Tax cap deal making progress; Oliver backs 2% growth limit
STATE HOUSE BUREAU
STATE HOUSE BUREAU
A bipartisan plan to cap property tax growth at 2 percent per year moved a step closer to reality Tuesday with Assembly Speaker Sheila Oliver breaking more than two days of silence to say she generally supports it, and with a conditional veto by the governor on an earlier version of the bill.
In delivering that conditional veto, Governor Christie gave lawmakers a framework to change legislation they passed last week with a higher cap. Christie and Senate President Stephen Sweeney, D-Gloucester, announced the compromise cap and its exceptions Saturday after marathon talks.
Oliver, who did not join those talks and has said her house needs to discuss the particulars, Tuesday said she was onboard with the broad strokes of the plan.
"I think that the political reality in New Jersey is that taxpayers want to see some effort made by the Legislature to control property taxes," said Oliver. "So I don't think that the General Assembly would stand in the way of that."
If both houses of the Legislature approve the changes in Christie's veto and the
Assembly Speaker Sheila Oliver took issue with how the compromise was reached, saying the Assembly was left out of the process.
Oliver, who did not join those talks and has said her house needs to discuss the particulars, Tuesday said she was onboard with the broad strokes of the plan.
"I think that the political reality in New Jersey is that taxpayers want to see some effort made by the Legislature to control property taxes," said Oliver. "So I don't think that the General Assembly would stand in the way of that."
If both houses of the Legislature approve the changes in Christie's veto and the