As this is written, they appear to have put together a compromise that would put into law some provisions from each house's version. But, as Martin E. Robins explains in the pages that follow, the legislative proposals, including the compromise bill, don't only put off the day of reckoning when New Jersey must address what has been allowed to happen to the Transportation Trust Fund in recent years. They also make that day increasingly difficult to deal with by the overuse of borrowing that will divert dollars away from future improvements of the transportation system and into paying off new debt. A state whose economic well being and quality of life depend so heavily on transportation is being told to take a lot on faith. There is always another election to worry about.
New Jersey needs a stable, reliable source of transportation funding.
New Jersey's gasoline taxes are lower than those in 46 other states. It isn't as though people in power don't know where the road should lead. The search seems to be for just the right moment, and that moment is three to four years away under the present legislative calculation. In the meantime, New Jersey Policy Perspective is grateful to Martin Robins for digging into the current proposals so their provisions, and their context, can be fully understood. It is our mission to help broaden debate in New Jersey on important issues, and we cannot help but believe that more information in the hands of more people is essential to the process of injecting more courage into the policymaking process.