Volcker Sees Hidden Peril in State Budgets

[cpzilliacus]

This is mostly about state government budgets in general, but there is some discussion of highway-relevant money issues as well.

N.Y. Times: Volcker Sees Hidden Peril in State Budgets

In contrast to California, New Jersey is still producing structural imbalances, according to the report. It has been struggling from year to year by, among other things, taking money out of special dedicated funds and spending it on unrelated activities.

For instance, the state has raided hundreds of millions of dollars in toll revenue from the New Jersey Turnpike Authority and used the money to pay for the day-to-day operations of New Jersey Transit. The toll money was supposed to pay for highway construction and maintenance, not mass transit.

New Jersey also removed $1.8 billion from the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey that was saved when Gov. Chris Christie canceled a project to expand the aging tunnels that link New Jersey with Manhattan. Instead, the money was used on road projects in New Jersey. Mr. Volcker noted that the $1.8 billion would be exhausted by 2016 and New Jersey had yet to identify a new revenue source to replace it.