New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie won some key reforms this year including legislation requiring state and local workers to contribute more to their health care and pension costs. But places like the Garden State where unions have wielded legislative influence for years require substantial reform, and Christie and his team are outlining a series of additional changes that the state needs to do to help restore state and local governments to fiscal stability.
The governor's agenda includes sick pay reform, which would phase out the practice of distributing cash payouts for unused sick days for government workers and require that an employee obtain a physician's note when taking more than six consecutive sick days. The governor is hoping to grab control of whopping sick days payouts, including an estimated $825 million in accumulated sick and vacation day liabilities for municipalities in the state.
The governor is also angling for civil service reform that would give municipalities the ability to opt out of the state system and allow local governments to institute temporary layoffs in fiscal crises. And the governor's proposed education reforms would establish a new tenure system for teachers based on their effectiveness in the classroom and would mandate that school districts lay off teachers based quality ratings, not on seniority.
Christie continues to struggle with the state legislature over these issues, and he's acknowledged that there is much more to do to "fix a broken Jersey." Still, his reforms so far earn high marks from a key constituency, business executives. A recent poll of Jersey's business leaders showed a substantial increase in those who gave state government a favorable rating on its ability to control costs compared to just two years ago, as the chart below shows.
The governor is also angling for civil service reform that would give municipalities the ability to opt out of the state system and allow local governments to institute temporary layoffs in fiscal crises. And the governor's proposed education reforms would establish a new tenure system for teachers based on their effectiveness in the classroom and would mandate that school districts lay off teachers based quality ratings, not on seniority.
Christie continues to struggle with the state legislature over these issues, and he's acknowledged that there is much more to do to "fix a broken Jersey." Still, his reforms so far earn high marks from a key constituency, business executives. A recent poll of Jersey's business leaders showed a substantial increase in those who gave state government a favorable rating on its ability to control costs compared to just two years ago, as the chart below shows.
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