Free Republic

Financially strapped New Jersey hospitals spent $3.7 million on lob bying lawmakers and state officials last year in a mad scramble for special grants doled out at the end of the state budget process. The lobbying tab for the hospitals is nearly twice what it was just five years earlier as competition heated up for the grants, which were made at the discretion of lawmakers and the governor's office. Part of Trenton's controversial "Christmas tree" items, the discretionary grants to hospitals totaled $112 million last year -- a huge increase from the $6 million handed out by lawmakers in 2001....

N.J. legislators poised to pass a budget earlyDemocrats who hold sway see no major obstacles to Gov. McGreevey's proposed $27.1 billion plan.By Mitch Lipka and Kaitlin GurneyInquirer Trenton BureauTRENTON - The Democrats are in charge in the capital and they want to show New Jersey what they can do when there are no obstacles - Republicans - in their path.Just a year after an embarrassing budget-deadline-night negotiation that drifted well into the following day, the now Democrat-dominated Legislature is ambling toward the unusual event of passing a budget early.Rest assured, that doesn't mean everyone agrees on Gov. McGreevey's proposed...

Former New Jersey Gov. Brendan Byrne has often joked that he wants to be buried in north Jersey because ''that way I can stay active in politics.'' Of course, dead people can't really vote, but it's a running joke that underscores New Jersey's rough-and-tumble political image. Ghostly voters aside, the Garden State has become ensnared in another political corruption inquiry. The latest investigation into possible political misconduct is one of the biggest ever. Federal agents have delivered grand jury subpoenas to every key state official, all the way up to Democratic Gov. Jon S. Corzine. ''Even for a state that...

The top Federal law enforcement official in the Garden State has announced the arrests of 14 public officials in Paterson and Passaic - on corruption charges. U.S. Attorney for New Jersey Chris Christie says the case demonstrates how widespread corruption has become in our State. "We're talking about people in the lowest levels in government" says Christie, "people who exist in a governmental culture which gives them the sense that this type of conduct is permissible." He points out there have been many recent cases involving high-profile Jersey politicians being arrested for corruption, and "that conduct by the leaders of...

It's been a whirlwind two weeks as the U-S Attorney's Office collects documents related to state Senator Wayne Bryant, and his influence over the New Jersey budget. Subpoenas are flying. Legislators are being questioned. Republicans are crying foul. And Democrats are calling for cooler heads. Legislative leaders in both political parties and staff offices, the Treasury Department and the Office of Legislative Services have received subpoenas. The inquiry is apparently about how state money is directed and spent. It stems from an allegation by a federal monitor overseeing the finances of the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey....

For nearly an hour-and-a-half yesterday, the U.S. Attorney's Office and the non-partisan research arm of New Jersey Legislature squared off in federal court over records federal prosecutors reportedly want as part of a widening probe into political corruption. The Office of Legislative Services (OLS), also the legal arm of the legislature, claims the documents are confidential and has refused to release them. Newark attorney Edward Dauber, hired to represent the Legislature to contest the federal subpoena offered no comment upon exiting Judge Mary Cooper's court room. Dauber is a former assistant U.S. Attorney and has served as the executive assistant...

Although an official with Chris Christie's office will neither confirm nor deny it, the U.S. Attorney's Office and the non-partisan research arm of New Jersey Legislature are set to square off in federal court today over records federal prosecutors reportedly want as part of a widening probe into political corruption. The Office of Legislative Services (OLS), also the legal arm of the legislature, claims the documents are confidential and has refused to release them. The investigation is said to be focusing on more than $270 million in last-minute State Budget add-ons, commonly known as "pork," or "Christmas tree items." The...

The U-S Attorney's Office and the New Jersey Legislature are set to square off in federal court tomorrow over records federal prosecutors want as part of a far-reaching political corruption investigation. The Legislature's legal arm considers the documents confidential and has refused to release them. The Star-Ledger of Newark reports that U-S Attorney Christopher Christie has subpoenaed internal memos, e-mails and other documents that the Legislature generates while drafting the annual state budget. The documents are being sought as part of an investigation into whether any elected officials improperly directed money to certain pet organizations. The current 30-point-eight (b) billion...

U.S. Attorney Christopher Christie and state lawmakers are locked in a secret legal battle over his attempts to launch a wide-ranging investigation of the New Jersey Legislature. (snip) The Legislature's awarding of millions in state grants with little oversight has been drawing increasing attention. This type of spending -- known in New Jersey as "Christmas tree items" -- more than doubled in the past five years, to nearly $350 million. (snip) The subpoena grew out of a criminal probe of Sen. Wayne Bryant (D-Camden), one of the Legislature's most influential members and former chairman of the powerful Senate budget committee....