Corzine

Senate Republican Budget Officer Anthony Bucco and Senator Steve Oroho, a member of the Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee, criticize Governor Corzine for refusing to regularly update revenue numbers despite repeated requests for openness and transparency.

The Senate Republican caucus announced today that they have unanimously voted to keep their strong leadership team in place for the next year. In addition, the senators also unanimously agreed to cast their votes for Senator Kean as the next Senate president.

As a health care professional, Senator Joe Pennacchio believes no politicians should lobby the FDA unless they are absolutely certain they are acting in the best interests of patients.

If these allegations are true, then it is very important that New Jersey find and aid any state patients victimized by political failures, Kean said. Governor Corzine should order the health commissioner to start her inquiry today.

Senator Joe Pennacchio, R-Morris and Passaic, said he will continue to monitor transparency in the spending of federal stimulus aid in New Jersey, after Governor Corzine announced that he has finally taken the first steps toward helping taxpayers track where their money is going.

Senator Steve Oroho, R-Sussex, Morris and Hunterdon, said he has appealed the Corzine administration's refusal to release a report on housing growth that was presented to the State Planning Commission in March. The study reportedly shows that the Council on Affordable Housing grossly overestimated how much so-called "affordable" housing is needed in New Jersey. Oroho filed his appeal with the New Jersey Government Records Council.

Senate Republican Budget Officer Anthony Bucco said Governor Corzine should re-read his Executive Order No. 1, which lays out the rules for conduct of a governor's financial affairs. "It is obvious that the governor is invested in a hedge fund whose managers also own casinos," Bucco said. "Clauses in Governor Corzine's executive order No. 1 would seem to prohibit such an investment."

Jon Corzine's Meadowlands Commission is asleep at the switch if its members can't keep a steady flow of financing to a $2 billion project like Xanadu. What good is state oversight if unnecessary delays keep costing New Jersey residents jobs and tax money?

New Jersey's casino laws leave little doubt that even the appearance of conflict of interest is unacceptable. Governor Corzine must reveal documents that would confirm definitively whether he is invested in a hedge fund with close ties to the casino industry.

The homeless, the unemployed and the underemployed deserve to know why Governor Corzine isn't using every tool at the state's disposal to combat this recession, says Senate Republican Leader Tom Kean. It's time for the governor to call a special session on job creation, or explain why this issue isn't important enough to take immediate action, the senator said.