What's behind push to strip NJ governor's power? This statehouse feud with Phil Murphy

Charles Stile | NorthJersey

Show Caption Hide Caption Statehouse reporters Dustin Racioppi and Charlie Stile discuss Gov. Murphy's budget Statehouse reporters Dustin Racioppi and Charlie Stile discuss Gov. Murphy's press conference.

New Jersey is in the seventh month of the Gov. Phil Murphy era, but it is starting to look a lot like Senate President Stephen Sweeney's heyday.

Over the past month, Sweeney, the Gloucester County Democrat, forced the governor to beat a retreat on his promised tax hikes. Days later, Sweeney announced that it's time to launch another attempt to squeeze givebacks from government workers and teachers. It's a move that threatens to box Murphy into a political corner.

And now Sweeney's is pushing a "good government" measure that would strip away the governor's constitutional right to certify revenues and put the responsibility in the hands of a three-person panel. It's a fight that in years to come may impact who pays how much in taxes, what programs get cut and who will see more in state aid.

If successful — and there are formidable procedural hurdles, not the least of which is voter approval — Sweeney could wrest away from Murphy one of his most powerful political tools.

Sweeney is no fan of the fellow Democratic governor and has led a slow-burn resistance against him since Murphy took office.

Instead of one-party comity in Trenton, a bitter feud has emerged between Sweeney, an entrenched veteran of transactional, old-school politics and Murphy, the liberal newcomer who has yet to figure out how to convert the political coalition of last year's campaign into a base of power in Trenton.

And for the moment, Trenton is Sweeney's town. The burly ironworker is becoming the obstacle to Murphy's progressive dreams — as some in Murphy's camp prophesied early on.

Sweeney denies that any real or perceived bad blood with the governor is fueling his sudden push to change the constitution. Having one set of agreed-upon revenue numbers, instead of competing ones from the Legislature, would go a long way toward ending the annual rite of budget chaos, which almost led to another government shutdown this year, Sweeney argues.

"In fact, if I’m the governor, I would want this because you can’t argue the numbers if you have a consensus between the legislative body, an independent individual and the governor,'' Sweeney said Monday after a committee hearing on his measure.

Yet, it's hard not to see the push as anything but another rebuke of Murphy, who, at least in Sweeney's eyes, sided with the powerful New Jersey Education Association last year when the teacher's union spent millions in a failed attempt to end his legislative career. Former Gov. Chris Christie may ultimately dish out some payback to his enemies in his upcoming memoir, but Sweeney is meting them out in real time.

Sweeney: Presidential run cost Christie chance at greatness Reflecting on Gov. Christie's time in office, N.J. Senate President Sweeney said Christie's decision to run for president is when "everything started to turn."

Sweeney's surprising, midsummer push to amend the constitution comes only weeks after the governor held fast to his plan to raise taxes on millionaires and restore the sales tax to 7 percent. Sweeney and Assembly Speaker Craig Coughlin, D-Middlesex, rebuffed Murphy's revenue raisers.

Murphy was clearly annoyed and reminded legislative leaders that their counter-proposal was not going anywhere because, at the end of the day, he was invested with the sole power of certifying the revenues, not lawmakers. Sweeney and Coughlin could advise all they want, but he had the final say.

"There is one person...who must be comfortable with the revenues and that's me,'' Murphy said on June 25. "So that part is not collaborative. The buck stops with me."

Sweeney is now saying the buck no longer will be stopping with the governor.

If Sweeney can muscle together a three-fifths super majority of both houses of the Legislature before Aug. 6 — which is no small feat — then the measure will be placed on the November ballot for voters to decide.

It would be a swift and remarkable weakening of the governor's office powers. The 1947 constitutional convention transformed New Jersey's governor from a figurehead into the most powerful governor in the country, armed with line-item veto power; the ability to nominate judges, prosecutors; appoint members of state boards, and to unilaterally certify state revenues.

At that time, the underlying logic was clear. The governor was the most prominent figure in state politics. He was the household name. If he was the only state official elected by the broad electorate, then he should be given the power and responsibility to run the state. The voters gave him that job. The convention gave him those tools.

Murphy made that very point on Tuesday in Cliffside Park, where he signed a school funding reform measure. As Sweeney stood at his side Murphy, the former U.S. ambassador to Germany, played the diplomat, saying he would be open to changing the way revenues are forecast, but is staunchly opposed to the constitutional amendment that would strip him — and future governors — from certifying revenues.

"I'm all for a better process of forecasting revenues," Murphy said "But the certification, which is the way it's been for 71 years, in my humble opinion, has to be and should continue to be with the person who's at the top of the ballot, the chief executive officer of the state. That's part of the responsibility."

Yet, many good government types and watchdogs over the years have derided New Jersey's system, saying it led to chaotic, dueling interpretations with the legislature, which undermined public confidence in the process.

THE PLAN: Are NJ governors too powerful? Democrats seek to strip Phil Murphy of key role

SCHOOL FUNDING: Property tax break? Sweeping change in how NJ pays for schools is now law

GOVERNOR: Murphy reaches $34M deal with New Jersey public worker union

And the governor's sole control over revenue forecasts and spending decisions often led to costly, controversial steps to balance the budget, like raiding hundreds of millions of dollars in toll revenues from the Turnpike Authority to cover operating costs at NJ Transit. And then there was Christie's $1.8 million in Port Authority money to pay for unrelated transportation projects around the state. A watchdog commission led by former Federal Reserve Chairman Paul Volcker criticized New Jersey's budgeting in a 2015 report.

"The governor has the final say,” Volcker said.

Sweeney, wearing the mantle of a good government reformer, agrees.

"The constitution was done in 1947. It’s not a Holy Grail. It’s not the U.S. Constitution,'' he said Monday. "And what they’ve written from time to time gets changed. In fact, they amended the constitution for bingo if you remember.”

Yet, Sweeney also acknowledged that he had wished he had pushed this proposal when the Republican Christie was in office. But Christie was not about to cede his power to the Legislature, and nor would he allow his Republican lawmakers to vote to allow the measure go to the November ballot.

Sweeney will need Republicans to back the measure and it's not clear whether they are in the same rush to amend the constitution or if they want to bother at all.

One thing is clear: Sweeney didn't mind collaborating with Christie on big-ticket legislation. Christie would never have enjoyed the national celebrity of his first term without the help of Democrat Sweeney.

This time, Sweeney is in no hurry to play the same role, now that a rival Democrat has the top job.