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68-783: OPRA has multiple features to it: During the eight years of the Chris Christie administration , his office spent more than $ 1 million challenging OPRA requests, including court fees for illegally withholding information. Although the Government Records Council is charged with settling OPRA release disputes, the underfunded and understaffed agency has a backlog of requests dating to 2014. In late March 2018, an estimated 10% remained outstanding, including some assigned to other government entities, but 347 flagged as GRC “work in progress”. One woman's official open records complaint took more than two years to resolve. What

136-501: A $ 33 billion state budget that made a record $ 1.7 billion payment to the state's pension fund and also increased school funding by almost $ 100 million. He agreed to expand the state's Medicaid program, with more costs covered by the federal government under the Affordable Care Act . Under Christie New Jersey's credit rating has been downgraded the most of any New Jersey governor. As of September 2014, only Illinois had

204-624: A 90-day freeze on the Council on Affordable Housing (COAH) and established the Housing Opportunity Task Force to examine the State's affordable housing laws, constitutional obligations, and the effectiveness of the current framework. On February 11, 2010, Christie signed Executive Order No. 14, which declared a "state of fiscal emergency exists in the State of New Jersey" due to the projected $ 2.2 billion budget deficit for

272-674: A close friend of Christie's and former New Jersey attorney general, was among the people who had been subpoenaed by the Manhattan District Attorney, but that he is not a target of the investigation. He was Christie's chief of staff when the bond documents were changed to include questionable language referring to the Skyway. In December 2014 United Airlines filed a complaint with the Federal Aviation Administration that claims that since 2004

340-604: A committee in preparation to dismantle it. In January 2014, the Supreme Court ruled that it was not within his power "to abolish independent agencies that were created by legislative action." It also ordered the COAH to come up with new regulations regarding the development of affordable housing. COAH passed new guidelines on May 1, 2014, which increased the number of units developers are permitted to build in exchange for one affordable housing unit from four to nine. When asked

408-703: A few months later, in May 2018, when access to records between the Christie administration and the Kushner Companies , previously run by the president's son-in-law, Jared Kushner , was blocked by Christie's lawyer. Concerned open records advocates challenged Christie's action as contrary to the purpose of OPRA, which designates the State Archives as neutral public arbiter of records. Governorship of Chris Christie Chris Christie took office as

476-629: A lower rating among US states. On May 2, 2014, Fitch Ratings , one of the major Wall Street credit-rating agencies, downgraded New Jersey's credit-rating for both the "scale and belatedness" of New Jersey $ 807 million budget gap, following a similar downgrade by Standard & Poor's in April. On May 13, 2014, Moody's Investors Service downgraded New Jersey credit. As of May 2014, the state's credit rating had been dropped twice by Fitch Ratings , twice by Standard & Poors and twice by Moody's Investors Service . The credit rating agencies performed

544-595: A new forestry law which had been criticized as potentially causing another wave of deforestation in the Amazon Rainforest . The President of Panama has the ability to partially veto portions of a bill. Article VI, Section 27 (2) of the Constitution of the Philippines says "The President shall have the power to veto any particular item or items in an appropriation, revenue, or tariff bill, but

612-706: Is a state agency within the New Jersey Department of Community Affairs responsible for ensuring that all 566 municipalities in the state provide their fair share of low and moderate income housing, created by the New Jersey Legislature in response to the Fair Housing Act of 1985 and a series of New Jersey Supreme Court rulings known as the Mount Laurel decisions . On February 9, 2010, Christie suspended COAH and appointed

680-442: Is not a good start". Democratic Chairman John Wisniewski announced, as part of the budget address coverage, US$ 250 million in funding towards education programs as part of Christie's promise to revamp public school spending in the state. New Jersey had spent around US$ 10 billion a year on education in previous administrations, but the Christie administration had cut funding in the 2010 budget which prompted lawsuits being heard by

748-528: The 55th Governor of New Jersey on January 19, 2010, began his second term on January 21, 2014, and left office on January 16, 2018. Governor Christie declared a "state of emergency" and laid out plans for more than US$ 1 billion in cuts to the state budget in an address to the New Jersey State Assembly on February 10, 2010. The budget included a carefully crafted plan requiring school districts to spend their surpluses in order to allow

