New Jersey Governor Chris Christie’s 2011 State of the State Address

NJN News provided complete live coverage of Governor Chris Christie’s State of the State speech to a joint session of the New Jersey State Legislature on Tuesday, January 11 at 2 pm.

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By Joseph Hovanec Jr.



NJECPAC believes Governor Christie is making huge strides in fiscal responsibility for the State of New Jersey. That is especially difficult given the big union mentality that he is up against. He is absolutely correct  when he says that the unions in New Jersey are Living in the past and refuse to realize that this is 2011 and the state is out of money. 

NJECPAC supports the Governor and his efforts to restore fiscal responsibility to the State of New Jersey. However, the stark reality is his success depends on the cooperation or lack of cooperation that he receives from the Democratic Controlled Legislature. 

Every taxpayer in New Jersey must make it a point to watch the progress as well as the resistance that the Governor receives from the Legislature, because every voter will get the opportunity to either voice their approval or disapproval of both the Senate and Assembly in November when each and every one of them are up for election. 

NJECPAC will not tell anyone how to vote, but rather encourage every voter to enter the voting booth in November with their property tax bill and NJ income tax return in hand. Then, just before they pull the lever to vote for their representatives, look closely at those bills and ask themselves, did the candidates on the ballot who are asking for their vote exasperate or help to correct the fiscal problems that they and every other New Jersey taxpayer has and will continue to face. 

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GOP Removes "Labor" And Inserts "Workforce" in House Committee Name

AFL/CIO President Richard Trumka

Showing Their Desperation, Labor Officials Are In A Panic Over House Committee Name Change.

 

The Republican Majority's decision to drop “labor” from the name of the House Education and Labor Committee and change it to the House Education and the Workforce Committee shows that a new boss is in town, and one unions believe will not be friendly to unions.

The move is being interpreted by union officials as an attack on unions and will hamper their efforts to pressure the Obama administration on workplace laws and regulations. Bill Samuel, the AFL-CIO’s director of government affairs said “It really does mean something, More than the rhetoric, they have a different agenda.”

“We basically think this name change is symbolic of the new majority’s hostility toward the rights of everyday working Americans,” said Chuck Loveless, director of legislation at the American Federation of County, State and Municipal Employees (AFSCME). 

As you can see by the rhetoric, unions are in a tizzy over a simple name change that does nothing more than include all working men and women and not just those that belong to unions. Alexa Marrero, a spokeswoman for the House Education and the Workforce Committee, said the union officials’ claim that the name change reflected hostility toward workers is “bizarre,” since union members are part of the workforce. Read More

The Committee's basic jurisdiction is over education and workforce matters generally. While Congress has been concerned over education and workforce issues since its beginning, attempts to create a Committee with jurisdiction over education and labor failed in early Congresses due to Representatives' concern over the constitutional grounds for such a federal role.

Committee History

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Cumberland County Adds To Rules For Contractors

The Cumberland County Board of Chosen Freeholders approved additional rules for contractors looking to do business in the county.

The approved resolution is intended to ensure that county construction workers are only employed by "responsible contractors who have the training and the qualifications to get the job done effectively and safely," said Freeholder Nelson Thompson during the meeting.

Qualifications that Electrical Contractors must meet include participation in an Apprenticeship Program registered with the Federal or State Department of Labor such as the IBEW and IEC Apprentice Programs, and a submission of a statement agreeing to not employ any worker of less than journeyman status on a project.

The new rules, which are added to current county rules regarding contractors and not to replace them, apply to all "significant work," as defined as projects that fall under the New Jersey Prevailing Wage Act.

Among the provisions contained in the resolution are:

• Contracts in excess of $2,000 but less than $499,999 in total cost necessitate certification that the contractor and each subcontractor have at least one employee who has completed a 10-hour safety course provided by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration.
• Contracts of $500,000 and above require a 30-hour course.

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New Jersey Senate Passes Help For Small Business

NJ Senator Steve Oroho

Senate Passes Oroho Measures Simplifying New Jersey’s Tax Code
Two bills sponsored by Senator Steve Oroho (R-Sussex) that would streamline New Jersey’s cumbersome tax structure were passed by the New Jersey Senate. S-1646 simplifies the formula by which business taxes are calculated, requiring a single sales factor formula instead of the current three factor formula. S-1540 provides tax relief to small businesses by allowing taxpayers who generate income from different types of businesses to offset gains from one type of business with losses from another. Read More

Kyrillos Business Tax Credit Bill Heads to the Governor

NJ Senator Joe Kyrillos

Legislation proposed by Governor Christie and sponsored by Senator Joe Kyrillos (R-Monmouth) and Senator Fred Madden (D-Gloucester) to expand financial assistance grants for current and prospective New Jersey employers has cleared both chambers of the Legislature and heads to the Governor’s desk. If signed, the bill will broaden the availability of state financial assistance for those employers who wish to expand operations in or relocate to the State of New Jersey. Read More

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