DeCroce, Webber on Responsible Solutions to Transportation Funding Crisis

Source: NJ Spotlight -

To new Transportation Commissioner Jamie Fox, the challenge is clear, and so is the solution: After years of “taking a Band-Aid approach to everything,” New Jersey’s transportation system is in crisis. The only way out is to raise taxes to replenish the soon-to-be-empty Transportation Trust Fund (TTF) and build a new rail tunnel under the Hudson.

“If we did a 30 cents a gallon gas tax, they (the public) would tar and feather us, and throw us out of New Jersey,” Assemblywoman BettyLou DeCroce warned, even though that tax hike would still leave New Jersey’s gas tax — currently the second-lowest in the nation at 14.5 cents per gallon — below New York’s 50.6-cent-per-gallon tax. DeCroce said the state should consider a mixture of solutions, such as extending the state sales tax to gasoline, which would generate the equivalent of 24.5 cents per gallon based on an average price of $3.50 a gallon. She also suggested increasing the petroleum products gross-receipts tax, which is levied at the refinery or distributor level; imposing a tax on airport car rentals, as most other states do; and adding a tax on containers that come into Port Newark and Port Elizabeth.

“Crisis is opportunity. We are broke. We can let our infrastructure fall apart and become worse. Or we can put the ‘D’ and ‘R’ aside and pass a revenue enhancer, whatever that is,” Fox said in an impassioned plea to business and labor leaders to fight for a stable, long-term source of funding for highway, bridge and mass transit projects.

“This is not an easy vote to pass,” Fox warned the New Jersey SEED (Society for Environmental, Economic Development) business-labor coalition in Atlantic City Friday, referring to polls showing that most New Jerseyans oppose an increase in the gas tax. “There has to be a revenue enhancer. If it’s a gimmick, we’ve failed. We have to tell legislators we will be there with them. Anyone who thinks we’re going to get this done without a tax is just mouthing words.”

Fox said in an interview following the NJ SEED speech that ideally he would like to increase annual state transportation capital funding from the current $1.6 billion a year to $2 billion. That hike has been recommended by Forward New Jersey, a broad-based pro-transportation coalition headed by State Chamber of Commerce President Tom Bracken, but one that would presumably require a larger “revenue enhancer” at a time when Christie may be about to launch a bid for the 2016 GOP presidential nomination.

Christie, who had previously ruled out a gas tax increase, said when he announced Fox’s nomination that “everything’s on the table.” When asked if that included a gas tax, he responded testily, “What part of ‘everything’s on the table’ don’t you understand?”

Assemblywoman Betty Lou DeCroce (R-Morris), who also serves on the Assembly Transportation Committee, said there is a growing recognition among Republicans that a revenue increase will be needed to pay for transportation capital projects.

“If we did a 30 cents a gallon gas tax, they (the public) would tar and feather us, and throw us out of New Jersey,” DeCroce warned, even though that tax hike would still leave New Jersey’s gas tax — currently the second-lowest in the nation at 14.5 cents per gallon — below New York’s 50.6-cent-per-gallon tax.

DeCroce said the state should consider a mixture of solutions, such as extending the state sales tax to gasoline, which would generate the equivalent of 24.5 cents per gallon based on an average price of $3.50 a gallon. She also suggested increasing the petroleum products gross-receipts tax, which is levied at the refinery or distributor level; imposing a tax on airport car rentals, as most other states do; and adding a tax on containers that come into Port Newark and Port Elizabeth.

Even Assemblyman Jay Weber (R-Morris), a former state GOP chairman and leading conservative, acknowledged that an increase in New Jersey’s relatively low gas-tax increase was a possibility, although he suggested it should be accompanied by a corresponding cut in the state’s high estate and inheritance taxes.

Political fear of raising the gas taxes is not confined to Trenton.

U.S. Rep. Frank LoBiondo (R-NJ), who serves on the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, noted that “just as New Jersey hasn’t raised its gas tax, the federal government hasn’t raised its gas tax either.” And just as New Jersey’s Transportation Trust Fund is scheduled to run out of money for new projects early in the next budget year, Congress was forced to do a short-term extension when its Highway Trust Fund started running out of money in July.

Finding a funding solution that guarantees the continued flow of federal transportation aid to the states is critical for New Jersey, whose $1.6 billion state Transportation Trust Fund is matched on a dollar-for dollar basis with federal aid, LoBiondo and Fox both noted.

“Am I worried?” Fox said, when asked about the fiscal problems that would be created if Congress was unable to agree on a sufficiently robust federal transportation funding formula. “Of course, I’m worried.”

