Assembly Environment Committee Vice Chair John McKeon released the following statement Friday on the constitutional amendment he has sponsored that would create a dedicated stream of revenue to preserve open space throughout New Jersey, a measure Gov. Christie derided yesterday:
“At the end of the day, the governor’s views will have little bearing on this issue. This is a bipartisan effort that will be decided by the people of New Jersey, a vast majority of whom have repeatedly supported open space funding efforts in the past.
“Rather than continuing to borrow money, which proves costlier in the long run, creating a permanent stable source of funding for open space is a more economically-viable route to preserving our quality of life for many years to come.
“As the most densely-populated state in the nation, preserving our existing open space is an absolute imperative and residents understand that,” said McKeon (D-Essex/Morris).