Sweeney's 2.9 percent property tax cap plan is approved by N.J. senate committee

Gov. Christie has not said if he will sign the legislation. The governor is pushing for a vote on his 2.5 percent constitutional cap

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Clik here to view.Tony Kurdzuk/The Star-LedgerSenate President Stephen Sweeney (D-Gloucester) speaks to reporters as he enters the Senate Budget Committee room before the start of the committee hearing at the Statehouse this morning. The committee has passed his 2.9 percent property tax cap plan.

TRENTON — A proposal to limit annual property tax increases to 2.9 percent cleared its first legislative hurdle today.

The bill passed the Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee along party lines, with eight Democrats for it and four Republicans against it. One other Republican was absent.

Senate President Stephen Sweeney (D-Gloucester), the bill's sponsor, pitched it as a more reasonable alternative to Gov. Chris Christie's push for a constitutional amendment capping increases at 2.5 percent. Christie's cap could only be exceeded for towns' debt payments or if 60 percent of local voters override it, while Sweeney's resembles the state's current 4 percent cap law.

Sweeney's plan, which is also backed by Assembly Speaker Sheila Oliver (D-Essex), carves out exceptions for cost increases on items like health care, pension payments and energy. Christie has dismissed those as "Swiss cheese holes" that render the cap ineffective.

In his testimony before the committee, Sweeney called the Republican governor's plan "a great sound byte" but bad policy that would deepen the divide between rich and poor communities.

"Wealthy communities can override, middle class communities don't," Sweeney said. "This is creating the haves and the have-nots."

Republicans attempted to amend the bill to make it more resemble Christie's cap, but they were defeated.

"It's not enough. It will never be enough unless we put constitutional constraints on it," said Sen. Joseph Pennachio (R-Morris.)

The bill now advances to the full Senate, where it is expected to be voted on Monday.

Christie's plan would have to make it out of committee by July 7 to advance toward the November ballot. But Sweeney, who controls which bills are considered in the upper house, today said Christie's plan may not get a hearing until over the summer.

"We're going to move with this. This works, and we've proven it works," Sweeney said of his own plan, citing an average property tax increase of 3.3 percent last year, down from 7 percent earlier in the decade.

The governor has declined to say whether he would sign Sweeney's legislation, instead encouraging lawmakers to allow a vote on his plan.

"The Trenton Democrats say, 'Trust us,'" Christie said earlier this week. "We need to put this in the control of the people. I don't understand why people in the Legislature wouldn't be in favor of that."

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