On his final full day in office, Gov. Chris Christie on Monday signed a controversial bill into law that will increase the pensions of former Camden Mayor Dana Redd -- a Democratic ally -- and some other elected New Jersey officials.

Christie made no statement on the measure, which was one of 150 he took action on before he's set to leave office Tuesday. His office did not immediately return a message seeking comment.

The Democratic-controlled state Legislature fast-tracked the Democratic-sponsored legislation in the final weeks before a new set of lawmakers were sworn in and Christie finished his eight-year tenure.

The new law (S3620) allows some politicians to re-enroll in the state's Public Employees' Retirement System after being kicked out because they switched positions.

Though lawmakers have not specifically said the bill was written to benefit Redd, the former mayor -- a Democrat who left office after eight years Jan 1. -- is the the most notable beneficiary.

Redd is an ally of some of the state's top Democrats, including state Senate President Stephen Sweeney and south Jersey powerbroker George Norcross III.

Christie, a Republican, had a longstanding bipartisan alliance with Sweeney and Norcross, and the three often worked with Redd on initiatives to improve Camden.

Christie signed the bill just days after Redd was hired as CEO of the Rowan University/Rutgers-Camden Board of Governors -- a job that pays an annual salary of $275,000.

The new law would allow her to triple her pension if she stays in the job for three years, according to a report by Politico New Jersey.

Lawmakers also never specified how many other elected officials would benefit from the measure, though they said it would also affect state Assembly members James Beach, D-Camden, and Ralph Caputo, D-Essex.

The state Senate passed the bill 23-9 last month and the Assembly voted 41-19 to pass it on the final day of the lame-duck session. The 41 votes is the lowest number it needed to head to Christie's desk.

Christie signed the measure even though he has railed against past governors and elected officials for adding debt to New Jersey's ailing public-worker pensions system.

The state's pension liability is more than $90 billion -- among the largest in the nation, and Christie made it a big part of his final State of the State address last week.

Democratic leaders argue the cost to taxpayers is minor because the law affects a small number of officials in a pension system where more than 80,000 are enrolled.

The bill essentially changes a 2007 law that mandated all newly elected officials be placed in a less generous "defined contribution" pension plan similar to a (401)k.

Incumbent elected officials at the time were allowed to stay in the traditional pension system, as long as they kept the same office -- with the exception of lawmakers who moved between the state Senate and Assembly.

Thus, when Redd -- then a state senator and Camden councilwoman -- was elected mayor in 2010, the pension she had been collecting since 1990 was frozen at a little over $92,000.

The new law would grandfather in those who held office continuously since July 1, 2007, allowing them to re-enroll in the system as long as they have served at least 15 years in elected office with no break in time between switching positions.

It also would allow them to make their enrollment retroactive to the date they first took elected office.

Brent Johnson may be reached at bjohnson@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @johnsb01. Find NJ.com Politics on Facebook.