Assemblywoman Nellie Pou

POU STATEMENT AT BENEFITS REFORM PANEL'S FIRST PUBLIC HEARING

(TRENTON) - Below are remarks prepared for delivery this evening by Assemblywoman Nellie Pou (D-Passaic), co-chair of the Joint Legislative Committee on Public Employee Benefits Reform:News from
Assemblywoman Pou

For Release:
September 19, 2006

Contact:
Assemblywoman Pou
(973) 247-1555
James Sverapa IV
(609) 292-7065

POU STATEMENT AT BENEFITS REFORM PANEL'S FIRST PUBLIC HEARING

(TRENTON) - Below are remarks prepared for delivery this evening by Assemblywoman Nellie Pou (D-Passaic), co-chair of the Joint Legislative Committee on Public Employee Benefits Reform:

As one of the co-chairs of the Joint Committee on Public Employee Benefits Reform, it is my privilege to welcome everyone to this panel's first public hearing in the City of Clifton.

As a Passaic County resident, I am particularly pleased that this site was chosen to host the first public comment hearing for the Legislature's special session on property tax reform.

It is reassuring to see so many people taking advantage of this opportunity to express their opinions and insights.

For those of you not familiar with our committee, I want to offer some background about the work we have been doing.

This panel is one of four joint committees that are working to reduce the property tax burden of New Jersey residents.

The enabling legislation for this landmark special session on property taxes directs this committee to examine the following issue areas:

- Abusive practices in the state's pension and benefits systems;
- Potential cost controls for public employee retirement plans, health care and other benefits;
- And, finally, any other reform approaches we may happen to identify during this process.

It is this committee's intent to identify reform approaches that will produce savings for taxpayers while respecting the years of service provided by public employees at the state and local levels.

We're interested in achieving savings, not scapegoating employees and retirees.

To that end, we have heard from experts on the current status of our state pensions and health benefits systems.

We have heard expert testimony on what will work in our state and what may not work.

We have been given legal opinions to help shape the direction this committee takes when it begins the process of making legislative recommendations.

We have researched what has been done in other states to see if proposals implemented elsewhere will work in New Jersey.

Now, we are seeking the public's input and, by extension, input from local officials who are on the front lines of government - dealing directly with the general public.

Testimony from both residents and local officials will afford this committee an enhanced perspective on how pensions and benefits affect property taxes.

As I've said since day one, we must be willing to examine all options and take into account all considerations.

Before we start taking testimony, there are a few procedural points and ground rules I wish to share:

First, the public is encouraged to limit testimony to ideas about reforming public pension or benefits.

Second, I would ask committee members to strictly limit their questioning and interrupt only when necessary to clarify a point being made in testimony. This will help ensure ample time for public comment.

Likewise, individuals providing public testimony are urged to adhere to a five-minute time limit we have established, as there are a lot of people who want to be heard tonight.

Finally, if you have submitted written testimony, we ask that you do not read it back to us verbatim. A summary of the main points will suffice for the meeting record.

Please be mindful that this event is being recorded by the nonpartisan Office of Legislative Services and later will be made available as part of the public record via the Web site that was created for this special session process.

That site may be accessed at the following address: www.njleg.state.nj.us/PropertyTaxSession/specialsessionpt.asp

At this point, I would like to recognize my co-chair, Senator Scutari, for any remarks he may have, and after that, we will open the meeting to public comment. Senator?

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