TRENTON — As he continues trying to shift attention from the scandal gnawing at his administration, Gov. Chris Christie on Tuesday expressed support for a pair of controversial proposals: allowing unlimited campaign donations and scrapping a home sellers fee that produces big bucks for the state budget. 
 
 During a town hall meeting in Franklin Township in Somerset County, the Republican governor said people should be allowed to donate an unlimited amount of money to political campaigns, as long as they are required to disclose their contribution within a 48-hour period. 
 
 "I think we need to be realistic in this country about the fact that our political system costs money," Christie said. "None of these laws change that. So let’s add transparency to it." 
 
 Earlier this month, the U.S. Supreme Court voted to strike down limits on the total amount of money a person can donate to political campaigns in a two-year period. 
 
 Critics say the decision allows for wealthy donors to dole out millions more to candidates and campaigns. Christie said it was "just peeling back another layer of the onion that didn’t stop money from getting into politics anyway." 
 
 Tuesday's remarks came about six months after Christie took over as chair of the Republican Governors Association, a group that raises money for GOP gubernatorial candidates across the country. Christie has helped the group raise $33 million since he took over the position in October, increasing his profile for a potential run at the White House. 
 
 Christie was re-elected last year in an election season that saw candidates, political parties, and special interest groups spend a total of $128.9 million on state races — the most ever in New Jersey. That was due in large part to $41 million spent by "independent expenditure" groups — nonprofit organizations and "super PACs" that advocate for or against candidates and ballot questions. 
 
 Christie said the goal should be stopping donors who circumvent laws by making anonymous donations to independent groups that don’t have to reveal the sources of their money. 
 
 "Let’s stop playing games with each other," he said. "Campaigns cost money. Let’s let everybody know where you got the money from." 
 
 Christie has benefitted from such anonymous money. The Committee for Our Children’s Future, a large group that supports the governor’s agenda, has spent more than $7 million on TV ads in the last few years to trumpet Christie’s accomplishments and plans. 
 
 The group, which is not required to disclose its donors, was founded in 2011 by some of Christie’s friends from college to fight back against unions that spent millions to oppose the governor’s initiatives. 
 
 
 
 Christie also said he would abolish realty transfer fees — which are paid by people when they sell their homes — if state lawmakers sent him such a bill. 
 
 "From my perspective, it makes no sense," he told the crowd at the Somerset National Guard Armory. "It’s awful. It should be done away with." 
 
 During the Q&A; period with the audience, a retired state trooper told Christie he had to sell his home because taxes in the state are "out of control." But after the sale, he was slapped with a $5,435 realty transfer fee. 
 
 The governor said it was the second time in five days someone complained to him about the fee. He blamed it on former Gov. Jim McGreevey, a Democrat, and the state Legislature under his tenure. 
 
 "People are leaving, and then the great gift that Gov. McGreevey and the state Legislature gave (them) was, ‘Oh yeah, you’re going to leave us? We’ll take 5,400 bucks from you on the way out the door," he said. 
 
 The fees are the seventh-largest source of tax revenue for the state. New Jersey officials have projected that they will produce $287 million in the current state budget and $325 million in the spending plan that takes effect in July. Christie did not say how he’d make up the revenue loss if the fee was eliminated. 
 
 Tuesday's event marked the 11th town hall in two months for Christie, a potential 2016 presidential candidate who has been dogged by the George Washington Bridge lane-closure controversy. Aside from a few protesters, the meeting was relatively calm, with Christie again focusing on his effort to press Democratic lawmakers to extend a cap on arbitration awards for police and fire unions. 
 
 Star-Ledger staff writer Salvador Rizzo and the Associated Press contributed to this report. 
 
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 ||||| 5 years ago 
 
 (CNN) - Chris Christie says that limiting campaign donations is "ridiculous," and is calling for a 48-hour reporting period for disclosing contributions. 
 
 New Jersey's Republican governor said at a town hall in Somerset Tuesday that rules limiting the amount someone can give to a campaign doesn't "stop money from getting into politics anyway." 
 
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 Christie noted the lack of transparency in donations to outside groups, which can accept unlimited sums of money, and have played an increasingly overarching role in politics since the floodgates were opened following a 2010 Supreme Court ruling. 
 
 "I think it should be unlimited contributions and 48-hour notification of every contribution you accept so that so if someone wants to write be a $100,000 check for my campaign, great, take it, but 48-hours later, everybody who has access to the internet is going to that Mr. Smith gave me $100,000," he said. 
 
 "And if all of sudden, I start talking in a way after that's really favorable to Mr. Smith's business, well then you're going to know that my price was $100,000." 
 
 Christie's comments came at a town-hall meeting in response to a student's question concerning a recent Supreme Court decision. That 5-4 ruling by the high court eliminated limits on how much money people can donate in total in one election season - as much money as desired to federal election candidates across the country, as long as no candidate receives more than the $5,200 cap. 
 
 Critics say the ruling further undermines already weakened campaign finance laws. 
 
 As Christie noted to the audience, his views on campaign finance haven't wavered over the years but, his national attention as a potential 2016 GOP candidate for the White House and position as head of the Republican Governor's Association, give new context to the governor's long-held belief against limiting contributions. 
 
 Christie recently made a trip to Las Vegas to court high-profile Republican donors, like Sheldon Adelson, the casino magnet who dumped tens of millions of dollars into GOP presidential campaigns in 2012. 
 
 Chris Christie the $33 million man 
 
 Christie's comments also come five months after he took over as chairman of the RGA, the group charged with fundraising for and electing GOP candidates in gubernatorial contests. Since taking over the committee, Christie has helped the group raise a whopping $33 million - success made all the more notable given the ongoing George Washington Bridge controversy, which has tainted his administration and sparked a major drop in his approval ratings in both national and New Jersey polls. 
 
 CNN Political Editor Paul Steinhauser contributed to this story
– Money and politics are inseparable, so unlimited donations might as well be allowed—given that donors are transparent, said Chris Christie at a town-hall meeting yesterday. Asked about the Supreme Court's recent decision on campaign cash, the governor called it "ridiculous" to set limits. "I think it should be unlimited contributions and 48-hour notification of every contribution you accept—so that if someone wants to write a $100,000 check for my campaign, great," he added, per CNN. "But 48 hours later, everybody who has access to the Internet is going to know that Mr. Smith gave me $100,000," he said. "And if, all of a sudden, I start talking in a way that's really favorable to Mr. Smith's business, well then, you're going to know that my price was $100,000." After all, "You are never going to keep money out of politics … so let's add transparency to it," he said, via the Star-Ledger.