New Jersey lawmakers are rushing ahead with a bill that would boost retirement benefits for their colleagues as they plan votes on a budget that likely means a state government shutdown, all while the pension system remains one of the nation's most troubled.
Who would get the pension perk is not exactly clear. How much they get and how much it would ultimately cost taxpayers are also questions lawmakers are not answering.
If they do go ahead with the pension boost, it would be the second time this year that lawmakers agreed to increase benefits for one of their own.
The proposed bill would be an extension, lawmakers say, of a measure signed earlier this year by former Gov. Chris Christie, a Republican, which seemed to primarily benefit his ally and former Camden Mayor Dana Redd, a Democrat.
Under the proposed measure, which was advanced by the Assembly budget committee Monday, an elected official could submit a written request to re-enroll for Public Employee Retirement System benefits if the official had been removed from the system as a result of a 2007 law.