TRENTON – Senate Republicans sent a letter to Senate President Steve Sweeney Thursday calling on him to post his measure to end expensive sick-leave payouts.

The 16 GOP senators linked the letter to two things: Sweeney’s decision recently to pull GOP-sponsored bills from committee agendas, and the news that Jersey City is facing a $5 million payout for sick leave for 25 retiring police officers.

TRENTON – Speaker Sheila Oliver reiterated her criticism today of the selection process regarding public colleges that will be awarded money under the bond act approved by voters last year.

After she raised questions about the lack of transparency in the application process, Gov. Chris Christie responded to questions that her criticism seemed politically motivated.

TRENTON – Speaker Sheila Oliver wants answers regarding how the decisions were made as to which colleges were chosen to receive funding under the bond act approved last year by voters.

Oliver sent a letter to Gov. Chris Christie saying that he has refused repeated requests for information as to which projects were selected.

TRENTON – The Office of Legislative Services states that the gross income tax collections in April are strong, as the Treasury reported on Thursday, but OLS cautioned Friday that the growth rate is likely to decline over the remainder of FY 2013.

OLS states that it believes this will be due to the fact that “future revenue flow is primarily from withholding collections, which are growing at a more modest rate.”