Senate Republicans sued the Corzine administration today to try to compel the release of data showing what state spending has been frozen by the administration. The complaint was filed in Mercer County Superior Court.

The Republicans sued after they filed a written request on Dec. 2 under the state’s open public records law. The Department of Treasury initially requested an extension until Dec. 24 to respond and then requested an additional 11 days, until Jan. 12, citing a need for a legal review of records.

The state’s budget shortfall was $459 million as of November for the fiscal year that began July 1. Administration officials project a $1.2 billion budget hole, which means Corzine will likely need to cut spending to balance the budget.

State senators Tom Kean Jr., Anthony Bucco, Kevin O’Toole, Steve Oroho and Phil Haines sent a letter to Corzine warning they intended to file the complaint. The senators said they want assurances the governor is “adequately preparing for revenue losses and the more than $100 million in new spending legislation you signed in the last several weeks.” Republicans say they want to know whether Corzine has frozen enough spending to balance the budget, and also what spending he has chosen to freeze.

The governor has said he will detail his plan to deal with the budget after the New Year.

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In case you missed it over the holiday weekend, the Inquirer's Cynthia Burton had an insightful profile of Gov. Corzine's new chief-of-staff, Ed McBride.

McBride, as Burton writes, has strong Philadelphia and South Jersey ties. He was Corzine's chief counsel and before that worked with Democratic Govs. Florio and McGreevey.

From dealing with property tax rebate plans then, to the government shutdown in 2006 to ethics reform proposed in September, McBride is a person who knows the details of policy, down to the granular level. Having served as Corzine's chief counsel in his 2005 gubernatorial bid, McBride is also no stranger to elections. Corzine is up for re-election in November.

Here's Burton's story: http://www.philly.com/philly/news/local/36739989.html

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Gov. Corzine met with reporters for about 35 minutes this afternoon to look back at a year that included a number of setbacks (his toll plan, pension deferral) and accomplishments (cutting the budget, limiting borrowing, moving his economic recovery plans quickly).

Corzine acknowledged that the overriding story of the year, and what has overshadowed nearly everything state government has done, has been the nation's recession and its fall out.

Among the highlights of a very interesting year-end press conference:

- Corzine said he has identified spending cuts nearly equal to the $400 million reduction his administration announced earlier this year to help close a $1.2 billion budget shortfall. He said he will offer details after New Year's, but several times stressed that he will have to see how hoped-for federal aid fits with the state's needs.

- He said furloughs, wage freezes and lay offs are all on the table. He said he hopes for cooperation from workers under contract (read: labor unions), adding that if they don't come to the table, lay offs are his only option to labor costs.

- He called the nation's economic problems "the most unprecedented" he had seen in his life, but hoped that things could start to turn around withing six or nine months.

- Corzine acknowledged his proposed ethics reforms have "less than whole-hearted support in the Legislature."

- He said he would normally not propose something like the pension deferral he recently pitched - "I think it's bad long-term fiscal policy" - but that it's a better alternative than property tax hikes.

- Corzine strongly indicated that he would not extend the Dec. 31 deadline for affordable housing plans, although he did not give a concrete final answer.

We'll have more details in Tuesday's Inquirer.

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Earlier this month, when President-elect Barack Obama and most of the nation's governor's convened in Philadelphia, there was much pomp, a lot of talk, a ton of coverage and few specifics, except from Gov. Corzine.

While most of the governors and nearly all of the media gathered up for one massive press conference after the meeting with Obama, Corzine held his own gaggle outside with the Trenton press corps. He wouldn't put exact figures on the stimulus plan that might come from an Obama administration, but he got more detailed than any other state leaders that day, saying he envisioned a plan that could top $700 billion, with around $400 billion for infrastructure investment, over two years.

Now, the Washington Post reports that the Obama team is crafting at a $670 billion to $770 billion plan that could grow to $850 billion by the time it gets through Congress. Included in that amount is at least $350 billion in investments.

Sounds much like Corzine described, which sure makes it seem like he has an inside line on the administration's plans.

That could be a big asset, not just for New Jersey as it seeks a piece of the Obama plan, but also for Corzine himself as he heads into an election year in which Democrats expect fiscal credentials to be the top issue.

The Washington Post story:                                                                                 http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/12/18/AR2008121804204.html?hpid=topnews

Inquirer story after Obama's visit: http://www.philly.com/philly/news/homepage/35457489.html

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Not long ago, Assemblyman Reed Gusciora, a Democrat who represents Mercer County, introduced a bill that would merge several Shore towns. While consolidation seems to be a perennial topic of debate in Jersey, what was odd about Gusciora's proposal was that he was pushing for a merger among towns he doesn't represent. The people affected don't get to vote for him, and the people who do vote for him wouldn't be affected. (The Inquirer's Adrienne Lu wrote a story exploring the idea).

The plan reflected a common way of thinking in New Jersey when it comes to many money saving ideas: everyone else should it.

Assemblyman Bill Wolfe, an Ocean County Republican who represents the towns Gusciora wanted to merge, fired back this week with a similar idea: merge some of the Democrats' towns.

"This is in the spirit of helping a colleague realize that there is such a thing as legislative courtesy when you introduce legislation affecting a county you do not represent," Wolfe said in a statement. "If Assemblyman Gusciora can see the benefits of consolidating municipalities in Ocean County, perhaps he will see those same benefits in doing so in his own county."

Here is Adrienne's story: http://www.philly.com/philly/news/local/35299754.html

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More grim news on the economic front: for the second consecutive month New Jersey's state government had revenues that fell more than $200 million short of its budget projections.

In November state revenues from taxes and fees were off by $201 million, according to Treasury figures released this afternoon.

That puts the total shortfall at $459 million just five months into the budget that took effect July 1. Last month the Corzine administration predicted a $1.2 billion hole over the length of the budget. With the floundering economy, the problem could get worse.

"November's shortfall raises additional concerns about (fiscal year) '09," Treasurer David Rousseau said in a statement. "We will look more closely at the current year problem once we get a report on revenues from December, which is one of our heaviest collection months."

Rousseau chalked up the problems to the continuing economic spiral that has gripped the nation.

The impacts on individuals can be seen through some of the figures. Businesses paid 26.5 percent less taxes than predicted in November and sales taxes were off by 11 percent, reflecting smaller profits and less shopping. In a sign of a bad market for buying and selling homes, realty transfer taxes fell 29.5 percent short of what was budgeted.

People are even smoking and drinking less. Taxes on tobacco products' wholesale sales are down 13.5 percent for the year and alcoholic beverage taxes are off by 2.5 percent.

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John Crowley, a Republican at the center of much political speculation, will not run for governor next year, PolitickerNJ reports.

Crowley, a Navy reservist who left the business world to found a bio-tech firm to help find a cure for a rare disease affecting his children, had been seen as a potential dark horse candidate whose life story and checkbook might make him a player in the 2009 election. But spokesman Bill Spadea tells Politicker that Crowley "does not intend to run at this time."

Spadea said he and Crowley would continue working on their Building a New Majority political organization, but that speculation about Crowley's 2009 ambitions had moved ahead of the reality.

Just last week, at a round table of state political leaders and consultants, Republican state chairman Tom Wilson had named Crowley as a potential candidate when asked who might carry the GOP flag next year if U.S. Attorney Chris Christie does not run.

While many Republicans await a decision from Christie, the only two candidates in the race so far are Morris County Assemblyman Rick Merkt and former Bogota Mayor Steve Lonegan.

http://www.politickernj.com/max/26090/crowley-wont-run-governor-2009

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