Gov. Chris Christie says that he’s begun talks with several of the state’s public employee unions about his proposal to dedicate all lottery revenues to employee pensions, but that he also hopes to get them to agree to additional reforms.
Christie revealed the talks while speaking to reporters at the reopened Mid-State Correctional Facility on Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst. He said he hopes to unveil a package of legislation in May that includes a bill to move lottery revenues to the pensions, as well as additional reforms to help shore up the pension systems.
He described it as his last chance to address the pension problem, which has been blamed for 11 credit downgrades during his two terms.