Christie Freezes Roadwork After Gas Tax Hike Delayed Long Past July 4

Senate Democrats say they won't vote Friday — or for a while — on a 23-cent gas tax hike pushed by Gov. Chris Christie. In response, the governor ordered a stop to all road and infrastructure projects that are funded by it.

Christie took decisive — if not retaliatory — action late Thursday, issuing an executive order requiring plans for an "orderly shutdown" of Transportation Trust Fund projects to be prepared by 11:59 p.m. on Saturday.

Ongoing TTF work "not considered absolutely essential" must cease according to those plans, he said. The gas tax fund, which was set to expire Friday, pays for capital reconstruction and repair of roads and bridges, many of which have fallen into disrepair over the past 20 years.

It wasn't clear which projects that order could impact.

In a 2006 state study, more than half of the state's drawbridges received low safety ratings. The 84-year-old Pulaski Skyway, whose design is considered unsafe, is currently being repaired and replaced. The $1.5 billion project is expected to be completed by 2020.

“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 issued just after 11 p.m.

Christie cited the importance of "tax fairness," noting that the plan had to include a 1 percent sales tax cut - a key component that Senate Democrats oppose.

"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," he said.

Senate lawmakers say they prefer a proposal that would gradually phase out the state estate tax. That cut would cost about $120 million during the next fiscal year and $512 million by fiscal 2021, according to lawmakers.

The governor's action came after Senate Democrats said earlier in the day that they won't take up the issue until later in July, at the very earliest. The state Assembly, with Christie's blessing, passed the bill earlier in the week.

"We won’t be back tomorrow [Friday], but likely during July," Richard McGrath, a spokesman for the Senate Democrats, said in a Thursday email to Patch.

The Transportation Trust Fund's expiration appeared dire because lawmakers feared the action would leave the TTF "bankrupt."

Even though Christie and Assembly Democrats scrambled to replenish the fund before it was set to expire, Senate Democrats said there was no need to worry.

Money for the state's current repair and rebuilding projects was committed long before the TTF would end, they said. "The TTF has enough money to go through August," McGrath said.

Assembly Speaker Vincent Prieto, D-Hudson/Bergen, said Democrats in his chamber had a bipartisan solution that was ready to go.

“We all know we need a transportation funding plan the governor will sign and we need it as soon as possible," he said in a statement. "This is too important for jobs - especially in our construction industry - and our economy to allow this to continue."

“The Assembly has passed a bill and remains willing to compromise - as long as it's a bill the governor will sign into law."

Others were less than pleased by the governor's actions.

Jeff Tittel, director of the New Jersey Sierra Club, said Christie's freeze of TTF funds is "vindictive and plain wrong," adding there is enough money for road projects to last through August 10th.

"We should be using the time to come up with a better plan to fund the TTF without bankrupting the state. Instead, the Governor has thrown a wrench into the process," he said in a statement. "This is summer, when construction should be at its fullest. It’s July 4th weekend and people want to travel. This is nothing but revenge because the Senate didn’t blindly follow his lead like the Assembly did and buy into his sell-out of a plan."

“He wanted it his way but the Senate didn’t agree. It’s Christie’s way or he closes the highway.”

Christie called on the entire state Legislature to pass the proposal, promoting the sales-tax-cut portion that Senate critics say could blow a $1.7 billion hole in the budget.

When it became clear that the Senate would live up to its word and delay a vote, Christie took the late, but emphatic, step of stopping all road and infrastructure projects funded by it.

"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,” Christie said.

Executive Order 210 was issued in response to "today’s inaction by the Senate" on the Assembly Transportation Trust Fund package that would have "provided every New Jersey family two broad-based tax cuts that exceed the plan’s proposal for a dedicated gas tax increase," Christie said.

“As governor, I am entrusted with the responsibility to protect the health, safety and welfare of the citizens of this state, as well as the responsibility to aid in the prevention of damage, loss or destruction of property in the event of emergencies affecting the state," he said. "As this executive order states, in order to protect the health, safety and welfare of the citizens of this state, it is necessary that the remaining amounts held by the TTF not be spent on any transportation project that is not absolutely essential."

During a Wednesday press conference, the governor shot back at state Senate critics who ripped the plan, saying he "met the deadline" for replenishing the state's Transportation Trust Fund by July 1, and "now it's time for them to do the work" and pass it.

Read more: N.J. Lawmakers Pass Christie-Backed 23-Cent Gas Tax Hike, Set To Take Effect Friday

Democratic Sen. Loretta Weinberg, the majority leader, said during a Statehouse press conference Wednesday that she can't support a plan that cuts $1.7 billion in revenue from the $34.8 billion state budget.

She said the Democratic Senate leadership is "united" in opposing the plan, although Senate President Steve Sweeney has not signaled how he will vote.

Christie, speaking during a town hall meeting and at the press conference this week, noted the state's gas tax has not been raised since 1988, and New Jersey has the second lowest gas tax in America. He said it's "shocking that we have a tax that low, but we do."

By fixing the roads, Christie said the average New Jersey driver would see a potential reduction in car repair costs of $600 while they'll pay $100 more a year for gas, saying: "We need to spend this money to repair our roads and bridges."

The state's gas tax would increase from 14.5 cents per gallon to 37.5 cents per gallon under the plan, while the sales tax would shrink from 7 to 6 percent.

New Jersey's gas price average was at $2.10 this week, according to AAA Mid-Atlantic.

On Jan. 1, 2017, the sales tax would go from 7 to 6.5 percent, under the plan. On Jan. 1, 2018, the sales tax will go from 6.5 to 6 percent.