July 01, 2016
Nati Harnik/AP
Then-Republican presidential candidate New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie speaks during a campaign event at the Glory Days Sports Bar and Grill in Council Bluffs, Iowa, Friday, Oct. 30, 2015.
New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie issued an executive order late Thursday halting all state and municipal roadwork supported by the Transportation Trust Fund amid the state Senate's inaction on his gas tax proposal.
“The Senate's inaction ignored the benefits the package would bring to the overburdened taxpayers of New Jersey," Christie said in a statement published by NJ.com. "The Senate's inaction also ignored New Jersey's necessary transportation infrastructure improvements…”
The bill would have raised the gas tax by 23 cents a gallon and cut the sales tax by 1 cent, changes that were tied to an effort to extend funding for the state Transportation Trust Fund's borrowing authority, which runs out as of today, Friday.
RELATED: No vote on gas hike set in New Jersey senate
On Thursday, after 11 p.m., Christie declared a state of emergency and ordered state officials to plan a shutdown of all ongoing work paid for by the Transportation Trust Fund, NJ.com said.
Work supported by the fund can only resume if deemed essential for "the protection of the health, safety and welfare" of the public, it noted.
Read more at NJ.com.
