The New Jersey public pension system needs to be fixed. On that, Gov. Chris Christi (R) and State Senate President Steve Sweeney (D-West Deptford) agree. But implementation of steps to get there is another matter, as Christie and Sweeney differ on how much the state should be putting into the system so it is better funded.
On Jan. 4, New Jersey 101.5 reported comments by Sweeney that suggest that Christie is exacerbating the problem and not taking full advantage of resources the legislature authorized. Sweeny remarked that the legislature “did the things that were necessary to fix it,” but that Christie has not met the system’s financial needs. “He needs to fund the pension fund,” Sweeney said.
State law required that the state put $1.6 billion into the pension fund, but it fell far short at $696 million. The contribution this year is supposed to be even bigger — $2.25 billion — but Christie reportedly has said that the payment will be just slightly larger than last year’s.
Sweeney may not like Christie’s approach, but the Senate has not been successful in thwarting him recently. The Senate on Dec. 18 failed to override Christie’s veto of a measure that would have required quarterly contributions from the state to the pension plan. He took that action to protect executive prerogative to determine when payments would be made in order to better match the availability of revenue.
On Jan. 4, New Jersey 101.5 reported comments by Sweeney that suggest that Christie is exacerbating the problem and not taking full advantage of resources the legislature authorized. Sweeny remarked that the legislature “did the things that were necessary to fix it,” but that Christie has not met the system’s financial needs. “He needs to fund the pension fund,” Sweeney said.
State law required that the state put $1.6 billion into the pension fund, but it fell far short at $696 million. The contribution this year is supposed to be even bigger — $2.25 billion — but Christie reportedly has said that the payment will be just slightly larger than last year’s.
Sweeney may not like Christie’s approach, but the Senate has not been successful in thwarting him recently. The Senate on Dec. 18 failed to override Christie’s veto of a measure that would have required quarterly contributions from the state to the pension plan. He took that action to protect executive prerogative to determine when payments would be made in order to better match the availability of revenue.
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