The lame duck session is underway this evening, Save Jerseyans, and as you see a flurry of bills move through the legislature, it’s worth remembering that most of the legislators casting ballots have NO IDEA WHAT THEY’RE VOTING FOR. Or what the bills are going to cost you, the people who pay the bills.
Here’s a recent and particularly glaring example:
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It’s going to cost (at least) $525 billion, but there’s still no official cost estimate for Governor Murphy’s Energy Master Plan a full 692 days after the plan was introduced. However, the lack of an official price tag didn’t stop the Democrat-run Assembly Science, Innovation and Technology Committee from advancing legislation (A-5720) on December 9th to help implement the plan in a 4-2 vote.
What’s even more incredible was the exchange between Committee Chair Andrew Zwicker (D-16), Christopher DePhillips (R-40), and Kate Gibbs (of the Operating Engineers).
“We’re not going to answer this question,” Zwicker said after Gibbs raised the cost issue.
“And so what I’d like to do is have a vote on moving this bill out of this committee, understand that information forthcoming may inform how you choose to vote for it on the floor of the Assembly,” Zwicker concluded.
Vote it out without knowing what it cost! Nothing ould be more Trenton.
