Gov. Christie vetoes are designed to cut down on 'red tape' (power grab)

[DainBramaged]

Spending wasn’t the only thing Gov. Chris Christie slashed last week. With a handful of vetoes he stripped the Legislature of its formal oversight powers regarding a number of programs while easing restrictions on his own office and the agencies run by his cabinet.

As Christie put it, he scrapped "unnecessary and burdensome" paperwork requirements in the name of good governance. To Democrats and political analysts, however, it was a power grab from a chief executive determined to suppress the other branches of government.

"The governor has made no bones about not liking the Legislature’s oversight capability, and the budget’s fine print shows it," said Derek Roseman, the spokesman for Senate President Stephen Sweeney (D-Gloucester).

In one instance, the Department of Corrections will no longer be required to submit reports about its drug rehabilitation programs for prison inmates, nor will it have to brief lawmakers on its educational programs. Those accountability measures proposed by Democrats were excised just as Christie cut $3.5 million in health care for inmates with a separate veto, though a corrections spokeswoman said treatment of prisoners would not be jeopardized.

http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2011/07/govchristie_budget_cuts_slashe.html