Christie Faces Need for Tax With N.J. Roads Fund Empty

Bloomberg: Republican Governor Chris Christie, who’s opposed raising New Jersey’s gasoline tax even as the roadwork fund runs dry, put a Democrat in charge of state transportation spending and says he’s open to all options for replenishing the pool.

That’s emboldening proponents of raising the tax, the second-lowest in the U.S., as fuel prices sink to a 21-month low. Christie pledged in 2011 to use more cash and less debt for highway and bridge repairs. Instead, as state revenue came up short of forecasts, he put no money into the transportation fund for three years and borrowed $1 billion more than promised to keep it alive.

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