Bridges & Tunnels

Source: New Jersey Monthly (Special 40th Anniversary Issue) 

9 things you need to know about N.J.'s rising gas tax

9 things you need to know about N.J.'s rising gas tax

NJ.om, 16-Oct-16

By The Auditor

It's official: New Jersey's gas tax will go up by 23 cents a gallon in a few weeks (November 1 to be exact) to restart the broke fund that pays for road and rail projects.

But The Auditor knows there's a story behind such sudden pain at the pump.

Here are 9 things you may not have known about the gas tax, the only one Garden Staters could point at with pride and say to America: We pay less than you.

1. It's been around since the year Babe Ruth clubbed 60 homers

The first Jersey gas tax, at 2 cents a gallon, debuted on July 1, 1927. Later that year, the Holland Tunnel opened and construction began on a certain bridge now known for its politically motivated traffic jams.

2. The last time it went up, Reagan was president

The current tax was last raised in 1988, when gas went for 92 cents a gallon and a movie ticket would set you back $3.50.

3. The fund for road projects was designed to never go broke

When the Transportation Trust Fund to finance road and rail projects was enacted, it was supposed to be self-sustaining. Governors and lawmakers were to keep spending in check so loans could be paid off and there would always be enough cash in the bank. Of course, Trenton spent more than it should and didn't pay in enough. File it under boondoggles, right next to pensions.

4. Gas tax for open space?

Gov. Christie Whitman wanted to raise the gas tax and spend some of its proceeds on open space preservation. But Republican lawmakers who were swept into office by lambasting Democratic tax increases weren't open to the idea.

5. It became sacred

The longer the low gas tax remained, the harder it was to raise. Property taxes were sky high, but Jerseyans could always take heart that gas was cheap. Before he signed it, Gov. Chris Christie was the latest to do all he could to avoid raising the tax, and mocked the idea that New Jersey even had a transportation funding crisis while he was wooing Republican voters in a presidential run.

6. What you'll pay

Figure the extra tax will set you back $110 to $170 a year, based on differing estimates on how many miles you drive and how many miles per gallon your car gets.

7. Another Jersey tax near the top

In one fell swoop on Nov. 1, New Jersey will go from having the second lowest gas tax in America to the seventh highest.

8. But ...

Jersey residents will still have local bragging rights, because it will still be lower than the gas tax in New York and Pennsylvania.

9. And you don't have to worry about this

That other sacred Jersey gasoline tradition — a ban on self-serve gas — remains safe. Christie and Senate President Stephen Sweeney have both said they won't dare do anything that could prompt Jersey motorists to splash any of that more-expensive gas all over themselves.

Related News
Christie signs bill raising N.J. gas tax 23 cents a gallon (nj.com)
New Jersey Is Known for Cheap Gas. The Glory Days Are About to End (nytimes.com)

8 N.J. Laws That Took Effect January 1

8 N.J. Laws That Took Effect January 1

NJ.com, 1-Jan-16

By Samantha Marcus

With the new year come some new laws in New Jersey.

Eight laws will take effect today, according to the state's nonpartisan Office of Legislative Services. Seven were signed into law 2015 and one in 2014.

1. Prohibiting unsolicited checks: This law bans companies from sending New Jersey residents unsolicited checks that, when redeemed, obligate the recipient to pay a fee or enrolls them in any service or plan.

State Assembyman Paul Moriarty (D-Gloucester) introduced the legislation after a constituent showed him an unsolicited check for $8.25 that upon being cashed would have enrolled him or her in an $15.99 a month automotive roadside assistance program, he said in a statement.

"These so-called free money offers are at their best deceptive and, at their worst, downright dishonest," Moriarty said after the bill was signed into tlaw. "Right now, consumers are at their most vulnerable to fall for a scheme that appears to offer them instant cash but would end up costing them much more in the long-run." 

Violators may be hit with a $500 fine on their first violation and $1,000 for each additional violation.

