Platform for Progress Gubernatorial Campaign Pledges

Jon Corzine (D)

In order to balance the budget, some people say the state should hold the line on spending even if programs are reduced. Others say to balance the budget the state should raise taxes if necessary and continue to support state programs. Which position comes closest to your view?

We need to change the way we look at these issues. In March, I outlined a comprehensive fiscal and economic development plan to replace the failed tax, borrow, and spend framework of the past with a new paradigm of invest, grow, and prosper. Details are available on my website. 

If I am elected Governor, I will make economic development a top priority so we can grow New Jersey’s economy and create thousands of new jobs, which in turn will generate hundreds of millions of dollars in new revenues without new taxes. 

I also will transform how we look at government spending by instituting outcome-based budgeting, where programs are scored based on their effectiveness, and those that don’t deliver results are eliminated. 

Further, I will take aggressive action to eliminate wasteful spending and manage government more effectively, through such steps as consolidating the purchasing of prescription drugs by state agencies and maximizing use of common technology platforms

Having led one of the world’s largest financial firms, where I worked with hundreds of companies and dozens of domestic and foreign governments, I know what businesses need to grow and that government can be a catalyst for growth. 

If I am elected, I will bring that expertise to bear and will be personally and actively involved in efforts to bring businesses to New Jersey and encourage those already here to expand in New Jersey. Before deciding how to proceed with the programs currently in place, I will review each program to make sure we are getting the best results for our investment. 

I also will make sure that we bring greater coordination and strategic planning to our business expansion and retention efforts.

I strongly support professional development of teachers and other educational support professionals. New Jersey has a lot of great teachers and we need more. 

If elected, I plan to work with teachers to conduct outreach and education on the need for professional development, including increasing the number of national certified teachers. 

I also plan to provide a $5,000 loan forgiveness program for high need sectors, including math and science teachers.

I plan on releasing a comprehensive education plan in September that will ensure that all students are challenged and are given the skills and knowledge needed to get ahead in college and their careers. 

We need to ensure that our elementary, middle and high school curriculum is aligned with the skills and knowledge that will make our students successful in college, in jobs and in life.

I support challenging all students, including our advanced students. We must raise the bar in terms of our expectations and ensure we have the programs to achieve these goals. I also support expanding the use of AP coursework and offering new options, such as pre-engineering as an elective.

As a former businessman, I understand the need for business to have a positive regulatory climate to grow. 

I think New Jersey’s successful and growing economy combined with strong environmental laws has demonstrated that environmental protection and economic growth are not mutually exclusive goals. 

I will build upon this legacy with initiatives like investing in renewable energy that will create jobs and result in new technologies to reduce the cost of energy for all New Jersey businesses. 

As to the question of general permits, I do not have enough information to respond to the question, but I would be willing to review the details of your proposal at a later time.

I support maintaining and improving our water supply infrastructure and protecting the Highlands. I was proud to secure $110 million in federal funding for Highlands open space preservation. 

I would find other means of supporting these programs, rather than creating a water tax.

I believe strongly in the benefits of consolidation and will work aggressively to consolidate state government functions whenever practical. 

To bring those same benefits to the local level, I will work with county and local governments and school districts to create incentives for shared services, consolidated or regional approaches to delivering government services, and greater use of leveraged purchasing power.

Those who have abused the public trust and have been convicted of a crime involving their office should forfeit their pension and retirement benefits. 

If our current laws, which allow pension boards to impose this sanction, are not adequate, I would support strengthening those laws.

I am a strong supporter of efforts to make funds available to help health care providers implement quality measurements designed to reduce medical errors.

Medical error reduction is something that must be done in New Jersey to improve the quality of health care. An investment in health care quality improvements will lead to a reduction in unnecessary administrative costs and allow our health care system to grow and prosper. Nationally, anesthesiologists reduced medical errors themselves by implementing special medical practice standards a number of years ago. As a result, that group’s medical liability insurance premiums have not increased as dramatically as have those for physicians in other specialties and subspecialties.

