector unions demand.

Platinum level health benefits.

Exorbitant pensions for life.

How out of line are these benefits from the real world every day New Jerseyans live in?

Take the average government worker who pays $126,000 for their pension and health benefits over 30 years.

Their return?

$2.4 Million in benefits.

This is not the real world New Jerseyans live in.

This chamber cannot divide our state between government workers with huge benefits and every day New Jersey taxpayers who not only don’t have those benefits, but also must pay for them for a privileged few.

There is an option to avoid this, our non-partisan commission has put forward a plan to save $2 billion on government worker health benefits and use it to save the pension system.

Failure to do this will raise taxes, cut municipal aid, hurt students and the disabled, and take aid from our seniors.

We can work together to avoid this.

I am ready to work with you.

Can we put aside partisanship and special interests and put all New Jerseyans first?

If we don’t, only our people will suffer.

And, if you were going to write a playbook for how to wreck the economy and divide a state, this would be it.

Pensions and health benefits already present the largest burden on our budget.

Increased pension, employee health benefits, and debt service together account for an astounding 95% of the growth of this budget.

You heard correctly, 95%.

On pensions, we are proposing to make a $1.9 billion contribution to the State’s pension funds.

This is $550 million more than last year, and in fact, it’s the largest contribution in New Jersey history.

Our overall commitment to the State pension system is bigger than any previous administration.

With this payment, my administration will have made more than $6.2 billion in pension payments.

That is nearly double the total of the last five Governors combined.

The problem is a broken system created by unsustainable giveaways, by politicians to special interests.

The reality is that continuing to bury our heads in the sand only grows the problem and diminishes those with the courage to take on this challenge.

I know you have the courage to make hard choices.

We’ve made them together in the past.

For our children and grandchildren, we simply cannot move in the wrong-headed and backwards direction of locking in platinum-plated benefits into the constitution, at the expense of hardworking, taxpaying families.

Now at the same time, I’m not willing to let gridlock and politics stop our progress on this issue.

In order for the State to be able to afford this pension payment and protect valuable priorities for the rest of our citizens, this budget calls for $250 million in savings from public employee and retiree health costs.

Through reasonable reforms such as requiring the use of generic drugs when available, modest increases in co-pays to discourage unnecessary visits, and establishing new delivery methods for primary care services, we can continue to provide quality care, but with important savings.

Absent any reforms, State costs for government worker and retiree health insurance would increase by $487 million, and at a comparable rate moving forward.

We cannot afford this.

Let me be clear, all of you cannot afford this type of spiraling growth.

Left unchecked, this will kill our ability to cover the cost of essential services that we expect of government, protecting our most vulnerable, making investments in our schools and infrastructure, attracting business, and for those who care about the future viability of their pensions — our ability to make adequate payments.

Or, it will require massive tax increases our citizens cannot sustain.

A 10% sales tax?

A 23% income tax increase?

Insanity.

These are common sense reforms that will save everyone money while still providing great coverage to employees.

As a first step, I’m looking for $250 million in savings in this budget.

Let’s talk more about what that $250 million means.

That’s $250 million in State savings, but this will help everyone.

$250 million in State savings means another $200 million in savings for local governments, school districts, and property taxpayers that fund them.

That’s real property tax relief.

And more than $100 million in savings for State and local employees, who will benefit from reduced premium sharing.

That’s less money coming out of the employee’s paycheck.

It’s a win-win-win for our citizens.

And this isn’t a pie in the sky request or experimentation.

It’s been done before, with great success here in New Jersey.

There are local governments that have already moved out of our State Health Care Plan to address the escalating costs.

They are innovating with new health plans, collaborating with their employees, and generating year over year savings.

They’ve just done this in Burlington County. We can do this statewide.

This is how we achieve the hard reforms our state needs, and put New Jersey on a sustainable path to the future.

We can continue to serve all the people of our state well, while preserving the fiscal restraint that has brought stability to our state over the last six years.

And if we do that, we can also deliver a fairer and better deal for taxpayers.

This fiscal responsibility will allow us to maintain the State’s other commitments.

My proposed budget includes over $16 billion in direct and indirect property tax relief, including $13.3 billion in school aid, $1.5 billion in municipal aid, and $1 billion in direct property taxpayer relief programs.

