TRENTON — The message from Gov. Chis Christie has been consistent: There is no money. But New Jersey has just enough money for some compromise, which is what Christie said he needed to do to pass the $29.4 billion budget he signed today. "At the end of the day if you want to get 41 and 21, you have...
But New Jersey has just enough money for some compromise, which is what Christie said he needed to do to pass the $29.4 billion budget he signed today.
"At the end of the day if you want to get 41 and 21, you have to make some compromises," he said, referring to majorities in both houses of the Legislature.
At the last minute Monday, a $5 million item that would have increased the cost for businesses to file incorporation papers was dropped to win back recalcitrant Republican lawmakers.
The administration said it found money — a relatively small sum in the overall budget — by re-analyzing salary accounts.
"Life is about compromise," Christie said. "My job is to get 41 votes and 21 votes in the Legislature for this budget, and there were a number of people who thought that that $5 million increase in fee was a make-or-break issue for them. The same way (Speaker Sheila Oliver) thought $22 million in general assistance money was a make-or-break issue for her."
The Republican governor emphasized he did not compromise his "core priorities" by agreeing to any legislative changes and still retained 99.8 percent of the budget he proposed in March.
Family planning services was not included in those core priorities. The $7.5 million item cut from the budget was added back by the Legislature, and Christie has 45 days to decide what to do on the issue.
The governor would not say today whether he agreed with Republican State Chairman Jay Webber, an assemblyman from Morris County, who said the state funding would be funneled to abortion providers — despite a specific ban written into the bill.
“That's Jay's interpretation,” Christie said. “He feels strongly about it. But you don’t need to wonder what I think. I’ve told you. It was not a priority in this budget, and it will not be a priority in this budget.”
The governor, who opposes abortion rights, would not specifically answer a follow-up question about whether he thought the money had anything to do with abortion. He said the family planning funding was "repetitive" in a bare-bones budget when people can access other health care centers funded by the federal government.
Democrats have called Christie's decision to eliminate New Jersey's entire contribution to the 58 family planning clinics insensitive to women, and economically foolish, noting it turns down $9 in federal funding for every $1 the state spends. Conservatives have praised Christie for pulling the funding for pro-abortion rights agencies run by Planned Parenthood.
By Claire Heininger and Lisa Fleisher/Statehouse Bureau Staff
More coverage:
• Gov. Chris Christie signs $29.4B N.J. budget into law
• N.J. Assembly restores $7.5M for family planning clinics serving uninsured women
• N.J. Senate restores $7.5M in budget for family planning clinics serving uninsured women
• N.J. budget 2011: $7.5 million for family planning eliminated, along with chance for federal match