PREVIEW - SENATE BUDGET COMMITTEE TO HOLD NORTH JERSEY PUBLIC HEARING ON BUDGETHearing Will Be First of Its Kind To Be Streamed on Legislature’s Web SiteTRENTON – On Tuesday, March 24th, the Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee will hold a public hearing on the FY 2010 Budget at Montclair State University to give North Jersey residents an opportunity to weigh in on the Governor’s proposed spending plan.“Regional public hearings offer a unique chance for the Committee members to interact directly with the people, and get input from folks in all walks of life on how to craft a better budget for the State of New Jersey,” said Senator Barbara Buono, D-Middlesex, and Chairwoman of the Budget Committee. “Something as important as the State Budget cannot be crafted in a vacuum. We need to be open to any and all constructive suggestions from the people we represent to put together a spending plan which meets the priorities of the Garden State.”The hearing is scheduled to begin at 9:00 AM in the University Hall Conference Center in Montclair State University. This is the panel’s second regional hearing on the FY 2010 Budget; earlier this week, the Committee met on the campus of Rutgers-Camden to give South Jersey residents a chance to testify on the impact of the budget and offer alternatives to the spending plan.Tuesday’s hearing will also be the first time that a public budget hearing at a remote location will be streamed on the New Jersey Legislature’s Web site, www.njleg.state.nj.us. The Legislature’s Data Management Unit (DMU), working together with the technical staff at Montclair University, have set up a link to allow New Jerseyans who cannot attend the hearing to view the proceedings live through streaming video, similar to the streaming audio and video coverage provided for hearings conducted in the Statehouse. After the hearing, the video will be archived on the Web site for future viewings.“The whole point of having regional budget hearings is to make it easier for New Jerseyans to interact with their representatives,” said Senator Buono. “By streaming video of the hearing on the World Wide Web, we can give State residents who cannot physically attend an opportunity to stay up-to-date on the latest budget discussions taking place. I’d like to thank DMU and the Montclair technical staff for their hard work in setting up the streaming video, and bringing government to the desktops of New Jerseyans around the State.”WHO: The Senate Budget and Appropriations CommitteeWHAT: Public hearing on FY 2010 BudgetWHEN: Tuesday, March 24 at 9:00 AMWHERE: University Hall Conference Center, Montclair State University, 1 Normal Avenue, Montclair, New Jersey