More than 440,000 seniors and citizens with disabilities will receive an average Homestead Benefit of $515, and more than 160,000 will receive an average Property Tax Freeze benefit of more than $1,200.

More than 200,000 other homeowners earning up to $75,000 will receive an average of more than $400 in Homestead Benefit.

We’re also going to continue working to extend our support for the most vulnerable members of our society.

We’re going to continue investing in housing assistance programs for low-income individuals as well as individuals with developmental disabilities.

Some of you in this room have begun to turn your attention to some of these issues affecting our most in-need residents.

I want to welcome you to that discussion about how we are serving the most vulnerable, those facing housing uncertainty, and how we are helping those in grips of poverty.

This year, we’re maintaining more than $17 million in State and Federal funding for the Division of Family Development’s Social Services for the Homeless Program.

We’re also committing $42 million for the State Rental Assistance Program, and more than $14 million for homelessness prevention and emergency shelters throughout New Jersey.

Because of this commitment, we have made startling progress in reducing homelessness and giving people the hand up they need to end the cycle that housing uncertainty contributes to.

In 2015, homelessness is a staggering 41% lower than it was in 2007.

From 2014 to 2015 alone, we reduced the number of homeless in New Jersey by nearly 14%.

Rates of homelessness among families with children declined by 25% in the last year.

Through a volatile and tough economic period, we protected these programs and reformed government to work better and the results have been extraordinary in helping people get off the streets.

When it comes to healthcare too, we’re making some important investments that will change and save lives.

Last month I called on this Legislature to join me in doubling down on our State’s fight against drug addiction.

We have a chance to help people beat this disease.

We have a chance to reclaim the lives of thousands of our fellow New Jerseyans.

In fact, 2015 saw the first decline in overdose deaths in four years.

That’s why we’re making a historic investment of more than $100 million in state and federal funds to extend access to care for mental health and substance use.

By providing more competitive reimbursement rates for services and providers, we have a chance to dramatically increase access to treatment.

This is the first significant Behavioral Health rate increase in more than a decade, and it’s going to make a big difference by improving critical services, getting more people into treatment earlier, and reducing the size of the burden which currently falls on Emergency Rooms.

With our highly successful Drug Court Program, we’re going to continue investing to provide mandatory treatment to more first-time, non-violent drug offenders.

My budget proposal includes funding of nearly $64 million to maintain and expand this program.

For individuals with developmental disabilities, there will be an additional $48.8 million to create community placement and services, continuing our commitment to transition individuals with developmental disabilities out of institutions and into the community, with the opportunity to live full lives among their families, friends, and neighbors.

For families, we’re providing an additional $25.8 million to support children with needs including behavioral health, substance use, and intellectual and developmental disabilities.

For women, we’re going to continue funding vital preventative and reproductive services.

We’re providing more than $15 million to support pregnant mothers and young children through the Home Visitation Program.

Over $20 million will also go towards supporting women’s services and domestic violence reduction programs.

And to invest in training our next generation of medical professionals who can deliver the world-class care that New Jerseyans deserve, we’re also making a $60 million investment in graduate medical education for New Jersey’s teaching hospitals.

Since 2010 we’ve more than tripled our funding to offset the cost of educating our doctors, and this is important to continue investing in our long-term challenges as well as the short term.

That’s why we’re also continuing to invest in improving the quality of public education.

In the last five years, we’ve changed the face of education in New Jersey.

And we’ve given more of our young people a fighting chance for the future.

This budget proposes our sixth year of historic investments in education, with $13.3 billion in direct aid to schools, and pension and health benefits payments.

I’m proposing nearly $100 million in additional K-12 school aid for New Jersey school districts, taking our total investment to more than $9 billion.

Under this plan, every single school district will have increased funding.

We’re going to continue investing in our incredibly successful charter schools system.

The number of students attending charter schools has nearly doubled during the course of my administration, and we’ve seen charter schools having a huge impact in allowing students to achieve their full potential and turn around education results for at risk communities.

For fiscal year 2017, funding will be provided to support Charter School Aid to ensure per student funding for charter schools remains steady.

Up to six new charter schools will open in the next fiscal year, supporting an additional 1,100 students.

We’re going to continue working to expand charter school opportunities for families in failing school districts.

