(TRENTON) — Assembly Budget Committee Chair Vincent Prieto (D-Hudson) issued a multimedia package Wednesday in which he discusses a $254 million revenue shortfall in last year’s state budget and the state treasurer’s refusal to appear before the Assembly budget panel to explain the shortfall.
The multimedia package consists of a video and audio and a transcript of same.
The video can be accessed directly via our website – www.assemblydems.com – or by clicking here.
The audio file is available upon request.
A transcript of comments from Budget Chair Prieto is appended below:
Assemblyman Vincent Prieto (D-Hudson), Assembly Budget Committee Chair:
“The treasurer not coming today is I think an insult to this committee and this body – a body that’s supposed to be the checks and balances for the Executive Branch – and I think it’s an insult to every resident of the State of New Jersey.
“It’s important for us to know if we have a problem. So far, it appears that we have a quarter of a billion dollars short and that’s going to impact this budget. So, to have eight percent growth, it’s really unrealistic at this point in time. You know, we would love to have that but we are counting on that money because that money is spent in fiscal year 2013.
“That’s very important to the residents of the State of New Jersey because some of the programs that they are relying on and depending on to be their safety net may not be there for them. We’re going to make sure that if we have to cut something in a budget, we make sure it’s things that are prudent, that would not hurt the every day working family and the working poor in the State of New Jersey.”