statehouse-taxes.jpg

A state commission of staff from the executive and legislative branches will vote Tuesday morning on Christie's $300 million plan to renovate the Statehouse.

TRENTON -- A state commission will meet Tuesday to vote on Gov. Chris Christie's $300 million proposal to renovate the Statehouse.

The State Capitol Joint Management Commission, which includes top staff from the governor's office and the majority and minority offices of the Senate and Assembly, will take a formal vote on the governor's planned four-year renovation of executive offices under the golden dome.

In announcing the massive project in November, Christie said portions of the 224-year-old Statehouse have potential for "catastrophic failure." The governor said a tour through Maryland's capitol building made him realize the "shameful" conditions of New Jersey's.

The treasurer's office said in February that staff in the governor's office will relocate to a state-owned building down the street from the Statehouse, at 225 W. State St. in Trenton, while Department of State workers will move to 33 W. State St., where the state holds a lease.

The state will "immediately begin preparing those spaces for occupancy and will move personnel as soon as practicable, Treasurer Ford Scudder said in a statement.

The New Jersey Economic Development Authority will fund the work.

A spokesman for the Treasury Department said the full approval process is still being worked out.

"Approval by the Joint Management Commission is the next step in moving forward with the Statehouse renovation project," spokesman Will Rijksen said Tuesday. "We continue to work with the Office of the Attorney General and outside bond counsel to ensure that all required approvals are secured as we advance this important and necessary renovation."

Christie has said he's confident his plan will come to fruition, despite some pushback from his own lieutenant governor, who is running in the Republican primary to succeed him, and two other Democratic and Republican candidates.

"It's going to happen," he said recently. "Take it to the bank. It's going to happen."

Samantha Marcus may be reached at smarcus@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @samanthamarcus. Find NJ.com Politics on Facebook.