Corzine issues veto warning in reform feud Lawmakers told to act on pensions, but governor to make the final call Monday, December 11, 2006 • BY DEBORAH HOWLETT • Star-Ledger Staff Setting up a showdown over property tax reform at the Statehouse today, a frustrated Gov. Jon Corzine yesterday fired off a letter to legislative leaders challenging them to send him whatever pension reform measures they can pass, and then he will sort it out with his veto pen. "I encourage you to the lead the Legislature forward," Corzine wrote to Senate President Richard Codey (D-Essex) and Assembly Speaker Joseph J. Roberts Jr. (D-Camden). "Make your best judgment and move forward, but do not allow this issue to slow or impede our shared and overarching objectives." Codey and Roberts told The Star-Ledger editorial board on Friday they fear the entire property tax reform effort is in jeopardy because of Corzine's meddling with a bill on pension reform. In the letter to Codey and Roberts, Corzine said he "respectfully disagreed" with that assessment. "I believe there is absolute consensus that we must act on these measures," Corzine said. "At the same time, we must acknowledge that pension abuse reforms bring little impact to an overall financial package. ... (But) these reforms most certainly do provide necessary credibility to our efforts." Responding to Corzine's letter, Codey last night suggested no one was being well-served by the indirect communications with the governor. "There needs to be a time out. This is turning into St. Paul and the Corinthians," Codey said of the letter, the second Corzine issued this week. "We need to return to the table as reasonable people and work out our differences." Roberts did not return a voice mail message seeking comment. Corzine contends the bargaining table is the only appropriate venue to decide changes in how unionized public employees are compensated. Last week, he asked lawmakers to address only the reforms that affect elected and appointed officials, who aren't covered by the collective bargaining agreement. Democratic lawmakers acquiesced to Corzine, but Codey and Roberts said they now feel duped after they heeded the governor's challenge to be "bold" in proposing tough new reforms, even in the face of opposition from organized labor. That has made it tough to persuade lawmakers to keep backing many of the other pending measures, such as plans to impose new oversight and limits on local school boards, Codey and Roberts said. Those plans are critical elements of the Legislature's ongoing efforts to pare down local government costs and control soaring property tax bills. The sparring between Corzine and lawmakers is reminiscent of the battle six months ago over increasing the sales tax to balance the state's $31 billion budget. That fight resulted in Corzine shutting down state government for more than a week. The Legislature is scheduled today to take up the first nine bills stemming from the 98 recommendations that four joint legislative committees made after a four-month special session on property tax reforms. Meanwhile, the union representing public school teachers has organized a rally for today in Trenton to protest several of the tax reform measures. So many teachers have taken the day off, several school districts were forced to cancel classes. Corzine said if lawmakers are adamant about passing all 24 of the pension reforms, then they should pass all of the reforms for which Codey and Roberts can muster enough votes, and he will go through the bills line by line with his veto pen. "I encourage you to lead the Legislature forward with the originally proposed bill or, alternatively, one that you judge will build the broadest consensus among your colleagues," Corzine wrote. "If, in your judgment the originally proposed pension reform plan gets us closer to long-lasting reform, I will respectfully and objectively evaluate the merits of that legislation when it reaches my desk." Corzine has the power of a "conditional veto," that is he can veto parts of a specific piece of legislation rather than the entire bill. The Legislature must then concur with the changes in order for the bill to be enacted into law. Deborah Howlett covers politics. She may be reached at (609) 989-0273 or dhowlett@starledger.com. © 2006 The Star-Ledger. Used by NJ.com with permission.