And as I said before you last month, at my direction the Department of Education has begun to take steps to aggressively slash regulation for New Jersey charter schools and give them the tools they need to serve even more students in even greater ways.

We’re also going to continue strengthening Higher Education in New Jersey, so that all our students can reach their full potential.

Our overall Higher Education funding will be more than $2.2 billion, with steady funding for our institutions of Higher Education.

Investment in student aid programs will also continue, and we’re going to invest an extra $17.8 million in Tuition Aid Grants to bring our total funding to more than $400 million.

Grants are vital for allowing tens of thousands of New Jersey students to go to college, so this is a reasonable investment that will make a big difference for a lot of students.

We’re also going to add a fifth class to the Governor’s Urban Scholarship program, so we can support more than 600 students in targeted school districts.

Finally, let’s talk about how we’re investing in the overall management and administration of our State.

I’m pleased that today’s budget reflects our continued trend towards greater savings and efficiency, with a State workforce that is 10,000 people smaller than when I took office.

Funding for executive operations continues to remain flat.

We can all do more with less and the executive branch is leading by example.

At the same time, there are other areas of administration where we need to continue investing so all our communities have the governance they need.

So we’re also going to continue providing over $1.5 billion in Municipal Aid.

That includes more than $107 million in Transitional Aid to support cities with the biggest financial and management challenges, which will go along with providing valuable State support and expertise to promote good government and sustainable operations for local authorities.

The success of New Jersey depends on the success of all our communities.

So that’s our budget for Fiscal Year 2017.

Now for the final big question.

Will we work together to make progress for our citizens or will we just engage in partisanship?

Many of you are already focused on the next election, raising money, some spending their own money to run advertisements already.

Let me remind you, the election of our next Governor is 630 days away.

630 days.

Are we going to waste those days on partisanship and politics?

Or will you work with me to use those 630 days to help bring relief to our overburdened taxpayers?

We have made so much progress over the 2,220 days together.

Against all odds … nearly 10% unemployment when we started.

5.1% unemployment today.

$11 billion deficit when we started.

$800 Million surplus today.

7% yearly property tax increases when we started. Less than 2% average per year today.

Zero net private sector job growth in the eight years before we started.

230,000 new private sector jobs in the last six years and, this year, the best private sector job growth in 15 years.

The largest public University merger, between Rutgers and UMDNJ, in American history which previous governments had tried and failed over and over again.

Over $1.3 Billion invested in capital improvements to our colleges and universities for the first time in 30 years.

Over $24 Billion invested in our infrastructure in the last six years.

Criminal justice reform which made bail available to those who deserve it and keeps the truly violent off our streets.

Crime rates down.

Prison population down and a state prison closed.

Drug courts in every county and a new emphasis on treating this disease and saving lives.

More of our developmentally disabled in group homes and fewer in institutions.

More of our poor receiving good health care and charity care in our hospitals dramatically reduced.

A dramatic expansion of solar energy and the meeting of our 2020 clean air goals, all without taxing our citizens through the discredited Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative.

More money is being spent on K-12 education than anytime in history and more families being saved by charter schools in our cities than ever before.

And all of this has been done with no new state tax increases in six years, no radical expansion of government regulation and 10,000 fewer state employees.

We did all of this together in the last 2,220 days.

Regardless of our party differences.

Regardless of the relentless selfishness of the special interests.

Regardless of the constant negativity of the media.

Are we willing to do this again over the last 630 days or will we succumb to politics, selfishness, and negativity?

I am standing here to tell you I am willing to continue to fix the remaining problems.

Let’s take the next steps to insure our future.

Lower taxes to stop people leaving New Jersey.

Build infrastructure in a way that is fair to our taxpayers.

Fix our pension and health benefit system in a way that will not divide and burden our taxpayers, but will bring closer together the real world and the excesses of the government world.

I am ready to work with you if you are willing to stop the partisanship and the reckless amending of our constitution to score political points.

We can sit and reason together for the next 630 days or we can fight for the next 630 days and leave our citizens without hope.

I want to face the future with faith and hope in the people we elected and appointed to make life better.

All the problems created by people can be solved by people — and we’re the ones who have to make it happen.

Over the years I’ve also been honored to work with all of you to make good things happen in New Jersey.

