New Jersey Shutdown Enters Day 3 As Christie Roasted For “A Day At The Beach”

NJ beaches are open in 119 of our our 130 miles of coastline. Come and enjoy them–but use sunscreen and hydrate! pic.twitter.com/7LeCYcjZqm
— Governor Christie (@GovChristie) July 3, 2017

The New Jersey government shutdown and state of emergency entered its third day, as lawmakers failed to approve a budget for fiscal 2018.
As reported on Saturday, as many as 35,000 state workers remained furloughed and governor Christie has said they will not be paid for time off once the stalemate ends. Various non-emergency services such as motor-vehicle offices, courts, parks and ferries were closed, while essential state services including state police, New Jersey Transit bus and rail and welfare services, were operating. New Jersey is one of nearly a dozen states states that is scrambling to enact a spending budget for the fiscal year end, even as the local legislature appears deadlocked over any potential compromise.
According to Bloomberg, NJ Senate President Stephen Sweeney, a Democrat, told reporters in Trenton that he didn’t expect budget votes in either house Monday. As discussed previously, the impasse is due to the refusal by Assembly Speaker Vincent Prieto, also a Democrat, to post a bill compelling Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey to give the state $300 million annually from its surplus account. Horizon, which administers the state’s Medicaid contract, has said the company’s $2.5 billion cushion is a safety net while Christie has said it’s excessive for a private not-for-profit health insurer that grew on taxpayer funding. This may be one of the rare occasions in US history in which a Democrat is defending a major corporation from being overtaxed, while a Republican is doing the opposite.
And while the NJ governor has vowed not to sign a budget unless the Horizon bill also comes to his desk, on Monday Chris Christie had bigger problems. As Christie ordered special legislative sessions over the weekend, and again today, yesterday an aircraft of the news site NJ.com photographed the governor and his family as they relaxed at Island Beach State Park outside a vacation home owned by the state for the governor’s use.

This post was published at Zero Hedge on Jul 3, 2017.