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Headlines
Needy States Use Housing Aid Cash to Plug Budgets
Only 27 states have devoted all their funds from the banks to housing programs, according to a report by Enterprise Community Partners, a national affordable housing group. So far about 15 states have said they will use all or most of the money for other purposes.
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Headlines
Census state pension survey 2007-1010
The U.S. Census collects key data from selected state and municipal pension funds every year. State Budget Solutions consolidated the data for the 222 largest state administered defined benefit pension funds from fiscal years 2007 through 2010 to present an overview of each state's pension funds. See how your state is doing.
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Headlines : New Jersey
Conflicts & Controvery Plague Year-old Criminal Investigation of Lt. Gov. Guadagno & $245K Pension Scam
Gov. Christie's pension reform did little to stop the age-old New Jersey practice of double-dipping, in which employees "retire," start collecting a pension, and then are rehired, often the next day. A criminal investigation is under way involving his running mate, New Jersey Lt. Gov. Kim Guadagno.
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Headlines
Latest studies show growing pension peril
Recent studies by the U.S. Census Bureau, GAO, Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland and the Harvard Kennedy School detail the continued deterioration and chance of failure of public pension systems within the overall local and state government fiscal crisis. Read these studies and be aware of the extent of this pressing problem.
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Headlines
Local and state governments look for creative ways to fund transportation projects
Constrained budgets and deficit reduction efforts mean federal fewer dollars for infrastructure. As such, the burden is shifting more to state and local governments, which are being forced to find creative funding solutions.
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Budget timeline: Annual
Fiscal Year starts: July 1
Gov. Christopher Christie
Office of Governor Chris Christie
125 West State Street
P.O. Box 001
Trenton, NJ 08625
Phone: (609) 292-6000
Fax: (609) 777-2922
http://www.state.nj.us/governor/
Charlene Holzbaur, Director
Office of Management & Budget
33 West State Street, P.O. Box 221
Trenton, NJ 08625
Phone (609) 777-1988
www.state.nj.us/treasury/omb/
2012 Legislative Calendar: Regular Session convenes January 10, meets throughout the year.
Legislative Budget Leaders:
Assemblyman John J. Burzichelli (D), Chair, House Appropriations Committee, 856-251-9801
Assemblyman Peter J. Barnes (D), Vice-Chair, House Appropriations Committee, 732-548-1406
Assemblyman Vincent Prieto (D), Chair, House Budget Committee, 201-770-1303
Assemblyman Gary S. Schaer (D), Vice-Chair, House Budget Committee, gschaer@cityofpassaicnj.gov 973-249-3665
Sen. Paul A. Sarlo (D), Chair, Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee, 201-804-8118
Sen. Brian P. Stack (D), Vice-Chair, Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee, 201-348-5755
The current state budget can be found here.
Want a more robust, long-term look at your state's fiscal health, beyond the budget? There are two parts: Click here for the FY2011 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report (CAFR) compiled by the state government, and click here for information on the state's pension liabilities.
New Jersey is required to pass a "balanced budget." Article VIII, Section II, paragraph 2 of the 1947 Constitution states "no general appropriation law or other law appropriating money for any State purpose shall be enacted if the appropriation contained therein, together with all prior appropriations made for the same fiscal period, shall exceed the total amount of revenue on hand and anticipated which will be available to meet such appropriations during such fiscal period, as certified by the Governor". New Jersey's Budgetary Comparison Schedules within its annual reports showed budget deficits (negative net transactions) for each of the years studied.
The governor is allowed to block the distribution of appropriations to State agencies when the distribution is not in the State's best interest. New Jersey law also permits deficits to be carried over from one year to the next.
The State maintains two major funds: the General Fund and the Property Tax Relief Fund. The State budgets both of its major funds and several non-major funds. The annual reports' Budgetary Comparison Schedules are presented in a consistent manner and easy to locate. These schedules also present all the necessary information efficiently and include "total" columns for non-major funds.
The New Jersey governor has highlighted a $600 million reduction in the State debt, reductions in the cost and size of government and no legislative "add-ons," a constitutional amendment to require voter approval of state debt, and the establishment of a Long Term Obligation and Capital Expenditure Fund. Moreover, the governor signed an executive order to require recurring revenue match recurring spending in future proposed budgets. [from the Institute for Truth in Accounting]
Find the state's bond ratings here.
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Pensions :
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HEADLINES
Census state pension survey 2007-1010
The U.S. Census collects key data from selected state and municipal pension funds every year. State Budget Solutions consolidated the data for the 222 largest state administered defined benefit pension funds from fiscal years 2007 through 2010 to present an overview of each state's pension funds. See how your state is doing.
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HEADLINES
Latest studies show growing pension peril
Recent studies by the U.S. Census Bureau, GAO, Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland and the Harvard Kennedy School detail the continued deterioration and chance of failure of public pension systems within the overall local and state government fiscal crisis. Read these studies and be aware of the extent of this pressing problem.
- View All New Jersey articles
State Debt :
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HEADLINES: New Jersey
Christie N.J. Tax Cut Imperiled by Rise in Debt, Pension Costs
New Jersey Governor Chris Christie will say next week how he'll pay for the first phase of a 10 percent income-tax cut for the second-wealthiest U.S. state's residents even as he deals with as much as $1.3 billion in higher costs for pensions and debt.
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HEADLINES: California, New Jersey, Hawaii
Is State Debt Constitutional?
