Governorship of Chris Christie
Chris Christie took office as the 55th and current Governor of New Jersey on January 19, 2010, and began his second term on January 21, 2014, which ends 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 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 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 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 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 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.
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