TRENTON – Senate President Richard J. Codey issued the following statement in response to calls from Senate Minority Leader Leonard Lance to delay progress on legislation which would cap property tax increases and provide credits of up to 20 percent for New Jersey taxpayers by moving it into the usual committee process:
“While I think that Senator Lance and I would agree that the caps and credits bill is probably the most important thing we can do to directly impact property taxpayers in New Jersey, I respectfully disagree on his requested timetable for reform.
“Senator Lance suggests that the caps and credits bill, the product of an exhaustive 6-month special session, has not received enough scrutiny. However the bill, which has been around in some form since early November, has been prepared and reviewed as a result of massive amounts of scrutiny coming in from all sides.
“With Senator Lance’s support, we’ve been able to consider every piece of property tax reform on the Senate floor, respecting the thorough and deliberative work done by the Special Session committees. It seems unfair to request a rule-change this far into the process, particularly for taxpayers who need our help the most. An unnecessary delay in the movement of the caps and credits bill is purely a political maneuver that puts partisan gain ahead of the benefits to the property taxpayers in New Jersey.”