Steven Oroho

COAH Proposes New Regulations to Create “RCA-Lite” for Favored Towns

Senator Steven Oroho (R-24) said that new regulations set to be adopted by the Council on Affordable Housing (COAH) prove once again that the Corzine Administration lacks both direction and a coherent plan for managing development in New Jersey.

Under proposed regulations set to be adopted at its upcoming September 9 meeting, COAH will reincarnate a scaled-down version of the Regional Contribution Agreements (RCAs) that were banned when Governor Corzine signed A-500 into law. The proposed regulations allow for the creation of Regional Affordable Housing Development Planning Programs (RAHDPPs), essentially “RCA-lite,” which have guidelines that closely mirror those that governed RCAs.

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Senator Steven Oroho, Republican member of the Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee, said he is deeply troubled by published comments questioning whether Corzine administration employment data released yesterday accurately reflects what went on in the New Jersey economy in July. 

Senator Steven Oroho, R-Sussex/Morris, called on the Trenton Democrats to quickly move S-2453, which would repeal regulations issued by the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) that mandate onerous educational requirements for volunteer municipal recycling coordinators.

The six Republican members of the Senate Budget Committee have sent a letter to Chairwoman Barbara Buono that asks her to call the committee into session this summer. The committee's task would be to develop a plan to close an unprecedented $8 billion structural deficit and a more than $2 billion deficit in the unemployment fund. The letter points out that Governor Corzine is avoiding questions about how he plans to do to deal with this $10 billion crisis. "When there is a gap in leadership at the top, others must step in to fill the void, " said Senator Anthony Bucco, senior Republican member on the budget committee and Republican budget officer.

All eight countywide elected officials from Sussex County today endorsed Christopher Christie for the Republican gubernatorial nomination, along with Sussex GOP Chair Ailish Hambel and former County Chairman Richard Zeoli.  But Christie has not yet scored a Sussex sweep, with U.S. Rep. Scott Garrett (R-Wantage), State Sen. Steven Oroho (R-Franklin), Assemblywoman Alison McHose (R-Franklin), Assemblyman Gary Chiusano (R-Frankford), former State Sen. Robert Littell, and former GOP State Chair Virginia Littell still uncommitted in the Republican primary for Governor.

Afraid of facing a GOP primary challenge, Assemblywoman Alison Littell McHose (R-Franklin) had indicated to Republican leaders that she would endorse former U.S. Attorney Christopher Christie for Governor after the filing deadline - which was last Monday.  Sources say that the Christie camp, aggravated by McHose's delay, is no longer viewing her as a possible candidate for Lt. Governor.  It's possible that Christie would not have asked McHose to be his running mate anyway, but her neutrality has all but ended her hope of running statewide this year.

The six Republican members of the Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee said today's testimony shows Governor Corzine has created a breathtakingly irresponsible budget that will inevitably result in crippling tax increases on New Jersey's middle class if he wins re-election.

Sixteen of New Jersey's seveneteen Republican State Senators have endorsed former U.S. Attorney Christopher Christie for Governor, with Steven Oroho (R-Franklin) the lone holdout.  Oroho has not made any endorsments.

"No one understands the damage Jon Corzine has done to our state more than the Republican State Senators who have been fighting him every step of the way," said State Sen. Joseph Kyrillos (R-Middletown), the Chairman of Christie's statewide campaign.  "Chris Christie will be the partner we need in the Governor's Office who will fight for the middle class, bring business back to New Jersey and get our state back on track.

Senator Steven Oroho (R-24), a member of the Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee, issued the following statement in response to Governor Jon Corzine’s proposal to increase payroll taxes on New Jersey businesses by $350 million in FY 2010.

“I am extremely disturbed that Governor Corzine wants to raise taxes once again on the businesses that provide paychecks to millions of New Jersey families.

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Republican members of the Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee issued the following statement on S-2507, a bill that will cut state aid for school districts based on how much they save by not making full payments into the state pension fund for their non-teaching employees. The bill will be considered by the committee today:

"Republican members of the Budget and Appropriations Committee today reaffirm their unwavering opposition to Governor Corzine's scheme to deplete the pension funds," said Anthony Bucco, Republican Budget Officer. "I have asked the chairwoman to delay the committee's vote on this bill so that the pension provisions can be eliminated from this bill. If they aren't removed, we will vote against the bill."

"We owe it to taxpayers and retirees to seriously discuss alternatives to shortchanging the pensions. As written, this bill will ultimately cost taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars and threaten the secure retirement promised to government employees," said Kevin O'Toole, Republican Senate Whip.

"It's long past time for Governor Corzine to stop kicking this state's fiscal problems down the road, and come up with common-sense solutions to New Jersey's budget problems," Senator Phil Haines said.

"This pension gimmick is the ultimate example of the irresponsible budget 'one shots' that the governor repeatedly promised not to support," said Senator Joseph Pennacchio.

"Governor Corzine has offered a false choice between shortchanging school kids or short-changing public employees when he should first cut the bloated budget for patronage hires to balance this budget."

"Years of gimmicks have created a disaster whereby only about 50 percent of the roughly $120 billion in state pension liability is covered today by the value of pension assets," Senator Steve Oroho said. "If the gimmicks don't stop, this system will go broke."