NJ Loony Left Makes Final Push
Jan 11th, 2010 by David Anderson
The Loony left has only one more day to get its wish list before Governor Christie imposes sanity. They want to give near dictatorial powers to their friend, the mayor of Camden, give illegals in state tuition rates when there is not enough money for the colleges already, and impose new rules “unionizing more employees in the Attorney General’s Office, for example, limiting his ability to control personnel and compensation.”
The Camden measure, introduced Monday, raced through two legislative committees last week; votes were taken even before copies of the bill were available to the public. It has drawn criticism from Gov.-elect Christopher J. Christie but has been pushed by Democrats, who argue that the time has come to turn over the city’s reins to its new mayor, Dana Redd.
The bill would allow the state to end its control of Camden at any time, rather than waiting until 2012, the earliest handover allowed under current law. Sponsors of the measure envision a quick transition to Redd, a former state senator who is still in her first week as mayor.
If that happens, Redd will gain extraordinary authority, including the ability to veto actions by all city agencies, void contracts with vendors, appoint all nine members of the school board, and raise taxes, which were frozen under a 2002 city bailout.
The measure is expected to receive final legislative votes tomorrow in the Senate and the Assembly.
The bill is one of nearly 90 proposals scheduled to be heard in the Assembly and roughly 100 planned for Senate votes. Many are complex or brand new – some introduced as recently as Thursday – as the Democratic-controlled Legislature tries to ram through proposals on the final day of the session and just eight days before the party loses the governor’s office to Christie, a Republican.
After tomorrow, bills that have not passed have to begin the legislative process anew.
In addition to the Camden bill, controversial proposals include one to make New Jersey the 14th state to allow prescriptions for medical marijuana. Another high-profile measure that has been pushed without success for eight years aims to let children of illegal immigrants pay in-state tuition at New Jersey colleges. Tomorrow presents the last chance for passage before Christie, who opposes the idea, takes office
The rush of activity in the lame-duck session, after elections and before new lawmakers are sworn in, is typical. In every legislative term, some prominent but controversial bills are avoided until after Election Day. And while those big fights play out, other dubious plans are surreptitiously advanced in small hearings.In other cases, some measures are jetting toward passage before Christie is sworn in Jan. 19 and can block them. And some bills would tie his hands – unionizing more employees in the Attorney General’s Office, for example, limiting his ability to control personnel and compensation.
Emblematic of the last-gasp push is the Camden recovery bill, which also could remove much of Christie’s authority on the issue. If state control ends before he takes office, he will lose his power to appoint a chief operating officer in the city and three school board members.
An Assembly committee approved the measure Monday afternoon. On Thursday, a Senate committee called a last-minute hearing to vote on an amended version, also with little notice, even to members of the committee.
