At a cost last year of $1.1 billion, rebates form one of the largest pools of money in the budget. Lawmakers in both parties have said privately for weeks they expect cuts to the program.
Rebates are one of the most tangible ways state government tries to offset New Jersey's high local property taxes, which average nearly $7,300. The program is so large and costly, though, that it is a prime target for governors seeking spending cuts.
"You can't bring the budget into balance without looking at it," said an administration source who spoke on the condition of anonymity.
Last year, the program was scheduled to send 510,000 homeowners younger than 65 checks averaging $900 or $670, depending on income. For 500,000 senior-citizen homeowners, the rebates were larger, averaging $760 or $1,300.
The rebates have proven to be political flash points in recent years with resistance to cuts from lawmakers of both parties.
But some critics, mostly outside government, have derided the program as a gimmick that uses sales and income-tax revenue to send out politically popular checks under the heading of property tax relief.
Former Gov. Richard J. Codey proposed suspending the program for everyone but senior citizens in 2005 and settled for a scaled-back version. Former Gov. Jon S. Corzine reduced rebates in three of his four budgets.
Last year he, too, proposed ending the rebates for everyone except senior citizens, until a tax amnesty program provided a last-minute boost.
When Corzine first proposed the deepest of his cuts, candidate Christie called the reduction "a declaration of war on the middle class."
On the campaign trail, Christie promised to restore rebates: "The last thing Chris will do is to follow Corzine's lead in eliminating property tax rebates for 1.2 million New Jerseyans," his campaign Web site read. In the final days of the race, though, he conceded that full restoration might not be possible this year.