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816-830: The Atlantic City International Airport In April 2014, media reported that lawyers from the New York office of the Securities and Exchange Commission were working with the New York County DA's office in a joint probe into the possible misuse of Port Authority funds. State Senator Ray Lesniak reportedly had sent a letter to the SEC and the Internal Revenue Service calling for an investigation into whether

884-642: The New Jersey Supreme Court . Senate republicans were reported to be advocating for increased funding to suburban districts in the state. Governor Christie was expected to budget US$ 500 million to the New Jersey pension fund in the 2011 budget. The Christie administration did not budget any of the US$ 3 billion in funding to the pension plan in the 2010 state budget, and budgeted an amount of $ 500 million in 2011. In June 2013, Christie signed

952-772: The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey seeking correspondence among authority officials and Governor Christie's administration regarding projects such as the rebuilding of the World Trade Center site and the PATH transportation hub in lower Manhattan. Vance's office has conducted interviews about the agency's funding of reconstruction of the Pulaski Skyway . Christie had directed the Port Authority to spend $ 1.8 billion on improvements including

1020-565: The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey , were closed without notification of municipal government and police officials. The lane closings caused traffic jams leading to major delays for school transportation and police and emergency response within Fort Lee, both during and after the peak hours of travel. An investigation of the traffic jams by the state Assembly and release of documents subpoenaed from Christie appointee David Wildstein on January 9, 2014, showed Christie officials ordered

1088-812: The Republican Governors Association and his failed bid to become the GOP nominee in the 2016 presidential election . On October 7, 2010, Christie accepted the unanimous recommendation of the ARC Project Executive Committee to terminate the Access to the Region's Core rail project due to concerns about cost overruns. Then executive director of the Port Authority Christopher O. Ward opposed

1156-402: The partial veto , is a special form of veto power that authorizes a chief executive to reject particular provisions of a bill enacted by a legislature without vetoing the entire bill. Many countries have different standards for invoking the line-item veto if it exists at all. Each country or state has its own particular requirement for overriding a line-item veto. The President of Brazil has

1224-426: The Christie administration stated that Christie "only first learned lanes were closed when it was reported by the press and as he said in his January 9th press conference, had no indication that this was anything other than a traffic study until he read otherwise the morning of January 8th". Widely held speculation is that the target of the toll lane closures by Governor Christie's staff and his political appointees at

1292-520: The Legislature's role in the budget process. The battles over New Jersey's state budget for the 2012 fiscal year starting July 1, 2011, began in February 2011. Governor Christie vetoed 14 bills on February 21, 2011, which were intended to promote economic growth and job creation and were passed by the New Jersey State Assembly earlier in the month. Christie justified his vetoes by stating that

1360-454: The Manhattan District Attorney and SEC inquiries are focusing on possible securities law violations and civil or criminal violations of the New York's Martin Act . The Times reported that use of the funds for the Skyway was opposed by Port Authority lawyers, and that investigators are focusing on possible mischaracterization of the Skyway project in Port Authority bond documents. Jeffrey Chiesa ,

1428-602: The Meadows Maintenance Complex in the Kearny Meadows . The executive director of NJT, James Weinstein , defended the decision to leave trains in rail yards that ended up under water saying those locations had no history of flooding, and that no one could have predicted the extent of the storm surges. "We stored it where it should be. Unfortunately, it's the worst storm we've ever had in New Jersey." In December, Weinstein conceded that information to

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1496-806: The New Jersey Assembly Transportation Committee, the New Jersey Legislative Select Committee, the Port Authority, United States Attorney for the District of New Jersey , the United States Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation, special legislative investigative committees, and the Governor's office itself. On September 18, 2014, WNBC reported that unnamed federal sources said

1564-556: The New Jersey Senate was sworn on November 19, 2013. In May 2014, Christie and Senate President Stephen Sweeney struck a deal whereby Christie would re-nominate Chief Justice Stuart Rabner in exchange for Sweeney's support of the nomination of Superior Court Judge Lee Solomon . This was a victory for judicial independence, according to the New Jersey Bar Association . Both men were confirmed by

