CHIUSANO AND McHOSE TO CORZINE: PUBLIC PUT THE NAIL IN MONETIZATION'S COFFIN, LET IT DIE

GOVERNOR ADMITS HE IS STILL CONSIDERING TOLL HIKE AND BORROWING SCHEME THAT HE SEEMINGLY ABANDONED AFTER PUBLIC OPPOSITION

      Governor Corzine must give up on his scheme to raise tolls 800 percent and borrow $40 billion with false promises of reducing state debt, because the public has been clear it cannot afford such a drastic toll increase, Assembly members Gary Chiusano and Alison Littell McHose said today.

      "New Jerseyans vocally opposed this scheme, but like Dr. Frankenstein, Governor Corzine could not let it die and is hell-bent on bringing this inane idea back to life," Chiusano, R-Sussex, Morris and Hunterdon, said. "People should be very frightened, because despite some back pedaling from the governor, he has shown no bound when it comes to raising taxes, tolls or borrowing money we do not have to support government spending we cannot afford."

      Last year, the governor's administration approved a toll increase on the New Jersey Turnpike that will raise the average commuter's annual tolls by $728 by 2012. If the original monetization plan were enacted, a person's commute would increase by nearly $5,000 by 2022. The governor is considering the plan despite strong opposition from the public and Republican legislators, who have proposed reducing state debt through a comprehensive plan that entails restricting government's ability to borrow what taxpayers cannot afford to repay and other responsible budgeting reforms.

      "It is inconceivable that Governor Corzine is once again considering this scheme that only benefits his investor friends on Wall Street while worsening New Jersey's worst-in-the-nation tax burden," McHose, R-Sussex, Morris and Hunterdon, said. "When the public strongly shot down the governor's scheme, it appeared that even Governor Corzine understood there was no more tolerance in New Jersey for complicated schemes that avoid finding responsible solutions to the state's financial problems.

      "Let's hope the toll hikes don't rear their ugly heads again," McHose added.

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