Gov. Chris Christie has detailed how he plans to pay for his $200 million plan to expand the state's response to the opioid crisis, two weeks after he unveiled the "holistic" effort, to fanfare by drug experts and recovering addicts.

The reaction to how Christie is going to cover the cost of it was less well received by Democratic leaders on Tuesday, with the Assembly speaker accusing the Republican governor of going back on his word and setting off a political tit-for-tat that echoed their sharp exchanges during the summer's government shutdown over the budget.

The latest dispute between Christie and Assembly Speaker Vincent Prieto began the morning after Christie detailed his spending plan during his regular "Ask The Governor" show on NJ 101.5-FM. Christie had pledged to spend roughly $200 million to expanding existing programs for heroin and opiate use and begin more than two dozen new ones without raising taxes or significantly reducing any department's budget. But Christie refused to answer questions about the specifics of the funding until Monday night's radio appearance.

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Most of the money, about $90 million, is expected to come from debt savings realized under the new law that transfers state lottery revenues to the public employee pension fund rather than the general budget, Christie said. That move has allowed the state to refinance some of its debt and give it "a lot more interest and lower rates," he said.

Another $70 million will come from "lapsed" funds, or money that was earmarked for various programs in departments like health and human services, or children and family services, but not spent, Christie said.

The $200 million figure is an estimate, and it could be as much as $240 million or as little as $160 million, according to Christie. The debt savings and lapsed funds total $160 million, but Christie said the state's revenues “are at least enough to cover that remaining $40 million, if not more," to pay for his programs.

Prieto takes issue with two areas Christie named as funding sources for his opioid plan: pre-kindergarten expansion and tuition assistance grants. As part of the deal to end the shutdown in July, Christie and Democrats agreed to a 2018 budget that included more than $300 million in Democratic legislative priorities in exchange for the lottery law and health insurance reforms Christie wanted.

The Democratic priorities included $25 million marked for pre-K expansion. But Christie said bids for the expansion came in at around $20 million, freeing up $5.6 million that he plans to use for his opioid initiatives.

"This is further proof that Gov. Christie cannot be trusted," Prieto said in an emailed statement with the subject line "More Christie Broken Promises."

Prieto is not the only one upset with the decision. The nonprofit group Pre-K Our Way, whose leaders include former Govs. Tom Kean, a Republican, and Jim Florio, a Democrat, said Christie's description of the pre-K money was "not true." The organization said Christie's action stops the implementation of pre-K expansion early in the year, and as a result he will deny nearly 500 3- and 4-year-olds access to early education.

"By taking this money for another purpose, the governor has broken his word to the Legislature and public. He has robbed Peter to pay Paul — something he said he would not do. That’s not right," the organization said in a statement.

Senate President Stephen Sweeney, a Democrat who negotiated the budget with Christie and Prieto, issued a statement Tuesday with Sen. Teresa Ruiz, who heads the chamber's education committee, opposing Christie's decision to use the pre-K money for his opioid programs. They said 26 school districts are expanding pre-K with $19.4 million from the 2018 budget, which they called "significant progress" on a top legislative priority.

“We all recognize the depths and the severity of the opioid crisis and the critical need to provide an effective response that will help save lives and provide treatment and prevention. However, we must ensure that other important programs are not compromised," the statement said. "We are disappointed that the remaining funding was not utilized and urge the administration to find the funds elsewhere so we can continue our work to bring us closer to universal pre-K.”

Democrats also "fought" to expand tuition assistance grants by $6.5 million "because they represent another investment in our children," Prieto said. But Christie said there was $6.5 million in tuition aid grants "left over" in the budget, which he also plans to put toward his opioid programs.

Prieto said the opioid epidemic is "a crisis that everyone supports confronting, but leaving at-risk children behind and making college less affordable should not be options."

Then, needling the outgoing governor, who often boasts of his reliability, Prieto added this to his statement: "Fortunately, New Jersey gets a new governor soon. Unfortunately, it’s not soon enough, but at the very least we should put to rest this much-hyped notion — by some — that Gov. Christie is a man of his word.”

Christie's office fired back with a dig of its own at the speaker, whose support for a third term leading the Assembly may be at risk from challenger Craig Coughlin, a Democrat from Middlesex County. Coughlin has said he has the support of more than half the Democratic caucus, but Prieto has questioned the legitimacy of Coughlin's backing and has said he intends to win another term.

"Fortunately, Assembly Democrats have come to their senses — we will have a new speaker, and not because of term limits but because Vinnie Prieto has been judged by his own caucus to be a failed, untrustworthy leader," Christie's office said.

The back-and-forth between Christie and Prieto harked back to the brief government shutdown this summer, when the two held back-to-back news conferences on consecutive days, often to rebut each other's claims.

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Prieto had stood firm against Christie's demand for a bill to funnel money from the reserves of Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield, the state's largest insurer, to a fund dedicated for drug and substance abuse treatment. During the three-day shutdown, Christie plastered images of Prieto's face on closed state parks and facilities, blaming him for the impasse. He accused Prieto of hypocrisy and arrogance. Prieto accused Christie of extortion and insisted that the shutdown was over what he called a "Christie tax" on Horizon.

Christie and Democrats eventually reached an agreement, but the acrimony remains. Even during his speech to unveil his opioid plan, Christie raised the showdown with Prieto and said "the speaker sold out" to special interests.

Unlike the government shutdown, the dueling between Christie and Prieto on Tuesday was done through emailed statements instead of press conferences at the State House. It did not appear destined to last more than a day, though.

“I have no interest in getting into a sophomoric back-and-forth with someone who doubles as the most unpopular governor in the nation and the most unpopular in New Jersey history," Prieto said.