Trenton Democrats killed an Assembly GOP push to address gas prices on Thursday, and Republicans say they violated the chamber’s rules to do it.
The drama started when Speaker Craig Coughlin decided that the motion of Assemblyman Bob Auth (R-39) to make resolution AR103 – calling on the feds to approve oil and natural gas pipelines – “the order of the day” was “out of order.”
“It was an abuse of power today as the majority declared it is ‘rules for thee, but not for me.’ They are violating their own rules of the Assembly to effectively silence the Republican’s right to debate an issue on the floor,” said GOP Leader John DiMaio when the session concluded. “Republicans offered multiple motions to force the Democrats to confront the energy crisis that is affecting every resident of New Jersey, but they pulled out all the stops and cited inapplicable rules to make sure we were shut down.”
Assembly rule 15:5 provides that “[a]ny bill or resolution may, by vote of at least 41 members, be made the order of the day, on which it shall be considered in preference to any others whether or not it is on the calendar for that day.”
Republican objections to Coughlin’s ruling were overruled by the majority.
“The Democrats tried to castigate Republicans for not following house rules, but they were the ones who chose to ignore proper procedures to avoid something they don’t want to talk about – skyrocketing energy costs. It’s because it is their policies that put us here in the first place and they refuse to consider the real-life consequences of their progressive agenda,” DiMaio added.