The Center for Information Technology estimates that approximately 20 percent of medical tests are ordered a second time simply because previous results cannot be found. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services estimates that the national health information network can save approximately $140 billion annually by improving care, reducing medical errors, and eliminating duplicative tests.

In my health care plan, I will require health insurance plans participating in any State-subsidized health plan to have 95 percent automation and connectivity for all HIPAA transactions by all payers and providers within three years. I will also build an Electronic Data Information (EDI) network that would handle: electronic claims submission, plan eligibility determination, payment and remittance advice, health claim status determination, and delivery of referrals and authorizations.

In 2003, it was estimated that there were approximately 1,316 to 2,930 preventable deaths due to medical errors in New Jersey. These are errors that could be significantly lowered if the health care industry implemented nationally recognized quality measures and technology upgrades.

The Platform for Progress campaign believes government should play a role in helping to provide financing for high cost technology items that could reduce medical errors and save lives. This financial assistance should go hand in hand with the adoption of national standards such as Leap Frog or other standards that serve to reduce the high rate of medical errors.

We must reduce health care costs. All options need to be on the table, including whether New Jersey insurance companies should offer a "mandate-free" or "mandate-lite" insurance product. While all mandates are well-intentioned, their collective impact can price many New Jerseyans out of the health insurance market.

As we conduct this review, I believe some other benefits should be considered, such as mental health parity of which I am a co-sponsor in the U.S. Senate.

I am a strong supporter of efforts to "pool" or bulk purchasing. It is an essential ingredient to leveraging the purchasing power of state and private entities. In my health care plan I outlined a proposal that would help small businesses offer affordable health care to their employees. 

My New Jersey Small Business Health Alliance plan would:

1. Create regional (North and South Jersey) "stop-loss" purchasing pools;

2. In the first year provide: Open enrollment to firms with 25 employees; Benefits for employers who have not offered insurance in the last year; and That firms with five or less employees must have full employee participation;

3. Provide benefits for an estimated 40,678 individuals in the first year; and

My health care plan also contains a proposal that would improve the ability of small businesses to offer basic benefits. I will help small businesses seek regulatory relief by:

Allowing small employers to design their own plans rather than the State’s mandated "one size-fits-all" approach and reduce the number of different plans that the State mandates that businesses offer;

Requiring that insurance companies offer one plan with monthly payments that are no more than 20 percent of an average worker’s salary;

Eliminating barriers that stop small businesses from offering health care to their employees including a State requirement that 75 percent of employees are enrolled in health care plans; and

Allowing small employers to take advantage of Health Savings Accounts that are set up to pay the current and future medical expenses of people who are covered by high-deductible plans.

Do you support or oppose an increase in the gas tax dedicated to replenish the Transportation Trust Fund?

A world class transportation system is vital to New Jersey’s economic future, and we must ensure that we have adequate funding to pay for necessary repairs and upgrades.  However, given the recent spike in oil and gas prices that is squeezing family budgets, we must find other alternatives to raising the gas tax, which must be our absolute last resort. 

First, we need to reform the Transportation Trust Fund, which has been mismanaged for a decade. I will end the practice of raiding the Trust Fund to pay for operating costs. My administration will fund transportation projects based on the needs of New Jersey drivers and rail passengers, not the needs of politicians. And we need an elected state comptroller who will oversee the management of the Fund to ensure that is it no longer abused.

We must also explore new funding options such as repositioning assets, including state-owned land adjacent to train stations and major state highways, to allow us to make critical transportation investments. One thing is for sure: I will not let Washington keep $1.3 billion of our tax dollars that are supposed to fund transportation improvements because we couldn’t come up with the matching state funds.

Given our transportation funding crisis, I believe we must explore options such as repositioning assets like the Turnpike.

Corzine: 

N/A

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