Chris Christie’s No.2 wants to halt the $300 million state house renovation project that a new estimate suggests could spike to $700 million before it’s all said and done.
Two other members of the Republican Governor’s own party – Senators Kip Bateman and Mike Doherty – are joining a lawsuit to accomplish the same end.
“While the law is clear that the plan to borrow $300 million to fund the State House renovation must be approved by both voters and the Legislature, the governor’s convoluted and unconstitutional financing arrangement takes that choice away from both taxpayers and their elected representatives,” said Doherty in a statement released Monday. “Our lawsuit seeks to hold the governor accountable and halt this boondoggle of a project. We’re fighting to ensure that New Jersey taxpayers have both transparency and choice as to how their money is spent.”
The civil complaint filed in New Jersey Superior Court and spearheaded by Democrat State Senator and gubernatorial candidate Ray Lesniak accuses the State Capitol Joint Management Commission, Treasury Department, and New Jersey Economic Development Authority (NJEDA) of violating the Debt Limitation, Appropriations and Separation of Powers clauses of the New Jersey Constitution.
Back in 2008, Doherty and Bateman were sponsors of the “Lance Amendment,” a state constitutional amendment requiring voter approval of bonds issued by any state agency or independent authority.
The convoluted part referenced by Senator Doherty? The aforementioned institutions allegedly circumvented the constitution by concocting a lease-sublease arrangement whereby the NJEDA borrows the $300 million renovation cost, and lease payments made by the State will pass through the NJEDA in order to cover the bonds’ debt service.
New Jersey State Treasurer Ford Scudder recently testified that this “rent” could cost anywhere from $500 million to $750 million over 20 to 30 years.
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