New Jersey’s $2.2 billion state of fiscal emergency

Chris Christie declares fiscal ‘state of emergency,’ paving way for N.J. spending cuts.

Along with eliminating programs “that sounded good in theory but failed in practice” across state departments, Christie is cutting $475 million in aid to school districts, $62 million in aid to colleges and $12 million to hospital charity care. He is pulling all funding from the department of Public Advocate, a longtime Republican target, and folding its functions into other parts of government. He is cutting state subsidies for NJ Transit, a move Christie said could lead to higher fares or reduced services but would force the agency to become “more efficient and effective.”