Chris Christie Signs New Jersey Budget
Local media in New Jersey reports that the legislature has approved Chris Christie's budget and that he has signed it into law:
N.J. Gov. Chris Christie signed a $29.4 billion budget into law today during a ceremony in South River fire department headquarters after a marathon legislative session to push the spending plan through both houses.
"This budget deals responsibly with the fiscal nightmare we inherited and makes the tough and necessary choices to restore fiscal sanity to our state and begin fundamental reform," Christie said in a prepared statement released just after the Assembly's 1:13 a.m. vote.
The budget cleared both houses with bare majorities under a deal in which the Democrats provided just enough votes for the Republican-sponsored measure to pass.
Christie's budget rejected major tax increases and cut 2.2 percent of state spending — or 8.6 percent including federal funds — from Corzine’s final budget. It marked a big milestone for the rookie governor, who campaigned on a platform of cutting spending and shrinking state government after a decade of Democratic control.
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