When Corzine and lawmakers return to transportation needs this fall, debt reduction - one of the governor's top priorities - will not be part of the discussions, said State Sen. Raymond Lesniak (D., Union).

That would mean far smaller toll or tax increases than Corzine proposed this year - 25 percent to 50 percent for the projects on the New Jersey Turnpike and Garden State Parkway, Lesniak predicted - and a less ambitious plan for reshaping state finances.

Lesniak, the most vocal lawmaker behind Corzine's first debt-reduction plan, said there was no appetite for the large-scale toll or tax increases needed to significantly slash debt and fund transportation plans at the same time.

"Any toll increase or gasoline tax will only be for transportation," Lesniak said. "I don't think we're going to do any debt reduction for a while."

Corzine proposed in January to halve the state's debt, now $30 billion, and pay for 75 years of transportation projects.

Dropping plans for such rapid debt reduction would be a signal that Corzine has had to scale back his vision of reshaping state finances.

Instead of cutting debt in one swoop, he indicated yesterday that he would likely chip away at it.

Corzine spokesman Robert Corrales said the administration was "considering all options as we work to consider a funding solution for transportation."

Corzine's original toll-road plan proposed 800 percent toll increases over 15 years and inflationary increases afterward.

He argued that the state's debt payments were "crowding out" other priorities, hamstringing government. But drivers reacted angrily to the steep price.

"The public doesn't want to" reduce debt, Lesniak said. "It's not a popular issue these days. Why do you think politicians in the past, like Whitman and McGreevey, increased the debt? Because the public doesn't care about it."

He said the New Jersey Turnpike Authority would likely increase tolls no more than 50 percent to pay for projects on the turnpike and parkway. The administration and Legislature will consider ways to fund the rest of the state's transportation needs, including raising at least $2 billion to pay for a new commuter rail tunnel to New York, he said.

Turnpike Authority spokesman Joseph Orlando said "no decisions have been made" on a toll increase.

An array of other options, including a gas-tax hike, adding tolls to I-78 and I-80, and allowing private operators to charge for express lanes, have been floated, though none has taken hold. Several top lawmakers have spoken out against a gas-tax increase.

Lesniak's projected toll hikes for turnpike and parkway projects are in line with what administration officials have said is needed.

Despite his setback early this year, Corzine made reducing debt a component of the budget passed in June, using $650 million in better-than-expected tax revenue to pay off old debts. Corzine said yesterday that would save at least $130 million annually.

"This is an historic step," he said.

In the past, excess revenue was often used to plug budget holes. Corzine reversed course this year while pushing through a number of spending cuts.

But he is limited in how much he can accomplish with a $32.9 billion budget that is nearly matched by the state's debt load. The $650 million debt payment represents just 2 percent of the state's borrowing.

Asked about future debt reduction, Corzine said it would likely depend on the economy and revenue.

"It can't be done all at once," he said. The $650 million debt payment is "not a herculean step. We're not claiming we've solved every problem. The idea is that we make these kinds of choices on a regular basis, about how we budget and manage our finances. We will get ourselves back into a strong position."

Senate President Richard J. Codey (D., Essex) said he did not anticipate that lawmakers would support a gas-tax hike unless the price of gasoline "goes down dramatically."

Assembly Speaker Joseph J. Roberts (D., Camden) noted that the state's Transportation Trust Fund still had two years of money left, but he added that "there's a political timetable" that affects legislators' willingness to tackle controversial problem.

"Each day you get closer to Election Day 2009, it makes it tougher and tougher to deal with these complicated issues," Roberts said.