A New Jersey lawmaker wants to prevent the public from being inconvenienced if the state doesn't enact a budget on time.
Legislation introduced by Senator Jeff Van Drew calls for motor vehicle agencies, state parks and beaches to remain open for up to ten days if a budget isn't complete by the end of June deadline.
He wants to prevent a recurrence of the public outcry this summer because a deadlock in enacting a new budget forced state beaches and parks to close for three days.
"People are working awful hard, especially in New Jersey. I mean they're being taxed, tolled, feed, charged. They're paying a lot of money out of their pockets. So when they finally get to the point that maybe they can go to a beach or a park and take a breather and maybe relax for a few minutes or hopefully a couple of days, they shouldn't be closed."
Van Drew says keeping those facilities open would also prevent the state from losing some revenue.
“It hurts revenues in the state because when they’re not open, people buy less in New Jersey, they will come less to New Jersey, they will spend less in New Jersey, and we don’t want to see that happen.”
Van Drew is optimistic the legislation will be approved.
“I think there’s a real good chance that some form of this bill will be enacted. I’m going to push for this session. If it’s not done in this session, I would think it would be done in the beginning of the next session.”