New Jersey Senate panel approves $29.38 billion spending plan

TRENTON - A Senate panel approved the $29.38 billion state spending plan Wednesday evening, after a day of long and tense negotiations.

The Budget and Appropriations Committee also advanced a slew of budget-related bills, including measures to consolidate watchdog agencies and cut tax credits for low-income families, and temporarily suspend them for film production expenses.

A budget compromise that restores $74 million in funding, reached by Gov. Christie and legislative leaders earlier in the week, requires approval by the Senate and Assembly budget committees before going to both houses for approval. That vote is set for Monday, two days before the state is constitutionally required to pass the budget.

The Republican-backed budget needs eight Democratic votes in the Senate, where the GOP has 23 out of 40 seats, and four in the Assembly, where the party holds 17 out of 40.

The Senate budget panel approved the bill just before 8 p.m. It was the culmination of a hearing that started more than two hours late and stopped and started all afternoon, as lawmakers worked to gain enough votes and clarify questions on about two dozen budget-related bills. Senate President Stephen Sweeney (D., Gloucester), who is not on the committee, was on hand to help shepherd them through.

The budget plan gained the support of all five Republicans and two Democrats. It was sponsored by Sens. Kevin O'Toole (R., Passaic) and Anthony Bucco (R., Middlesex).

Sen. Jeff Van Drew (D., Cape May), who voted for the plan, said afterward that while he found the budget distasteful, "we've got to move the State of New Jersey forward."

The committee, which meets again Thursday, did not consider, as planned, a bill proposed by Sweeney to cap property taxes at 2.9 percent. Christie traveled to the Senate president's home turf in Gloucester County Wednesday to pitch his own proposal to cap taxes at 2.5 percent through a constitutional amendment, rather than legislatively.

Last-minute pleas came from opponents of several budget bills that featured cuts to a state tax-credit for low-income families, the suspension of the filming tax credit, and the relaxation of vehicle safety inspection requirements.

Budget Committee Chairman Paul Sarlo (D., Bergen) questioned a bill that diverts millions of dollars from dedicated funds to the state budget, calling it a proposal of gimmicks and one-shot diversions - "all things that members of this committee have railed against for many years."

Bucco countered that, by law, the state needs to have a balanced budget, which his legislation advanced.

"We are getting through the 2010 budget and looking forward to better times," Bucco said.

The Assembly Budget Committee will meet Thursday and Friday for its own hearings. Committee Chairman Louis D. Greenwald (D., Camden), who attended the Senate hearing, said Democrats would give Republicans the minimum votes needed for the budget, though it has not been easy finding people to support it.

"This is an attack on suburban New Jersey, and I represent suburban New Jersey," he said.