Webber, DeCroce Named Outstanding Legislators By The NJ Society For Environmental Economic Development

Source: Assembly Republican Press Release -

Assembly Republicans Jay Webber and BettyLou DeCroce today were hailed as Outstanding Legislators by one of the state’s premier economic and environmental advocacy organizations. Webber and DeCroce were presented with the Arthur T. Young Award from the New Jersey Society for Environmental Economic Development (NJ SEED) during its 2014 Economic Summit in Atlantic City.

NJ SEED is dedicated to the creation of private sector jobs to bolster the economy and enhance the environment. Membership includes the business and labor communities.

“Economic growth and environmental protection are compatible policy goals that can and should be pursued together,” said Webber, R — Morris, Essex and Passaic. “NJ SEED recognizes that, and I appreciate its special recognition.”

“I am proud and honored to be acknowledged for promoting reasonable and responsible policies that provide private-sector jobs and economic growth,” said DeCroce, R — Morris, Essex and Passaic. “With the proper balance, we can augment our state’s environmental vulnerabilities and fuel a flourishing economy for New Jersey families.”

DeCroce Calls For Non-Tolerance of Domestic Violence At All Levels of Sports

Assembly Republican Press Release -

Assemblywoman BettyLou DeCroce introduced a resolution (AR-179) today urging all professional sports teams and leagues to adopt a consistent, zero-tolerance policy across all the leagues regarding domestic violence. Reports of multiple incidents of domestic violence in the National Football League over the last several months have brought this issue to the forefront of national discussion.

“Domestic violence is not confined to one sport or league,” said DeCroce, R-Morris, Essex and Passaic. “Any policy adopted should include a structure of fines for violating this rule in addition to any legal ramifications.

“The resolution urges that funds collected from these violations be distributed to victims’ rights organizations,” continued DeCroce. “We cannot avoid dealing with an issue that not only impacts women, but children as well. Athletes are role models. Those who engage in vicious and dangerous attacks must be held accountable.”

More than 40 million women in the United States have experienced some form of domestic violence in their lifetime. New Jersey law enforcement reports over 70,300 offenses were committed in 2011. Sports leagues that implement a no-tolerance policy regarding domestic violence send a clear and powerful message there is no place for this behavior in their profession.

Wolfe-DeCroce Bill Labeling Foods With Genetically Engineered Material Wins Committee Approval

Assembly Republican Press Release -

Provides consumers with more information on product ingredients

Legislation Assemblyman Dave Wolfe and Assemblywoman BettyLou DeCroce sponsor that lets consumers know if a product has been genetically engineered today won approval from the Assembly State and Local Government Committee.

“Just as consumers are interested in a product’s nutritional value, they are entitled to know if a food source has been genetically engineered,” said Wolfe, R-Ocean. “Many countries require this labeling and some states are already in the process of enacting similar legislation.”

The bill, A-1359, defines a food product as being genetically engineered if its contents include more than one percent of materials that are produced or enhanced by acid technology, genetic engineering or bioengineering. Genetically engineered foods are derived from organisms whose genetic material has been changed in a way that does not occur naturally.

“Disclosing that products contain genetically engineered material help shoppers make an informed purchase,” said DeCroce, R-Morris, Passaic and Essex. “Customers today are savvy about the products they buy. It’s in the consumers’ best interest if they are aware of whether this growing technique was used in an item they might purchase.”

DeCroce Bill Would Establish Drug Prevention Program For Students

Source: NJ 101.5 -

For some kids the transition from middle school to high school is very stressful and unfortunately, many start abusing drugs and alcohol when they get to high school. Assemblywoman Betty Lou DeCroce (R-Parsippany) is sponsoring a bill (A-413) to establish a statewide substance abuse prevention grant program for eighth-graders.

“It’s imperative that we do it. In today’s world with technology and peer pressure the way it is we have to start way younger,” DeCroce said. “We have to change things and that means changing laws, assisting communities and schools in a way that we haven’t done before.”

The legislation is modeled after a successful drug and alcohol education prevention program at the Copeland Middle School in Rockaway Township in Morris County. Project Positive Choice started at the school in 1998.

“We all know New Jersey’s heroin and prescription drug problem has exploded during the past couple of years and it’s not just in the cities. It’s in our suburban and rural areas too,” DeCroce said.

At CMS, Students meet with teenagers who are recovering from addiction. They listen to their peers who have been impacted by substance abuse and they meet celebrity role models.