1632-660: The PANYNJ has diverted more than $ 2 billion from the metro area airports to non-airport uses and that in 2014 alone it spent $ 181 million to repair the Pulaski Skyway and $ 60 million on the Wittpenn Bridge, NJDOT owned and operated structures. On September 9, 2013, two of three dedicated toll lanes of the Fort Lee entrance to the upper level of the George Washington Bridge (GWB), operated by

1700-676: The Port Authority suggested that Christie administration officials not only conspired to create traffic jams on the George Washington Bridge but undertook elaborate efforts to hide apparently political motives. The scandal came to be known as Bridgegate . On January 31, 2014, a letter from counsel for Wildstein alleged that "evidence exists" "tying Mr. Christie to having knowledge" of the lane closures while they were happening in September 2013 and suggested that Wildstein had documents to prove his claims. In its response,

1768-443: The Port Authority was Fort Lee Mayor Mark Sokolich , a Democrat, for not supporting Christie, a Republican, in his 2013 gubernatorial re-election campaign . Investigators are also examining other possible motives, such as whether the closures were intended to affect a major real estate development project, which was a top priority for Sokolich, that was underway at the Fort Lee bridge access point. Investigations were initiated by

1836-460: The Port Authority which would give his administration direct access to New Jersey's share of the tolls which the agency now collects and are dedicated to regional transit projects and require approval of both states. NJ Spotlight has suggested that the funds could then be used to renew the state's Transportation Trust Fund without adding debt or increasing taxes. In March 2014, Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance, Jr. subpoenaed records from

1904-455: The Port Authority's jurisdiction before." In February 2014, the special joint committee of the New Jersey Legislature investigating the Fort Lee lane closures subpoenaed the PANYNJ for documents related to the ARC project, specifically with regard to projected cost overruns and to discussions related to Christie's appointments to the agency. In March 2014, Christie called for the dismantling of

1972-482: The Senate on June 19, 2014. Christie again nominated Bauman in February 2016. Of the nomination, Sweeney said "I will not stand for Chris Christie's repeated attempts to pack the court" and Christie's attempts "to end the 70-year tradition of partisan balance and judicial independence." Christie nominated Walter F. Timpone , who identifies as a Democrat, in April 2016. The Council on Affordable Housing (COAH)

2040-594: The Skyway and other roads in New Jersey. As the Port Authority's jurisdiction includes access roads to the Lincoln Tunnel but not the Holland Tunnel , the Christie administration allegedly pressured the Port Authority to classify the Skyway as an access route to the Lincoln Tunnel. Subpoenas also requested communications and other documents related to the Port Authority takeover of operations at

2108-473: The State pension system, changing school aid, and possibly cutting State Medicaid benefits. News analysis of the events predicted that this would be the beginning of a partisan political battle between the Governor's office and the Democrat led State Assembly, which was born out prior to the address by Senate President Stephen Sweeney who was quoted as saying "We've heard nothing from the administration. This

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2176-487: The Supreme Court of New Jersey are nominated by the Governor and confirmed by the Senate. By tradition since the 1947 state constitution, the seven member court maintains a political balance and is composed of four members of either the Democratic Party or Republican Party and three of the other. Justices initially serve for seven years after which they have customarily received tenure and are able to serve until

2244-621: The U.S. Supreme Court in a 1998 ruling in Clinton v. City of New York . The court affirmed a lower court decision that the line-item veto was equivalent to the unilateral amendment or repeal of only parts of statutes and therefore violated the Presentment Clause of the United States Constitution . Before the ruling, President Clinton applied the line-item veto to the federal budget 82 times. Since then,

2312-561: The US Attorney investigation had found no evidence that Christie had prior knowledge of or directed the closures. An interim report by NJ legislative committee the investigating the closures was released in December 2014. The committee had been unable to determine if Christie had advance knowledge since it was asked by the US Attorney to postpone interviewing certain key witnesses. On December 5, 2014, WNBC reported that sources close to

2380-453: The agency had misread meteorological information available to them. Approximately a year after the storm, Christie spoke with editorial board of the newspaper and said that responsibility lay with a low-level civil service employee whom he could not fire. According to The Record , who reviewed emails obtained through a public records request, at least fifteen agency executives and managers were aware of fleet movements into low-lying areas in

