Following Gov. Chris Christie’s budget address Tuesday, Assembly Speaker Vincent Prieto (D-32) told NJTV News Managing Editor Mike Schneider that the speech left potential for pension talks.
“It was a budget that there wasn’t a lot of fanfare. The only thing that we did take out of it and I think I left my post conference statement was in reference to potentially talking about pensions,” said Prieto.
Following the budget address, some Democrats said that they appreciated the governor’s tone. Prieto thinks the governor wants to do a compromise budget, that way everyone knows what they will get from it. If all of the members of the legislature and the governor can come to an agreement on the budget, Prieto says that it would be good for the residents but also that this year’s budget is similar to last year’s.
Following the State of the State address, members of the legislature did not agree with Christie that the pension payment should be changed, but Prieto says that following the budget address it appears that Christie will stay with the original pension agreement.
The governor’s office had said that the governor had been misinterpreted in the State of the State speech.
“Well I took that interpretation,” said Prieto. “I don’t know if there was a change of heart or not, but you know we were preparing I guess for the worst. So I guess this is a good thing because we need to make sure those payments are there.”
Prieto said that if pension payments are made the way they’re supposed to, the system will work but it would need recurring revenues to be able to fund it.
Prieto said that he has been a proponent for a gas tax because every day that the state goes without a gas tax, the state ends up borrowing money.
As for the winter that the state has been experiencing, Prieto said that New Jersey will be the poster child for potholes.
Prieto said he doesn’t see the George Washington Bridge investigation as an issue when working with the governor going forward.
“I think that issue is irrelevant, that’s working itself out,” Prieto said. “To me, I took this post as I’m going to be relevant in the conversation. I think that’s a sidebar, it’s still going to be the same. We need to govern, we need to move on. That’s why we set up that committee to do what it has to do. I think that doesn’t make a difference.”