We might not always agree on everything, but we’ve always been able to have the hard conversations we need to move our State forward.

Let’s do that now, and continue to invest in making New Jersey the greatest State possible for all our people.

Thank you, God Bless You, and God Bless New Jersey.

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A punch? Maybe not. But here are 10 reasons why teachers’ unions deserve to lose.

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Posted by Matt Rooney On August 03, 2015 11 Comments

By Matt Rooney | The Save Jersey Blog

Governor Chris Christie’s CNN interview continues to elicit strong reactions, Save Jerseyans, and the problem with this controversy, as with similar incidents, is that most folks are focusing on the style points. It’s among the regrettable byproducts of our presidential politics, cultural decline, and hyper-politicization of the education industry. But those are topics for another post…

What about the substance?

Let’s revisit, briefly, what these teachers’ unions are all about and objectively decide whether they deserve to exist (I’m not pulling any punches):

10) The union establishment’s demands are as unrealistic as they’ve been fiscally ruinous. NJEA members will donate $126,000 to pension and health benefits over 30 years but stand to collect $2.4 million in return. Who thought this was a good idea??? Are all of the calculators broken in Trenton? Of course not. It’s all part of an elaborate, decades-old double-whammy of vote buying and problem avoidance. Instead of hating Chris Christie, teachers should direct their ire to the politicians on their own union’s campaign season payroll. They did it.

9)  Their chosen tactics are disgusting. Wisconsin’s recent experienceswere horrific, and the physical/verbal violence perpetrated by Big Labor’s storm troopers was 100% one-sided.

8) The system these unions ferociously protect is failing our country’s most vulnerable children, especially those students living in poorer, minority-concentrated school districts. Click here to check out my lengthy run-down of Camden High School’s plight (catalyzed by a give-and-take with my liberal friend of Inky fame Kevin Riordan) for the uncomfortable truth.

7) American Teachers’ unions = Democrat Party affiliates. After self-preservation, the teacher union establishment is primarily concerned with protecting the Democrats whose policies protect their power. A good faith union would avoid colluding with one political party or the other, pursuing and prioritizing the best interests of its membership and their children. Not the teacher’s unions; in this state and most others, and certainly nationally as Chris Christie pointed out, they function as a Democrat Super PAC. The American Federation of Teachers has already endorsed Hillary Clinton before either party held its first debate!

6) Dues tied up in waste and hypocrisy… so teachers lose, too: The NJEA collects a 9-figure annual sum in teachers’ taxpayer paycheck-derived dues; its regular and political arms spend many millions more in lobbying and both direct and indirect campaigning activity to influence public police. What do its members have to show for it???

5) Therefore, these unions have a financial incentive to protect bad dues-paying teachers at the expense of the education system. Much has been written on this topic but John Stossel did a particularly good job of illustrating how difficult it is to purge the suck; it’s a crisis that’s turned even hardened union veterans against the tenure-centric system.

https://savejersey.com/2015/08/chris-christie-teacher-union-punch-video-facts/

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Governor Chris Christie Declares State of Emergency As Winter Storm Hits New Jersey

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Governor Chris Christie Declares State of Emergency As Winter Storm Hits New Jersey
Monday, January 26, 2015

Trenton, NJ – With Winter Storm Juno expected to impede transportation and travel throughout New Jersey, Governor Chris Christie today declared a State of Emergency, authorizing the State Director of Emergency Management to activate and coordinate the preparation, response and recovery efforts for the storm with all county and municipal emergency operations and governmental agencies. Commuters are asked to use extreme caution while traveling across the state. Governor Christie has authorized a staggered dismissal at 1:00 PM today as well as the closing of state offices on Tuesday, January 27th for all non-essential employees.

“The impending weather conditions over the course of the afternoon will produce a variety of dangerous travel conditions throughout the state,” said Governor Christie. “I’ve authorized state officials to take all necessary action in advance of the storm, and my Administration will continue monitoring conditions throughout the remainder of the storm. I encourage all New Jerseyans to use every caution as they travel today and to remain off the roads whenever possible so that our first responders and public safety officials can safely respond to any emergency situations.”

Already affecting parts of the state, Winter Storm Juno is expected to continue into the evening, bringing heavy snow accumulations, mixed precipitation, strong winds and freezing temperatures.

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