2448-553: The agency refused to provide the contract for the Rutgers University professor who prepared the plan and claimed that the documents used to calculate the new guidelines had been lost, leading an affordable housing group to offer a $ 1,000 reward. In July 2014, a superior court judge ruled that the contract must be released and a search conducted for the missing documents. In October 2014 the COAH Board failed to meet

2516-504: The bills failed to pay for themselves, while Assembly Democrats replied that the bills would not have cost money immediately, and that their funding could have been addressed at a later date. Christie followed up by announcing that his own budget would be put forth the next day, including some similar business tax incentives which would be structured within the context of a balanced budget. In late June 2011, Christie utilized New Jersey's line item veto to eliminate nearly US$ 1 billion from

2584-510: The cancellation of this project. The Christie administrations' stated reasons for his actions came under scrutiny in 2012 when a non-partisan agency determined his stated reasons to be specious. Others alleged that Christie planned to re-purpose billions of dollars in building funds to use for New Jersey building projects that provided political benefits to his administration, and came at the expense of New Jersey's transit and economic interests. Support from New Jersey voters for his decision to kill

2652-420: The closures: On August 13, 2013 Christie Deputy Chief of Staff Bridget Ann Kelley emailed Wildstein "time for traffic problems in Fort Lee." Wildstein responded "got it." Following these revelations, on January 9, 2014, Christie gave a nearly two-hour press conference denying any knowledge of any of his appointees' actions and announcing he fired Ms. Kelly, calling her stupid and a liar. Subpoenaed documents from

2720-492: The contrary had been available to the agency, but that he had not studied a report which indicated the potential danger. Weinstein said: "That study concluded that we had as much as 20 years to adapt to the [climate] changes that are taking place." He also said that NJT used weather reports showing there was a 10 to 20 percent chance of flooding in the yards. The newspaper The Record conducted an investigation in collaboration with WNYC/New Jersey Public Radio which concluded that

2788-561: The current fiscal year (FY 2010). In a speech before a special joint session of the New Jersey Legislature on the same day, Christie addressed the budget deficit and revealed a list of fiscal solutions to close the gap. Christie also suspended funding for the Department of the Public Advocate and called for its elimination. Some Democrats criticized Christie for not first consulting them on his budget cuts and for circumventing

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2856-515: The days before the storm. A report released in December 2013 by Texas A&M Engineering Extension Service said that NJT ignored flood warnings and did not follow its own damage mitigation plans. In January 2014, the New Jersey Senate decided to conduct an investigation with State Senator Robert M. Gordon saying that the governor's explanation has been "unsatisfactory." Line item veto The line-item veto , also called

2924-536: The deadline by the Supreme Court for establishing new Third Round guidelines, when the Board voted 3-3, to adopt the proposal. In the absence of action by the state, the New Jersey Supreme Court ruled in March 2015, that determination of affordable housing obligations would be administered by the court. In his second term, Christie spent all or part of 520 days out of the state, much of it related to his chairmanship of

2992-494: The decisions I made regarding the court to bring back an appropriate constitutional balance to the court." New Jersey Senate Majority Leader Stephen Sweeney refused to consider any nominee to Wallace's seat. Eventually Christie and Sweeney reached a deal in May 2011. When Justice Roberto Rivera-Soto announced he would step down when his term expired in September 2011 Christie nominated Patterson to replace him. The Senate unanimously confirmed Patterson on June 28, 2011, and she

3060-447: The diversion of money to New Jersey roads may have violated securities or tax laws. Governor Christie expressed his confidence that the SEC would find no wrongdoing in the financing of New jersey transportation projects. In June 2014, the Port Authority acknowledged the existence of the SEC and Manhattan District Attorney's Office investigations in a bond investor disclosure document. On June 23, 2014, The New York Times reported that

3128-417: The downgrades based on the overestimation of revenue collection by the Christie administration, and on relying on short-term measures rather than implementing taxation or spending changes that would have an impact in limiting budgets. On September 5, 2014, Fitch Ratings again lowered their rating on the state's debt, from A+ to A. stating: "Following significant revenue underperformance, the state relied upon

