Christie
joins Scott in accepting Obamacare. Funny how the reason he uses is that it'll decrease the state's deficit, huh?
Gov. Chris Christie will expand the state's Medicaid program to cover 300,000 uninsured New Jersey residents, The Star-Ledger learned today.
The governor's new budget, which he plans to unveil at joint session of the Legislature this afternoon, also relies on state revenue growth of 4.9 percent and delays some property tax rebates for local taxpayers, according to three sources with knowledge of the budget plan who spoke on the condition of anonymity.
The governor's revenue forecast this year is a much smaller jump than the optimistic 8 percent growth of last year, a goal he has not met.
The sources also said Christie would call for the delay of some property tax relief funds from this spring to this summer, a tactic that could give him some much-needed breathing room to close a $473 million budget shortfall by deferring the cost to the next fiscal year.
The governor 's office has not released details of the budget, but state officials were briefed on his plans this morning. He is expected to provide details later today as well as lay out a roadmap for financing a huge rebuilding effort after Hurricane Sandy.
Spokesmen for Christie did not respond to a request for comment.
As for his decision to expand Medicaid, the Republican governor, a critic of President Obama's Affordable Care Act, could reap up to $300 million by expanding the state program in the coming budget year.
