The Christie administration’s diversion of $20 million from an open-space fund to pay salaries at state parks was condemned yesterday at a legislative hearing in what is emerging as an acrimonious side battle over next year’s budget.
In a hearing before the Senate Environment and Energy Committee, open-space advocates argued such diversions were never contemplated by voters in the fall of 2014 when they easily approved a new constitutional amendment setting aside corporate business taxes to fund acquisition of undeveloped land and farmland preservation.
The diversion, which first took place in last year’s budget, would be repeated in this year’s fiscal spending plan for the state under a proposal submitted by Gov. Chris Christie. Sen. Bob Smith (D-Middlesex), the committee chairman and sponsor of the ballot question, called the rerouting of the funds “unconstitutional,’’ and possibly criminal.
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Several of the groups who had lobbied to put the constitutional question on the ballot backed the lawmakers’ position, including the New Jersey Farm Bureau “It’s a real concern for us,’’ said Ed Wengryn, of the New Jersey Farm Bureau, noting funding for farmland preservation is exhausted.
“There is a mismatch with the will of the voters if the governor does not sign this bill,’’ added Ed Potosnak, chairman of New Jersey Keep It Green, a coalition of conservation and recreational groups that backed the ballot question.
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