3196-798: The federal investigation said that indictments of up to six people could be expected in January 2015 for an "apparent conspiracy to cover up what they refer to as a politically motivated plot". Hurricane Sandy , which made landfall on October 29, 2012, caused a 13-foot tidal surge that inundated many coastal areas including the Jersey Shore , the Hudson Waterfront , and the Meadowlands . New Jersey Transit Rail Operations (NJT) suffered $ 120 million in damage for 261 train cars and 62 locomotives left at rail yards at Hoboken Terminal and

3264-482: The fourth time during Christie's governorship. New Jersey lost a $ 7.6 million grant from the federal government to promote the health insurance exchange under the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) in February 2014. The federal government rejected a proposal from New Jersey's insurance commissioner to use the funds to support Medicaid enrollment, rather than insurance enrollment through the new, subsidized federal marketplace "exchange". Despite this, as of March 2014,

3332-587: The larger distribution network in the Port of New York and New Jersey . A 2014 article in WNYC claimed: "According to documents and interviews with more than a dozen top-level sources, the governor made clear from the get-go that the agency would be the source of cash for New Jersey's hard-up infrastructure budget. And he and his team proceeded to wrangle billions from the bi-state authority to further his political goals—much of that for projects that had never been under

3400-428: The last-minute sign-ups). "There was a lot less investment in outreach and public education in New Jersey than in other places, like New York," according to Rutgers Center director Joel Cantor (an author of the report). "They probably had $ 10 invested for every $ 1 in New Jersey," but achieved only comparable results. Activists planned to focus on Latinos and young adults for the next open enrollment . Governor Christie

3468-680: The line-item veto is limited to partial vetoes of spending bills. While the Constitution of the Confederate States was largely based on the U.S. Constitution, one of the most notable departures was the granting of a line-item veto to its president. Jefferson Davis , however, never exercised the provision. Forty-three states—all except Indiana , Maryland , Nevada , New Hampshire , North Carolina , Rhode Island and Vermont —give their governors some form of line-item veto power. The Mayor of Washington, D.C. also has this power. In some states like Wisconsin, limitations exist as to

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3536-456: The mandatory retirement age of seventy. In what The New York Times called "a case of political overreach," Christie broke with this tradition in May 2010 when he chose not to renominate Justice John E. Wallace, Jr. and instead nominated attorney Anne M. Patterson . Christie said that he thought the court "had inappropriately encroached on both the executive and legislative function, and that if elected governor, I would take steps through

3604-400: The nomination. Baumen received no confirmation hearing. In August 2013, Christie declined to nominate Helen E. Hoens for lifetime tenure saying "I simply could not be party to the destruction of Helen Hoens's professional reputation. I was not going to let her loose to the animals." Christie instead nominated Faustino J. Fernandez-Vina on September 30, 2013, and following confirmation by

3672-648: The number of people without health insurance in New Jersey had fallen to its lowest level since 1990. A report by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the Rutgers Center for State Health Policy (studying Medicaid, private direct, and exchange enrollments, as part of the Urban Institute 's national monitoring project) estimated that 430,000 people in New Jersey gained coverage from October 2013 through early March 2014 (before

3740-674: The power of the line-item veto over all legislation (art. 84 Federal Constitution of 1988: "The President of the Republic has the exclusive powers to: (...) V.veto bills, either in whole or in part"). Any provisions vetoed in such a manner are returned to the Brazilian congress and can be overridden by majority vote (art. 66 of the Federal Constitution). An example of this came in August 2012, when Dilma Rousseff vetoed portions of

3808-465: The project grew in hindsight, from 51% in October 2010 to 56% two months later. In a controversial move in 2011, Christie directed the PANYNJ to divert money originally earmarked for ARC to highway projects. The agency agreed to pay $ 1.8 billion to partially fund efforts to rehabilitate the Pulaski Skyway and Route 139 , replace Wittpenn Bridge , and extend Route 1&9T , all part of

3876-521: The proposed budget, signing it into law just hours prior to the July 1, 2011, beginning of the state's fiscal year. Governor Christie scheduled a budget address to the State Legislature and his constituents on February 22, 2011. Throughout the months prior to the address, Christie had been making his case for cutting business taxes, giving property tax relief to residents, overhauling funding of

