Governor Christie seems to have bent the truth a bit at the Republican National Convention when he said he balanced balanced the State budget without raising taxes. That little bit bit being about $300 million dollars. A friend of mine in provided me with some pretty interesting information, which you can read below the break...
All utility bills in New Jersey (commercial and residential) collect what is called a "societal benefits" charge of 6% - this is used to fund programs for the betterment of the citizens, such as energy conservation. You can see the list in this notice from the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities:
nj.gov/bpu/pdf/announcements/2012/20120817.pdf
the budget approved last fall for this year will be adjusted as follows: Of the $651 million received for 2012 by this surcharge, the amount of $331.5 million (for both 2012 and 2013) will be reassigned to the general fund to close the budget gap. From the first paragraph on pg 4 of the notice:
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In order to address the Governor’s FY 2012 budget lapse ($200M) and the FY 2013 budget lapse ($131.5M) in the Clean Energy Program (CEP), Staff recognizes the need to continue to maintain access for all ratepayers to NJCEP programs, as well as the CEP’s ongoing goal of transforming the marketplace.
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The FY 2013 budgets are reduced, over 2012 budget numbers while the collection rate (6%) has not been changed. My friend says that this indicates the governor's office will plan to take even more from the funds collected for the program next year; basically turn this assigned fee into a general tax. He could not get an answer from the governor's office as to whether this reapportionment was even legal – and it looks as though its being done quickly and quietly to avoid adverse press coverage.
This change has not yet been implemented yet by Governor, but if this does go through, it will be at the loss of future competitiveness and reduced quality of life. If there are any Kossacks who know people in NJ who would be interested in this issue, please let them know before Governor Christie or the NJ Legislature acts.