TRENTON – Senator Fred H. Madden, D-Camden and Gloucester, released the following statement today regarding this afternoon’s meeting of the Joint Legislative Committee on Constitutional Reform and Citizens’ Property Tax Constitutional Convention:
“Today’s meeting was very informative and it provided insight from experts on ways for the State to save taxpayer dollars.
“I pride myself on trying to remain fiscally conservative, which is why I encourage any legislators considering sponsoring spending cap legislation to do their research and carefully weigh the pros and cons of caps.
“When discussing the implementation of spending caps, we must walk carefully because sometimes they do much more harm than good. One of our speakers today addressed the cap system in Colorado, and the detrimental effect it had on the state’s medically uninsured children.
“Any introduced spending cap legislation would have to have the flexibility to ensure that programs for the State’s most vulnerable – our children, seniors and disabled residents, remain intact.
“I am 100 percent in favor of cutting government spending and eliminating waste, but we must realize that spending caps don’t guarantee responsible fiscal savings. We must make sure that we maintain the support services that are the cornerstone of our democracy.”