(TRENTON) – New Jersey Assembly Budget Chairman Vincent Prieto (D-Hudson/Bergen) released the following statement Monday amid reports by The Star-Ledger raising questions about the Christie administration’s use of Sandy relief funding:
“We already had questions about how Sandy relief money was being spent, and these findings raise those questions to a new level. This money is supposed to be spent properly to benefit New Jersey residents and communities devastated by Sandy, not become a feeding frenzy for lobbyists and an excuse to bypass regulations on business, the environment and pay-to-play.
“This funding is too valuable to be spent improperly.
“I have invited the state treasurer to Thursday’s Assembly Budget Committee hearing and we expect real cooperation and answers this time. We will also begin moving legislation (A-60 and A-61) to impose integrity and oversight over the Sandy relief money. It’s apparent that those bills need to become law much sooner rather than later.”