The governor hinted in his speech that he would not let the Legislature rest until he was satisfied members had addressed the issue. His call for a July 3 session came late Thursday. On Wednesday, he called for a special session to convene Friday. He has no legal authority to dictate the Legislature's agenda.
Christie said that he was offering lawmakers a choice of a constitutional cap or a 2.5 percent statutory cap, but that inaction was not an option.
"We will work every day until we do one or the other," Christie said. "We cannot take a vacation when our citizens get no vacation from escalating property taxes. We do not deserve a break when these taxes are breaking the backs of our families. We cannot leave this town for the summer and leave our citizens with an ever-growing property-tax bill to pay because we refused to act."
The Legislature typically breaks for summer recess after the budget is adopted, but legislative leaders already had pledged to continue working through the summer on property-tax changes.
Christie previously proposed a 33-bill property-tax "tool kit," the centerpiece of which was a constitutional amendment capping property-tax increases at 2.5 percent annually, with an exemption for debt service. Under the governor's original proposal, the cap could be overridden by 60 percent of those voting on the issue.
Democrats, under the leadership of Senate President Stephen Sweeney, of Gloucester County, responded to the 2.5 percent cap with a counterproposal of a statutory 2.9 percent cap with several exceptions, including loss of state aid, health-care costs, and pensions. There was no provision for a voter override of the cap under the Democrats' proposal because, they argue, over time, it would exacerbate differences between wealthier towns and poorer ones.
