Christie signs 2016 budget, but issues go unresolved

TRENTON, N.J. (AP) — Four days before he's expected to launch his presidential campaign, Republican Gov. Chris Christie signed a $33.8 billion budget Friday that provides New Jersey some stability but leaves unresolved how the state will pay for the public pension, fund a school-aid formula and replenish a transportation trust fund facing insolvency.

Christie used his veto pen to strip more than $1.6 billion from the 2016 budget approved by the Democrat-controlled Legislature and hailed the spending plan as a balanced budget that outlays $2.3 billion less than in 2008, before he came into office.

[...] in one budget surprise, Christie is proposing an increase in the earned income tax credit, which helps low-income residents.

"Failing to make the required payments increases the unfunded liability, threatens the viability of the pension system, and is regarded negatively by the bond rating agencies," said Senate President Steve Sweeney.

Christie acknowledges the system is on an unsustainable course but wants reforms to go further than they did in 2011 when pension beneficiaries increased their payments and lost a share of their cost-of-living adjustments.

Republicans argue that the money was never included in previous budgets because of financial constraints so it doesn't make sense to say, as some Democrats do, that the 2016 budget slashed school funds.