Panel
puts sole focus on tax reform
GOP wanted spending on state constitutional
convention agenda
Saturday, December 18, 2004 • BY ROBERT SCHWANEBERG
• Star-Ledger Staff
With Republican lawmakers dissenting, a state task force
decided yesterday that a proposed constitutional convention
should stick to revising New Jersey's tax system and not try
to rein in government spending.
The task force is close to finalizing its
recommendations for a convention to lower property taxes. A
majority of its 15 members agreed yesterday the convention
would seek to change the way state and local governments
raise money but have no power to address spending. It would
be forbidden to tamper with constitutional guarantees of a
thorough and efficient education and affordable housing
opportunities.
The two Republican lawmakers on the task force insisted
the convention should be free to propose limits on
government spending, as did Michael Cole, a lawyer and the
panel's vice chairman. But the chairman, Carl Van Horn, said
there was "broad consensus" for limiting the convention's
scope.
"I'm a little disappointed that I wasn't able to get
unanimity, but that wasn't achievable," said Van Horn, a
Rutgers University professor. The task force has a final
meeting scheduled Tuesday.
The debate on the convention's powers gave a preview of
what is likely to be a partisan battle in the
Democrat-controlled Legislature, which created the task
force and can accept or reject its proposals.
Assembly Majority Leader Joseph Roberts (D-Camden) said
lowering property taxes by finding new ways to raise
revenues would be "a Herculean task" in itself. Asking
delegates to determine how that money should be spent "has
the potential to doom the process," he warned.
But Senate Minority Leader Leonard Lance (R-Hunterdon)
said many Republican lawmakers believe "the spending
component is essential" and might not vote for a convention
that cannot consider it.
Assemblyman Kevin O'Toole (R-Essex) said the goal of any
convention "has to be to reduce the cost of government,
period."
Van Horn said it is the responsibility of legislators,
who answer to the voters, to determine the size of the state
budget. "They do that every year," he said.
At Van Horn's suggestion, the task force agreed that
delegates should be instructed not just to reduce property
taxes overall but to do it in a way that protects people
with modest incomes from being taxed out of their
homes.
Some task force members proposed additional restrictions
on delegates, such as a prohibition on tinkering with
abortion rights and other individual liberties, but Van Horn
said it was unnecessary. A convention that drafted
restrictions on individual liberties would be so far outside
its charter that its proposal "would be challenged and
appropriately thrown out," he said.
The task force agreed that a panel of three retired
jurists chosen by the state's chief justice should review
the delegates' work to ensure they stay within their
mandate. That panel's certification would be required to
submit the convention proposal, in the form of a single
question, to the voters for approval at the general election
in 2006.
One point on which the task force agreed to disagree was
the number of delegates. Half the task force members favored
electing three delegates from each of the state's 40
legislative districts, for a total of 120. The others
favored 90 delegates, with two elected from each district
and the governor and legislative leaders appointing 10 more
to ensure minorities are represented. Both options will be
submitted to the Legislature.
The task force previously agreed the delegates should be
chosen at next November's general election, when voters
would simultaneously decide whether to call a convention. If
approved, the convention would hold an organizational
meeting late next year, recess while staff prepares
extensive background papers and convene in the spring of
2006 at Rutgers University in New Brunswick.
Robert Schwaneberg covers legal issues. He can be reached
at rschwaneberg@starledger.com or (609) 989-0324.
© 2004 The Star-Ledger. Used by NJ.com with
permission.
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