The bill would bring an estimated $600 million to state coffers
The NJ Assembly debates and votes on NJ's "millionaires tax" bill in Trenton in May. TRENTON — Democrats know they will probably fail to override Gov. Chris Christie’s veto of the millionaires tax Monday, but they hope to succeed in making some Republicans squirm.
Republican "legislators know what they’re doing is wrong. They know it’s a bad vote," said Senate President Stephen Sweeney (D-Gloucester). "They know they shouldn’t be sticking with millionaires over seniors and the disabled."
But the override attempt is not likely to even make it to the Senate. By all accounts, Democrats do not have a path to the two-thirds majority they need to first get the bill through the Assembly when lawmakers there vote on it Monday.
Republican leaders have vowed not a single GOP vote will flip, and Democrats would need seven of them in the Assembly. Democrats would need another four Republican votes in the upper chamber.
Some have suggested that in the absence of a payoff now, Democrats could profit politically in the 2011 elections when all of the Legislature’s 120 seats are up for grabs.
"That’s hard to judge, because often, we hear it so much that the voters have short memories," said Assembly Speaker Sheila Oliver (D-Essex). "That will have to play out. We’ll see if the voters do have short memories."
The bill would raise taxes for one year on income exceeding $1 million, meaning about 16,000 households would bring an estimated $600 million to state coffers.
That money would be used to restore property tax rebates for seniors and the disabled. Christie cut the funding in his proposed $29.3 billion budget. Minutes after the Legislature passed the tax along partisan lines last month, Christie vetoed it, saying he would not raise taxes.
Democrats are counting on the AARP’s 1.3 million members to make Republican lawmakers feel pain from voting "no" again. Since April, seniors have made about 10,000 calls to push lawmakers — mostly senators — to restore the rebates, according to the AARP.
Although the organization has not targeted individual lawmakers, it set up a hotline members can call that connects them to their local legislative offices. About 40,000 seniors in the Republican-controlled 9th Legislative District received rebates last year.
"It is a tough decision. It’s a tough vote," said Assemblyman Brian Rumpf (R-Ocean), who represents the district, where Republican legislators received 790 calls from AARP members between April 1 and May 15. "However, I’m firmly against the millionaires tax. I think it’s a gimmick."
AARP lobbyist Doug Johnston said his group doesn’t care how the rebates come back, but the millionaires tax seems the best bet.
"As far as we know, there’s no other way to restore the rebates," he said.
Christie spokesman Michael Drewniak said he didn’t know what Democrats thought they would accomplish.
"They’re just re-emphasizing for the second time in a few weeks their commitment to taxing and spending. Go for it," he said.
The tax is a revised extension of a temporary surcharge imposed last year when Jon Corzine was governor. Between Corzine’s re-election loss and Christie’s inauguration, Corzine administration officials toyed with reinstating it, but there was no political will.
Monmouth University pollster Patrick Murray said Democrats have one purpose in pushing the vote: setting up an issue to challenge Republicans with in 2011 elections.
The tax polls well for Democrats: A Quinnipiac University poll Thursday found New Jersey voters think Christie should have signed it by an almost 2-1 margin. "It’s a win-win situation for the Democrats at a time when they don’t have anything to hang their hats on," said Murray. "This is all about electoral advantage in 2011."
Staff writers Claire Heininger and Lisa Fleisher contributed to this report.
| 'Millionaires tax' bills pass both houses, but are vetoed by Gov. Christie |