Assemblyman Steve Corodemus

CORODEMUS WELCOMES HEARINGS ON PROPERTY TAX REFORM, BUT SAYS TAXPAYERS DESERVE RELIEF NOW

REPUBLICAN BILLS MUST BE CONSIDERED AS PART OF PROCESS
June 6, 2006
Assemblyman Steve Corodemus/732-708-0900
Assembly Republican Office/609-292-5339

CORODEMUS WELCOMES HEARINGS ON PROPERTY TAX REFORM, BUT SAYS TAXPAYERS DESERVE RELIEF NOW

REPUBLICAN BILLS MUST BE CONSIDERED AS PART OF PROCESS

Assemblyman Steve Corodemus today welcomed the announcement by Assembly Speaker Joseph Roberts and Senate President Richard Codey that legislative committees will be appointed to study property tax issues this summer, but said taxpayers should not be asked to wait another two years for relief and noted that the committees will only be productive if all proposals are given fair consideration.

"Assembly Speaker Roberts and Senate President Codey are to be commended for their decision to work during the summer on this difficult issue," said Corodemus, R-Monmouth. "It is encouraging that after five years in power the Democrat leadership in the Legislature has finally decided to tackle the issue of property tax reform.

"But for this process to be successful, the Democrats must be committed to giving all proposals -- including Republican bills -- a fair hearing," Corodemus added. "And just as importantly, they must be committed to coming up with a plan of attack that will provide tax relief to homeowners now -- not at some undetermined date in the future."

Corodemus is the chairman of the Assembly Republican Policy Committee, a panel that held a series of meetings over the past two years studying the property tax reform issue. As a result of the policy committee's work, Republicans unveiled a package of bills last year that were designed to provide immediate property tax relief for New Jersey homeowners.

"The Assembly Republican Blueprint for Property Tax Reform was an ambitious package of legislative initiatives that would have directly lowered property tax bills while helping to curb government spending," Corodemus said. "Most of these bills have not been given a committee hearing to date and hopefully they will be considered as part of this new process."

Corodemus cautioned that New Jersey taxpayers will not be satisfied by any process that does not result in immediate relief from soaring property tax bills.

He noted that a task force already met to study the issue of a constitutional convention last year and because of various concerns with the idea -- including the fact that it would not have addressed crucial government spending issues -- no proposal was ever put on the ballot.

"After five years of skyrocketing property tax bills, the people of New Jersey will accept nothing less than immediate relief as a result of this process," Corodemus said. "If these committees conclude with nothing more than a pledge to hold a constitutional convention that can’t create a solution for another two-to-three years, the people will judge it a failure."

Corodemus said he is hopeful that this process, with bipartisan cooperation, will yield results for the state’s beleaguered property taxpayers.

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