3944-605: The prospect of granting the President of the United States a line-item veto has occasionally resurfaced in Congress, either through a constitutional amendment or a differently worded bill. Most recently, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill on February 8, 2012, that would have granted the President a limited line-item veto; however, the bill was not heard in the U.S. Senate . The most-commonly proposed form of

4012-483: The repudiation of its statutory contribution requirements to the pension systems to return to budgetary balance, exacerbating a key credit weakness" Some days later, citing unbalanced budget and under-funded pensions, Standard and Poor's also cut the state's rating. In November 2016, the state saw its 10th credit downgrade under Christie, with a Standard and Poors rating moving from A to A− (stable to negative). In 2017, Moody's downgraded New Jersey's credit rating for

4080-415: The state received only $ 15 million of $ 1 billion funds available for relief and resiliency funding because of a weak application submitted by the Christie administration. Christie was highly criticized for first not planning to return to New Jersey and then staying only briefly for the January 2016 United States blizzard . When asked why he was campaigning in New Hampshire when part of the Jersey Shore

4148-429: The state to withhold US$ 400 million in aid funding while retaining federal stimulus eligibility and avoiding the need for the legislature to pass a bill. Due to falling revenues and growing expenses, the Christie administration inherited a US$ 1.3 billion budget deficit from the US$ 29 billion 2009 New Jersey budget passed by Jon Corzine 's administration. On February 9, 2010, he signed Executive Order No. 12, which placed

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4216-415: The state. At one press conference he directly told people who had not heeded evacuation orders to "get the hell off the beach". Christie played a part in New Jersey preparing for Superstorm Sandy in October 2012. Christie ordered all residents of barrier islands from Sandy Hook to Cape May to evacuate and closed Atlantic City casinos. Tolls were suspended on the northbound Garden State Parkway and

4284-422: The veto shall not affect the item or items to which he does not object." Dating to before the American Civil War , U.S. Presidents including Ulysses S. Grant and Ronald Reagan have sought line-item veto powers. It was not until the presidency of Bill Clinton that Congress passed such legislation. Intended to control " pork barrel spending ", the Line Item Veto Act of 1996 was held to be unconstitutional by

4352-444: The westbound Atlantic City Expressway starting at 6 a.m. on October 28. President Obama signed an emergency declaration for New Jersey, allowing the state to request federal funding and other assistance for actions taken before Sandy's landfall. On October 30, 2012, during a press conference to discuss the impact of Hurricane Sandy , Christie praised the disaster relief efforts of President Barack Obama . In February 2016,

4420-438: Was flooded in sea water Christie said: "What do you want me to do? Go down there with a mop?" A substantial portion of Christie's tenure was taken up with a major conflict with the New Jersey Legislature over the New Jersey Supreme Court 's partisan balance. The stand-off between the governor and the New Jersey Senate resulted in longstanding vacancies, with temporarily assigned appellate judges filling in. Justices of

4488-432: Was not in New Jersey during the December 2010 North American blizzard . Acting Governor and Senate President Stephen M. Sweeney, took charge during this historic blizzard while the Governor and Lt. Governor were on vacation. Governor Christie played a very vocal role in responding to the August 2011 landfall in New Jersey of Hurricane Irene . Prior to the storm's arrival he ordered massive evacuations of coastal areas of

4556-408: Was supposed to be a more efficient means of challenging denied requests is characterized as an even more onerous system; one open records advocate described the situation as "justice delayed… justice denied". In January 2018, outgoing Governor Chris Christie pre-emptively restricted the State Archives' release of his administration's public records , particularly electronic records. This came to light

4624-569: Was sworn in on September 1, 2011. On January 23, 2012, Christie filed the nomination of Bruce Harris and Philip Kwon . In March, Kwon's nomination was rejected by the Senate Judiciary Committee, the first gubernatorial nominee for the Supreme Court in modern times to fail to be approved. In May, the Judiciary Committee rejected Harris' nomination, purportedly because he lacked courtroom experience. In December 2012, Christie nominated David F. Bauman . and Robert Hanna. Hanna received no confirmation hearing and in January 2014, Christie withdrew

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