9 of the oddest bills of 2015

2. A new way to donate to veterans: This law gives New Jersey taxpayers the opportunity to donate a portion of their tax refund to the Fund for the Support of New Jersey Nonprofit Veterans Organizations. Taxpayers can indicate they'd like to make a contribution on their gross income tax return or enclose a donation. Those dollars will be distributed annually to private nonprofit organizations supporting veterans.

3. An email alert system for lowering the flag: The Secretary of State will operate an email notification system to alert people when the governor orders the U.S. and state flags flown at half-staff. 

4. New requirements for dispensing pharmaceutical drugs: This law establishes conditions for pharmacists dispensing bio-similar, or generic, drugs. Within five days of filling the prescription, he or she must alert whoever wrote the original prescription what product it was substituted for. They must also indicate there was a substitution on the prescription label.

5. New prescription drug disposal education: This law requires that pharmacies and prescribers dispensing controlled dangerous substances a notice advising patients of drug drop-off programs.

6. New application for applying for developmental disability services: This law streamlines the application process for people requesting services for individuals with developmental disabilities from the Department of Children and Families and Department of Human Services by developing a single application.

7. Revises the "Self-funded Multiple Employer Welfare Arrangement Regulation Act: The law provides incentives for employers to band together to offer health insurance through self-funded or partially self-funded Multiple Employer Welfare Arrangements, or pools.

8. Creating fishing buddy licenses: This law creates a fishing buddy license to encourage more recreational fishing. It offers half-price licenses to people 16 and older who purchase their license in conjunction with someone purchasing their first New Jersey fishing license since 2010.

"This is a great incentive for New Jersey residents and visitors to enjoy recreational fishing as they share great times with friends and family," Senate President Stephen Sweeney (D- Gloucester) said in a statement when it was signed into law. "Angling also supports our state's wildlife management efforts, conservation programs, and it helps boost economic activity."

Around Weehawken - Only in NJ: Christie Vetoes Pig Crate Ban

Christie vetoes pig crate ban, accuses sponsors of partisan politicking

NJ.com, 28-Nov-14

By Claude Brodesser-Akner

Decrying what he called “partisan politicians” seeking “a political cudgel” with which to beat him, Gov. Chris Christie vetoed legislation banning the use of pig gestation crates in New Jersey today.

The move was expected.

In a statement released to the media, Christie urged legislators “to turn their attention to actual problems facing New Jersey” noting he rejected nearly identical legislation last year sponsored by the same legislators. At that time, both the N.J. State Board of Agriculture and Department of Agriculture found the bill to be unnecessary.

"I will rely on our in-state experts rather than the partisan politicians who sponsor this bill. These facts are no less true today," Christie said.

The Senate bill (S998) would have directed the State Board of Agriculture to adopt rules and regulations “prohibiting the confinement, in an enclosure, of any sow during gestation in a manner that prevents the sow from turning around freely, lying down, standing up, or fully extending the limbs of the animal.”

The bill, which Christie called “a solution in search of a problem,” gained national notoriety not so much for the effect it would have on New Jersey’s actual swine – there are only 9,000 in the state, according to USDA statistics – but on Christie’s political fortunes: Iowa is not only home to the first-in-the-nation political caucuses for the 2016 presidential election, but to 20 million pigs. Nearly one-third of the nation's hogs are raised in Iowa, where hog farming alone represents $7.5 billion in total economic activity for the state, according to the Iowa Pork Producers Association.

Still, the vetoed bill had attracted the attention of Hollywood celebrities and local residents alike. The Humane Society organized a campaign with letters from stars like Danny DeVito, Bob Barker and Bill Maher; Jon Stewart mocked Christie’s planned veto from his perch on “The Daily Show. Two New Jersey teenage sisters delivered over 125,000 signatures collected from state residents urging Christie to sign the bill into law.

This is the second time Christie has vetoed a measure meant to ban the practice of keeping gestating pigs in close-confining crates.

