TRENTON – Governor Jon S. Corzine today commended voters across New Jersey for their overwhelming approval of the amendment to limit state borrowing in yesterday’s historic election.

“I am very pleased to see one of the pillars of the financial restructuring and debt reduction initiative be embraced by the public,” Governor Corzine said. “This ballot initiative will give voters more control over state debt and is an important step in the ongoing process of restoring fiscal responsibility to the State’s finances.”

The Governor had previously identified the increased voter approval on debt as an important piece of the overall efforts to put New Jersey’s finances back on the right track.  The amendment to the State Constitution will take effect 30 days after Election Day, on December 4, 2008.

“We appreciate the legislative efforts of Senator Lesniak and Senator Lance in sponsoring the amendment,” said Governor Corzine.  “Following the steps taken with this year’s budget, this amendment is a critical component towards the continued improvement of New Jersey’s fiscal future.  The voters’ overwhelming approval of this ballot initiative speaks to their clear recognition of the task that remains.”

Along with putting aside $650 million to begin paying down the State’s debt, Governor Corzine’s FY ‘09 budget also contained nearly $3 billion reduction in baseline spending and $600 million in absolute terms; reduced the overall size of government through early retirement and attrition; cut the operating budgets of every state department by an average of five percent and eliminated altogether the Department of Personnel and the Commerce Commission.

The public’s acceptance of this amendment also complements Governor Corzine’s Executive Order No. 103, which requires that in all future budgets, recurring expenses must match recurring revenues. 

These actions were closely followed by all three Wall Street ratings agencies issuing ratings reports highlighting the State’s progress toward restoring fiscal stability, restoring structural balance to the budget and easing the debt burden on State finances.