New Jersey Runs Out of Transportation Money, Christie Halts All Projects

In October, Christie announced that he would consider a gas tax increase if only it were coupled with so-called “tax fairness.” (Fast-forward to this morning, when the governor appeared on NJ101.5 to defend -- yes, defend -- raising the gas tax.)

How did we get here? After an Olympic-caliber game of political hot potato, bi-partisan legislation to replenish the bankrupt Transportation Trust Fund was introduced last week and passed by the Assembly and Senate Budget committees. The bills (A10, A11, S2411, S2412) were poised for vote by both houses this past Monday so that a bill could be presented to the governor before Friday. But by Monday evening, the vote was off.

Enter Assembly Speaker Vincent Prieto, who engineered a deal late Monday with Governor Christie to raise the gas tax while reducing the sales tax from 7 percent to 6.5 percent on January 1, 2017 and then again to 6 percent a year later. The plan would replenish the TTF, but it would present trouble for NJ Transit, whose operating subsidy has historically come from the general fund (although over the last decade the agency has relied more heavily on Clean Energy Fund raids, toll revenue and and capital-to-operating transfers). It seems likely that another hit to NJ Transit’s budget will eventually lead to more fare hikes and service cuts.