THIS WEEK IN TRENTON – May 1, 2009

May 5, 2009

State Revenues Expected to Decline Further
Governor Jon Corzine confirmed yesterday that revenue collections may now come in between $1.5 billion to $2 billion short of what his administration has projected for the end of the current budget year and the new one that begins July 1. In March the Governor proposed a $29.8 billion dollar budget which is approximately $3 billion below the budget adopted by the Legislature and signed by the Governor last June. The budget proposes $4 billion in spending cuts, utilizes $2 billion from the federal stimulus package and proposes $1 billion in tax increases.

At the opening of the Legislature’s budget hearings earlier this month, the Office of Legislative Services projected revenues for the current fiscal year that were $383 million less than Governor Corzine’s revised revenue forecast for this year and for the next fiscal year, the OLS estimate is $223 million lower than the revenue projection included in Corzine’s budget proposal. It now appears as if the OLS estimate of $606 million less revenue than what was assumed in the Governor’s budget proposal is even optimistic.

The Governor said more budget cuts are likely and the administration will have to act on contingency plans it has been preparing since last fall. But he declined to give details about where the cuts might come. Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee Chairwoman Barbara Buono said that the decrease in revenue would force difficult choices. “We may be forced to venture into areas that were previously off-limits,” she said. Her comments were echoed by Assembly Budget Committee Chairman Louis Greenwald. “We’ll have to look at deeper cuts in many areas,” Greenwald said.

Nancy Munoz Selected to Complete Her Husband’s Term

Nancy Munoz, the widow of Assemblyman Eric Munoz, was selected by the Republican Committee members in the 21st District to complete her husband’s term. Mrs. Munoz defeated Long Hill School Board member Bruce Meringolo and Long Hill Mayor George Vitureira respectively by a vote of 174 to 34 to 16.

Mrs. Munoz was nominated by Assemblyman Jon Bramnick after he and the district’s State Senator, Minority Leader, Thomas Kean, Jr., praised her husband, who died last month after undergoing heart surgery. Mrs. Munoz, a clinical nurse specialist, said she is looking forward to continuing her husband’s work on healthcare issues. Munoz is running in the June primary as Bramnick’s running mate. Both Meringolo and Vitureira are also running in the June primary. Mrs. Munoz will be sworn in later this month.

Gusciora to Chair Assembly Commerce and Economic Development Committee

Assembly Speaker Joseph J. Roberts Jr. has appointed Assemblyman Reed Gusciora the new chairman of the Assembly Commerce and Economic Development Committee. Gusciora will replace Assemblyman Joseph Vas. The Assembly Commerce and Economic Development Committee is responsible for monitoring issues that affect Urban Enterprise Zones, state and local redevelopment projects, corporate tax incentives and business grant programs.

Gusciora is serving his seventh term in the Assembly representing the 15th Legislative District. The Princeton Borough resident graduated with a degree in world affairs from Catholic University of America and received a law degree from Seton Hall Law School.

Riley Given Committee Assignments

Assembly Speaker Joseph J. Roberts Jr. announced this week that Assemblywoman Celeste Riley will serve as a member of the Agriculture and Natural Resources, Regulated Professions and Telecommunications and Utilities committees for the remainder of the 2008-2009 legislative session.

Riley will fill the Assembly committee seats vacated by former Assemblyman Douglas H. Fisher who now serves as the state’s secretary of agriculture. Riley was selected to fill the remainder of Fisher’s term, representing the 3rd Legislative District, in March. She previously served as Bridgeton’s City Council President.

Coutinho Named to Assembly Budget Committee

Assemblyman Albert Coutinho was named to the Assembly Budget Committee by Assembly Speaker Joseph J Roberts Jr. this week. Coutinho will replace Assemblyman Joseph Vas on the Committee.

Coutinho is serving his first full term in the Assembly, representing the 29th Legislative District. Born and raised in Newark, Coutinho is a strategic development consultant for Portuguese Baking Co, in Newark. He previously served on the City of Newark, Central Planning Board and Zoning Board of Adjustment and as an Essex County Utilities Authority Commissioner. Assemblyman Coutinho is the vice-chairman of the Assembly Commerce and Economic Development Committee and a member of the Higher Education Committee.

Stender Named to Assembly Appropriations Committee

Assembly Speaker Joseph J Roberts Jr. named Assemblywoman Linda Stender to the Assembly Appropriations Committee for the duration of the 2008-2009 legislative session. Stender will replace Assemblyman Reed Gusciora on the panel.

Stender is serving her fourth term in the Assembly, representing the 22nd Legislative District. She was a member of the Union County Board of Chosen Freeholders from 1994 until her election to the Assembly in 2001. Assemblywoman Stender served on the Fanwood Borough Council from 1988 through 1990 and as Mayor in 1991. Assemblywoman Stender also serves as vice-chairwoman of the Assembly Transportation, Public Works and Independent Authorities Committee and as a member of the Health and Senior Services and Tourism and Gaming Committees.

Legislative Action

This week the Senate Judiciary Committee met on April 27 to consider nominations and the Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee met to review the budgets of the Department of Military and Veterans’ Affairs, the Department of Agriculture, the Judiciary, and the Department of State on April 27 and reviewed the budgets of the Department of Education and Higher Educational Services on April 29. The Assembly Budget Committee met to review the budgets of the Department of Transportation, NJ Transit, the Motor Vehicle Commission and Higher Educational Services on April 28 and reviewed the budgets of the Department of Education and the Department of Labor and Workforce Development on April 30.

Next week both houses of the Legislature will return. The Senate will hold Group 1 and 2 Committee meetings on May 4 and Group 3 and 4 Committee meetings on May 7. The Assembly will hold Group A and B Committee meetings on May 7. The Assembly Budget Committee will review the budgets of the Department of Children and Families and the Department of Community Affairs on May 5 and will review the budgets of the Department of Environmental Protection, the Department of Corrections and the State Parole Board on May 7.

By WeSpeak Easy | Posted in Legislative & Government Affairs | | Comments (0)