Joe Roberts

ASSEMBLY TO DEDICATE MONDAY TO WEIGHING HELP FOR NEW JERSEY WORKERS AND BUSINESSES AMID FINANCIAL MELTDOWN

Legislators to convene unprecedented joint hearings on housing, oversight, jobs and social worries as Assembly continues economic emphasis; Budget and Commerce hearings also planned.

(TRENTON) – Assembly Speaker Joseph J. Roberts Jr. and Assembly Majority Leader Bonnie Watson Coleman today announced Monday’s Assembly committee hearings will focus solely on the financial meltdown and what can be done to help New Jersey workers and businesses weather the crisis.

The unprecedented plan calls for four joint hearings by Assembly panels and hearings by the Assembly Commerce and Economic Development Committee and Assembly Budget Committee.

Senate Republican Leader Tom Kean and Assembly Republican Leader Alex DeCroce seek Democratic support for vital economic development bills.

Bribery and money laundering may be illegal for almost everyone else, but not for politicians. They call it "pay-to-play" and "wheeling." The party in power almost always benefits from these structural advantages, so politicians love to rail against corruption when they're powerless to do anything about it, but then sit on their hands and make excuses when they could actually change the system.

When Gov. Jim Florio proposed an ethics reform package in 1992 -- partly to fulfill the campaign promises he had made three years earlier -- Republican leaders who controlled both the Assembly and Senate criticized him, saying the plan was politically-motivated. Sound familiar?

During a decade of state-wide Republican control, pay-to-play and wheeling continued as Republicans easily out-raised Democrats. That is, until Jon Corzine ran for Senate (and later governor) and Democrats regained a majority in the legislature. Suddenly, fixing this broken and corrupt system became a top GOP priority and popular campaign refrain.

With the tables turned, Republicans introduced a series of reform measures in 2006 which Assembly Majority Leader Bonnie Watson Coleman called a "warmed-over stew of existing legislative measures." Yes it was, but the stew had gotten pretty cold in the hands of Democrats.

ASSEMBLY LEADERS PRAISE GOVERNOR’S CALL FOR AFFORDABLE HOUSING COOPERATION

(TRENTON) – Assembly Speaker Joseph J. Roberts Jr. and Assembly Majority Leader Bonnie Watson Coleman today praised Gov. Jon S. Corzine’s call for cooperation in bringing affordable housing to New Jersey.

SPEAKER ROBERTS ENDORSES PLAN FOR ECONOMIC EMERGENCY SUMMIT AS ASSEMBLY PANEL READIES MONDAY HEARING

(TRENTON) – Assembly Speaker Joseph Roberts Jr. today endorsed Senate Majority Leader Stephen M. Sweeney’s plan to convene an emergency economic summit to weigh what can be done to help New Jersey workers and businesses.

Roberts made his announcement as the Assembly Labor Committee readied plans for a Monday hearing about the impact of the recent financial crisis on the state economy and its citizens. Roberts said testimony heard during Monday’s hearing will help shape plans for the emergency summit.

ROBERTS: NEW REPORT REINFORCES NEED FOR AFFORDABLE HOUSING IN NEW JERSEY

(TRENTON) – Assembly Speaker Joseph Roberts Jr. today said a new Princeton University study that found low-income New Jerseyans moving to states with lower costs of living is yet another example of the need for affordable housing in the state.

ROBERTS VOWS TO CLOSELY WATCH TALKS ON SUPERINTENDENTS’ LAWSUIT

(TRENTON) – Assembly Speaker Joseph J. Roberts Jr. today said he will closely monitor talks to try to resolve a lawsuit against new rules meant to cut administrative costs and wasteful spending in schools.

JUST THE FACTS PLEASE: NEW AFFORDABLE HOUSING LAW HELPS NEW JERSEY FAMILIES

(TRENTON) – Assembly Speaker Joseph Roberts Jr. today welcomed debate on New Jersey’s affordable housing crisis and landmark efforts to solve it, but emphasized he hopes people who engage in this vital debate do so responsibly.

Responding to a U.S. Appeals Court ruling that Arizona's "rescue money" provision in their clean elections law is unconstitutional, Assembly Speaker Joe Roberts (D-Camden) said on Monday that New Jersey's clean election law is effectively dead. At least for now.

"In terms of enacting legislation to continue New Jersey's Clean Elections pilot program in 2009, the federal courts have imposed obstacles that are insurmountable given the time frame," said Roberts in a statement.

"Instead of rushing to find stop-gap solutions, Clean Elections simply needs a time-out."