“It combines educators, parents and the children and that’s where we have to get,” DeCroce explained.

Under DeCroce’s legislation, the programs would be funded by private and corporate donations, federal money or school districts.

DeCroce Says She Cannot Support Amendment Using Corporate Business Tax For Open Space Purchases; Lawmaker Says Highland Owners Deserve Compensation From State

Source: Assembly Republican Press Release -

Assemblywoman BettyLou DeCroce said she cannot support an amendment to the New Jersey Constitution that would allocate state business tax funds to pay for open space and recreation because the legislation is ill-defined, redundant and fails to reimburse property owners in the Highlands region for the loss of their property values.

DeCroce (R-Morris, Essex Passaic) says the legislation behind the amendment dedicating 4 percent of the corporate business tax to an open space fund, saddles corporations with an ongoing tax to fund, not only open space acquisition, but environmental cleanup and a host of other obligations that have nothing to do with business incentives or job creation.

“It is not the responsibility of business to pay a tax that will finance historic preservation, open space purchases and environmental remediation in perpetuity ” said DeCroce, noting that the CBT dedicated to open space and allied programs will increase to 6 percent in 2019 under the proposed amendment approved by the legislature this month. For the amendment to become law voters must approve a referendum that will appear on the November ballot.

“When state legislative leaders wonder how come New Jersey has such a poor business reputation it is precisely because of legislation such as this which stifles business investment in our state,” added DeCroce, a small business owner.

With a corporate tax rate of 9 percent on most corporations, New Jersey has the fourth highest corporate tax in the nation.

DeCroce said while she supports open space preservation, the state already taxes property owners on local and county levels for open space purchases .She said hundreds of millions of dollars are taken from taxpayers under the name of open space preservation only to find the funds being used for a variety of purposes that have nothing to do with buying undeveloped land.

“Paying for the construction of tennis courts and artificial turf football fields is not how most people imagine their open space tax money being used,” said DeCroce. “And with this new amendment, the public is again being fooled into thinking that the corporate tax will be used primarily for open space preservation, when in fact, that is not the case.”

PROPERTY CONFISCATION

The assemblywoman said she is particularly disturbed that in the decade since the Highlands Act became law –and more than 1,343 square miles of the state were put under severe development restrictions — there has been no action from Trenton to reimburse property owners for the devaluation of their property. The act has severely crippled the economy of many rural communities such as West Milford.

“The Highlands Act spawned the largest taking of private property rights in the state’s history without fair compensation for land owners,” said DeCroce, whose district includes several Highlands Communities.

“If the state deems it good public policy to preserve vast areas of open space by enacting extremely strict development prohibitions that make people’s land practically worthless, then it has an obligation to pay the owners for the land,” said DeCroce.

“I encourage voters to vote against the misleading and unnecessary referendum that will be placed before them on the November ballot, said DeCroce.

DeCroce Has Plan To Fund Public Projects Without Tax Dollars (AUDIO)

Source: NJ 101.5 [audio] -

You may have heard of Kickstarter.com, the website that allows would-be filmmakers to solicit donations to help fund their movies. The process is called crowdfunding, and a New Jersey lawmaker wants towns and counties in the Garden State to be allowed to do it in lieu of using tax dollars to raise cash for community projects.

“We are bringing the public in to be a part of the process, and that’s the opposite of what happens in Trenton,” said Assemblywoman BettyLou DeCroce (R-Parsippany).

“Normally you’re dictated to. Whenever we pass a bill in Trenton we’re always imposing on the public, whether we’re dictating or mandating or requiring.”

According to the assemblywoman, towns have many worthwhile projects each year that don’t get funded because of fiscal issues, or a lack of public support for spending tax dollars. She said her bill gives people the option of donating for projects they do like, and they obviously would not have to contribute to projects that they do not support.

“With crowdfunding, they’re not being taxed for different things like an athletic field, a community center, storm disaster relief, historical preservation,” DeCroce said.

There are safeguards in place to ensure the donated funds are used for their stated purpose. DeCroce’s legislation would also allow for donor-based crowdfunding, where donors could contribute to a project and then reap any potential dividends.

Some other states already allow crowdfunding. In Portland, Oregon, it’s being used to raise money for a world-class bicycle park. In Kansas City, it was used to raise almost $420,000 in private funds for 90 shareable bikes. In the Boston area, crowdfunding was used to give iPads and Bluetooth headsets to students.

“Why not allow teachers in New Jersey to use crowdfunding for supplies?” DeCroce asked.

CLICK HERE to listen to audio