NJ Assembly fails to override Christie veto of bill requiring detailed data on ...

Republicans in the state Assembly failed to join with majority Democrats on Monday to override Governor Christie's veto of a bill that sought more detailed information on the long-term impact of state borrowing.

If the override effort had prevailed, it would have marked the first successful override of a Christie veto since the governor took office in early 2010.

In March, Republicans joined with Democrats in a 77-0. But on Monday, they said last-minute information provided by the Christie administration caused them to reverse course and seek to delay the vote.

The override attempt failed to win the needed 54 votes, with only 45 lawmakers voting for it, five voting against and 23 abstaining. Another seven lawmakers were recorded as 'not voting.'

At $40 billion, New Jersey is one of the most indebted states in the country. Only Hawaii, Massachusetts and Connecticut carry more debt per-capita than New Jersey.

The debt-affordability study and other long-term fiscal planning called for in the bill Christie vetoed were not considered controversial when the measure passed the Democratic-controlled Assembly in March. It also passed the Senate by a 40-vote in June.

But Christie vetoed the bill earlier this month, saying in his veto message that the state's current annual debt report, which was released this year in February, is sufficient. The long-term debt and revenue forecasting called for in the bill could lead to the publishing of 'highly speculative' information that could jeopardize the state's bond rating, Christie said.

Such detailed information on state finances could also have opened the door to bringing new attention to the state's fiscal problems, including a huge amount of debt and only slowly growing state revenues just as Christie is considering seeking the Republican nomination for president in 2016.

Republicans on Monday said the Christie administration informed them the bill could open the state up to lawsuits from bondholders and potentially violate federal securities laws.

Christie was holding political events in Wisconsin and Ohio on Monday. His spokesman and representatives from the state Department of Treasury did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Republican Leader Jon Bramnick, R-Union, urged the bill's sponsors to hold off the override vote until those issues could be resolved.

'Once we do it, we jeopardize a whole host of issues,' Bramnick said. 'These are very technical issues.'

Democrats, including sponsor Troy Singleton, D-Burlington, urged for the vote to still be held, saying 11 other states have similar measures and none, to his knowledge, have run afoul of bond covenants. He also said Christie failed to raise the issues cited by Republicans on Monday in his veto message.

'If it was that big of a concern, I'm just struck that it was not included in the document we all considered,' Singleton said.

Assembly Majority Leader Lou Greenwald, D-Camden, said the override would have still required a vote in the Senate, offering the time the Republicans said was needed to evaluate the concerns raised at the last-minute by the Christie administration.

'I have no evidence before me that says this is inappropriate,' Greenwald said. 'None.'

Email: reitmeyer@northjersey.com