AP Photo Christie orders halt to state-funded infrastructure projects

TRENTON — Gov. Chris Christie on Thursday night issued an executive order declaring a state of emergency in New Jersey and directing his administration to prepare for an immediate shutdown of all state-funded transportation projects.

The Republican governor said his order was the direct result of the Legislature's inability to agree on on a plan to raise the gas tax and create a new Transportation Trust Fund. The current TTF expired on Thursday night at midnight.


While the state expects to have enough revenue available to keep projects going into August, the governor said that money needs to be rationed to ensure “the health, safety, and welfare of all persons who rely on that infrastructure.”

“Senate Democrats are clearly conflicted over how to appease their public and private-sector union masters, because their union masters also are divided over the bipartisan tax fairness solution that passed the Assembly,” Christie said in a statement sent after 11 p.m. on Thursday.

Christie agreed on Monday to a deal with Assembly members that would raise the state’s gas tax 23 cents, to 37.5 cents per gallon, in exchange for cutting the state’s sales tax one penny on the dollar and raising the exemption threshold on retirement income.

While the Assembly passed that proposal early Tuesday morning, the Senate left for the week without acting on any transportation bills. Senate Democrats — and some Republicans — raised concerns that the sales tax cuts would cost the state upwards of $2 billion in annual revenue within a decade. Leaders in the upper house said there was just too big a chasm to overcome with the Assembly.

““The Senate’s inaction ignored the benefits the package would bring to the overburdened taxpayers of New Jersey, who would benefit daily from the sales tax cut it would provide and the retirement income tax elimination for 81 percent of senior citizens,” Christie said. “The Senate’s inaction also ignored New Jersey’s necessary transportation infrastructure improvements, as well as the hundreds of private-sector workers who came to Trenton today with their jobs hanging in the balance, because the Senate failed to re-authorize this Transportation Trust.”

The governor’s executive order — his 210th since taking office — directs the Department of Transportation and NJ Transit to develop a plan by 11:59 p.m. Saturday calling for the immediate and orderly shutdown of all ongoing work that is funded by the Transportation Trust Fund Authority. All federally funded work can continue.

The governor said is “necessary to take action before the funds are depleted and carefully ration the existing funds ... to obtain the greatest effect out of those remaining dollars.” Exactly how long he would be able to stretch the money was not immediately clear.

The order says that transportation projects may continue only when the state transportation commissioner and the governor have “determined that such projects are absolutely essential for the protection of the health, safety, and welfare of the citizens of the State of New Jersey, or are required to ensure the receipt of federal funding.”

In a statement Friday morning, Assembly Speaker Vincent Prieto said he was open to compromise with his Senate counterparts but would not agree to any legislation that does not have the governor’s support.

“We all know we need a transportation funding plan the governor will sign and we need it as soon as possible. This is too important for jobs — especially in our construction industry — and our economy to allow this to continue,” Prieto said. “The Assembly has passed a bill and remains willing to compromise — as long as it's a bill the governor will sign into law."

Read the order: http://politi.co/296mrfM