"As the Legislature awaits the Governor's Executive State Budget, his indication today that agency consolidation and other efforts will be included are a good start.  I will personally be urging the Governor and the Division of Budget, as well as working closely with them in the months ahead, to go much, much further. While today's proposals start the discussion, they are nowhere near the comprehensive budget reforms I believe that we as a state must adopt to ensure long-term fiscal responsibility.

Through my Select Committee on Budget and Tax Reform, we are opening the discussion on structural reforms to the state budget which go further than anyone in state government has ever seriously considered before, including changing the state's fiscal year, exploring the adoption of a two-year budget, and the establishment of a non-partisan Legislative Budget Office.

Budget Reform is not an easy discussion to have and that's why it has so rarely been taken up for serious public consideration. However, I fundamentally believe that we need to dig deep and go further than what is currently on the table. I look forward to working with my colleagues in the Senate and the Assembly, as well as the Governor to explore structural changes to the State Budget in the years ahead."

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