Christie orders July 1 shutdown plan
THE RECORD
STATE HOUSE BUREAU
With budget talks intensifying, Governor Christie on Friday ordered his Cabinet to begin planning to shut down state government July 1 if there is no deal by the constitutional deadline.
"The administration remains highly confident that the budget process will be successfully completed in advance of the legal deadline," according to a memo to the Cabinet from Christie chief counsel Jeff Chiesa. He cautioned, however, that "it is appropriate to begin to engage in departmental contingency planning for the unlikely outcome that a budget is not enacted by June 30th. … It will be necessary to shut down most operations of state government."
The document, obtained by The Star-Ledger, was dated Thursday and distributed Friday.
Christie spokesman Michael Drewniak said his office is preparing for all possible outcomes. The governor proposed a controversial $29.3 billion spending plan in March.
"A government shutdown would be costly and disruptive and must absolutely be avoided," Drewniak said. "But we still have to be responsible, prudent and prepared."
If a new budget is not enacted by July 1, the law requires that a "state of emergency" be declared and that the state stop paying its bills or incurring new expenses until a spending plan is in place. In 2006, Jon Corzine's first year in office, a budget showdown between the governor and his fellow Democrats in the Assembly led to a weeklong shutdown.
As June opened, it appeared the Republican governor and Democrats who control the Legislature were close to an agreement on contours of a final budget. Last week, Democrats were openly saying they would provide the handful of votes necessary
FILE PHOTO/AMY NEWMAN/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
The document, obtained by The Star-Ledger, was dated Thursday and distributed Friday.
Christie spokesman Michael Drewniak said his office is preparing for all possible outcomes. The governor proposed a controversial $29.3 billion spending plan in March.
"A government shutdown would be costly and disruptive and must absolutely be avoided," Drewniak said. "But we still have to be responsible, prudent and prepared."
If a new budget is not enacted by July 1, the law requires that a "state of emergency" be declared and that the state stop paying its bills or incurring new expenses until a spending plan is in place. In 2006, Jon Corzine's first year in office, a budget showdown between the governor and his fellow Democrats in the Assembly led to a weeklong shutdown.
As June opened, it appeared the Republican governor and Democrats who control the Legislature were close to an agreement on contours of a final budget. Last week, Democrats were openly saying they would provide the handful of votes necessary