Last year, Christie vetoed a bill (S1921) that would have made the “cruel confinement” of a gestating sow an animal cruelty offense.

The bill Christie vetoed today was slightly different, but intended to achieve the same end.

Both bills passed overwhelmingly. But when state Sen. Raymond Lesniak (D-Union), its sponsor, attempted to override Christie’s veto last year, Lesniak pulled it at the last minute when Republicans who initially voted for it refused to break ranks with the governor.

This time, Lesniak said, he will wage a much harder campaign to override Christie's veto.

“It will be a campaign the likes of which has never been seen before. Supporters of this bill got 135,000 signatures asking the governor to sign it. From across the nation, but mostly from New Jersey. That army of supporters will be mobilized,” Lesniak said.

The vetoed bill cannot become law unless the Legislature overrides the veto by a vote of at least two-thirds of the members of each house: 27 votes in the Senate; 54 votes in the General Assembly.

Lesniak said he was not shocked by the veto, but he was “hoping for a surprise.”

“It reeks of Christie’s priorities,” said State Sen. Ray Lesniak (D – Union), adding, “And his priorities are the preservation of his national political ambitions.”

In a statement released to the media, Wayne Pacelle, President and CEO of the Humane Society of the United States, called Christie "an outlier on the issue of extreme confinement of farm animals," adding that his veto left New Jersey lagging behind the practices of the nation's largest purveyors of pork.

"McDonald’s, Safeway, Costco, and others have decided to cleanse their supply chains of pork from operations that don’t let the animals move, and even major producers like Smithfield Foods are making the switch," said Pacelle, adding, "This veto shows cynical political calculation from the governor and an obvious capitulation to special interests, rather than leadership or humanity.”

The Daily Show
Get More: Daily Show Full Episodes,Indecision Political Humor,The Daily Show on Facebook

N.J.'s alimony law gets an update

N.J.'s alimony law gets an update
nj.com, 10-Sep014
By Matt Friedman

New Jersey’s alimony law — derided by many as archaic — is getting an update.

Gov. Chris Christie's office announced tonight that he signed a bill (A845) that would make significant changes to alimony, though critics have said it doesn’t go far enough.

The law Christie just signed applies mainly to future divorces, though it does allow a “rebuttable presumption” that alimony payments will end once the ex-spouse paying them reaches the “full retirement age” of 67.

Among its other major changes:

• For marriages that lasted fewer than 20 years, the length of alimony payments cannot exceed the length of the marriage unless a judge decides there are “exceptional circumstances.”
• Judges would be able to end payments if the recipient lives with a partner, even if they don’t get married.
• Judges would be able to lower payments if the payer has been out of work for 90 days.
• The term “permanent alimony” would be replaced with “open durational alimony."

Christie did not comment on signing the bill.

Advocates of overhauling the alimony system had been split on whether to support the bill.

Thomas Leustek — founder of New Jersey Alimony Reform — said it’s an “about-face” for New Jersey, even if doesn’t go as far as he’d like it to.

“I’m overjoyed that he signed the bill, because it turns the existing laws of alimony completely around,” Leustek, a plant biology professor at Rutgers, said in a phone interview.

Leustek said the biggest change is that the elimination of a presumption that alimony should be permanent.

“The prior law ... has what I refer to as the permanent first doctrine. A judge would have to explain why permanent alimony was inappropriate if they decided to award some other kind of alimony. Imagine that,” Leustek said. “Now we have a bill that completely changes that. It says alimony duration is no longer than the length of the marriage, and has an ultimate stop date at retirement age where alimony is presumed to end.”

But others who favored alimony reform argued that the legislation didn’t do enough to help current alimony payers. Stuart Meissner, who ran for U.S. Senate last year to promote alimony reform, told the Senate Judiciary Committee in June that any new alimony law should rely more on formulas to give judges less discretion.

“Judges are not supposed to be making the law. This body is. You have everything in reverse,” Meissner said at the time.

Reference
5 things you need to know about bill signed by Christie