An analysis of the state constitutional debt provisions in California, New Jersey and Hawaii, and the debt that these states face in spite of those provisions.
- View All New Jersey articles
Unions :
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HEADLINES: New Jersey
As budget deadline looms, Gov. Christie pushes to reform teachers' tenure, lower N.J. taxes
With fewer than two months before the state budget is due, Gov. Chris Christie said he wants the state Legislature to deliver laws changing the tenure system for public school teachers in a way that will result in decreased taxes for New Jersey residents.
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HEADLINES: Wisconsin, Texas, Virginia, New Jersey
GOP governors stand with Wisconsin's Scott Walker
Texas Gov. Rick Perry, chairman of the GOP governors' group, leads the list of state chief executives praising Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker and his efforts to tackle the state's budget woes by challenging public employee unions and their pension and benefit costs.
- View All New Jersey articles
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Solutions: New Jersey
Can New Jersey Reverse Course?
New Jersey must reform its fiscal institutions-the rules under which elected officials budget. A recent Mercatus study ranked New Jersey 43rd in fiscal policy. Re-establishing fiscal prudence requires a) constitutional rules that constrain state and local government spending and b) policies that promote the best use of public money. Other states have been successful in constraining spending and, as a consequence, may be more resilient during periods of crisis.
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Solutions: New Jersey
The Crisis in Public Sector Pension Plans
Case study of New Jersey's five public pension plans and exploration of possible solutions, including shifting all newly hired employees to a defined contribution pension model based upon the plan already offered to New Jersey's university employees and continuing current reforms lowering pension replacement rates and, if possible, extended to current employees.
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Census state pension survey 2007-1010
The U.S. Census collects key data from selected state and municipal pension funds every year. State Budget Solutions consolidated the data for the 222 largest state administered defined benefit pension funds from fiscal years 2007 through 2010 to present an overview of each state's pension funds. See how your state is doing.
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New Jersey
Conflicts & Controvery Plague Year-old Criminal Investigation of Lt. Gov. Guadagno & $245K Pension Scam
Gov. Christie's pension reform did little to stop the age-old New Jersey practice of double-dipping, in which employees "retire," start collecting a pension, and then are rehired, often the next day. A criminal investigation is under way involving his running mate, New Jersey Lt. Gov. Kim Guadagno.
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Latest studies show growing pension peril
Recent studies by the U.S. Census Bureau, GAO, Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland and the Harvard Kennedy School detail the continued deterioration and chance of failure of public pension systems within the overall local and state government fiscal crisis. Read these studies and be aware of the extent of this pressing problem.
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"GASB Won't Let Me" - A False Objection to Public Pension Reform
Pension reform is a separate issue from amortization. These two issues have been conflated by those invoking the GASB proviso for closed DB plans, but this has only sown confusion. This is clearly demonstrated when the reform is structured with amortization payments on total payroll. In this way, the growth in the base for amortization payments is unaffected by the reform, so there is no policy reason for changing the schedule of these payments. The funding schedule for amortization is a red herring, irrelevant to the fundamental policy decision for pension reform. Amortization pays for past debts; pension reform lays a path toward a responsible future.
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OPINION
Public pension 'best practices' omit 1 thing: How do we pay benefits?
Hey, young public employees, what are you going to do when your pension checks bounce after you paid in for decades? That is what will happen in many - maybe all - states and municipalities sooner or later if they do not reform right now. If you want to see the future, just look at Illinois. One citizen there did, and came up with a real reform plan that might work.
- View All Pensions
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OPINION: Pensions
Public pension 'best practices' omit 1 thing: How do we pay benefits?
Hey, young public employees, what are you going to do when your pension checks bounce after you paid in for decades? That is what will happen in many - maybe all - states and municipalities sooner or later if they do not reform right now. If you want to see the future, just look at Illinois. One citizen there did, and came up with a real reform plan that might work.
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OPINION: Pensions
COMMENTARY Municipal, state workers should take their pension money and run, fast
Public employees should take their pension money now and run to avoid risk of getting reduced benefits - or nothing - in the future. It's the best deal for them and for taxpayers. A growing chorus of credible voices including the Government Accountability Office, a Federal Reserve bank and now the Harvard Kennedy School Mossavar-Rahmani Center for Business and Government confirm state and local government finances are "spiraling out of control" and even draconian reforms only make it "more likely" that future benefits will paid in full.
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BLOG: Pensions
COMMENTARY: This plan could save municipal, state workers' pension checks
Hey, young public employees, what are you going to do when your pension checks bounce after you paid in for decades? That is what will happen in many - maybe all - states and municipalities sooner or later if they do not reform right now. If you want to see the future, just look at Illinois. One citizen there did, and came up with a real reform plan that might work.
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BLOG: Revenue, State Debt
New Jersey City Officials Demanding More Tax Revenue From The State
New Jersey city officials who are members of the New Jersey State League of Municipalities claim their cities deserve a larger portion of the revenues collected from the utilities.
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BLOG: Pensions, Federal Government Impact
COMMENTARY: Fed screams softly in warning about public pension crisis
This is what it sounds like when the Federal Reserve Bank screams: "Much has been written about the various headwinds restraining economic activity over the near term. However, our economy also has other headwinds to confront over the medium- to-longer-term. ... the finances of some state and local governments are also under stress and in need of serious adjustments." - Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland President Sandra Pianalto
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