TRENTON – Senator Wayne R. Bryant, Chairman of the Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee, today said Governor Codey’s budget proposal is “the right roadmap to help us find the path to fiscal sanity.”
The Senate’s top budget expert said the budget proposal’s billion-dollar cut is “nothing less than historic.
“For years now, we haven’t lived within our means, but Governor Codey’s proposal is courageous and invites Republicans and Democrats to stand up and be counted,” said Senator Bryant, D-Camden and Gloucester. “The budget gimmicks of the past are now gone.”
Senator Bryant’s committee now will review the Governor’s $27.4 billion spending plan over the next several months and hold hearings throughout the State for members of the public. By June, the panel is expected to clear a budget bill that will be considered by both houses and forwarded to the Governor for enactment for the fiscal year starting July 1.
“I will welcome any changes, but I would ask that they be accompanied by real, re-occurring revenues, not one-shot deals,” Senator Bryant said. “Or,” he added, “Additional programs could be acceptable through actual cuts in other spending.”
Governor Codey’s proposal clearly is based on the principle that, “We must live within our means,” Senator Bryant said.