Lawmakers Closing in on Budget Deal

Lawmakers Closing in on Budget Deal

New Jersey lawmakers and Gov. Jon Corzine are reportedly close to reaching an agreement on the state budget. On Monday, Assembly Speaker Joseph Roberts and Senate President Richard Codey met with Corzine before speaking with reporters and announcing they had reached an agreement; however some legislators have continued to express reservations about a deal.

The Assembly Budget Committee has scheduled hearings on the appropriations bill on Wednesday and Thursday; the Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee has put the matter on its agenda for Thursday. The budget could reach a vote in both houses of the Legislature by June 23.

The main area of contention among legislators was the governor’s early retirement plan for state workers, along with the proposed public employee pension system reforms.

Preliminary indications were that the budget’s education funding made it through budget negotiations season without being cut. The 2008-2009 budget included a $532 million increase in direct state aid to school districts. That increase came after six years of largely stagnant state aid, a situation that forced school districts to rely more heavily on property taxes to maintain education programs. Aid for public education is the largest single allocation of state funding.

NJSBA will be analyzing the budget details as they are released. Appropriations bills sometimes contain “footnote” language which enacts additional legislation. This year, there is concern that some of the proposed school district accountability regulations could be instituted through such legislative maneuvers.

NJSBA will continue to notify members of developments through School Board Notes and through e-mails and legislative updates on the NJSBA Web site