New Jersey would close its centralized car inspection lanes and motorists would pay for their own emissions tests under a sweeping set of recommendations set to be released by the Christie administration today.
State parks, psychiatric hospitals and even turnpike toll booths could also be run by private operators, according to the 57-page report on privatization obtained by The Star-Ledger. Preschool classrooms would no longer be built at public expense, state employees would pay for parking and private vendors would dish out food, deliver health care and run education programs behind prison walls.
All told, the report says, New Jersey could save at least $210 million a year by delivering an array of services through private hands.
"The question has to be, 'Why do you continue to operate in a manner that's more costly and less effective?' rather than, 'Why change?' " said Richard Zimmer, the former Republican congressman who chaired the task force.
It is unclear how many of the recommendations will be adopted by Governor Christie, who commissioned the report in March. Christie's spokesman declined comment Thursday.
But the car inspection proposal is sure to stir up controversy in a state with a tortured history of privatizing emissions testing.
The report says that beginning next July, "New Jersey should withdraw entirely from direct participation in the vehicle inspection process." Before then, the state would develop a plan to certify service stations and other shops "to make the transition seamless for motorists and assure that private inspection fees will be transparent and reasonable."
The state would then sell the land where its facilities now operate.
The proposal would require breaking the state's contract with Parsons Corp., which is two years into a five-year, $276 million deal to do emissions and mechanical inspections. The mechanical inspections were already phased out under the budget that went into effect July 1.
The state conducts more than 1.94 million initial inspections a year and pays for all of them. Drivers pay only if they fail the inspections and have to make repairs.
Zimmer pointed out that motorists are already paying for the system through their tax dollars.
Critics said Christie is returning to dangerous territory after Parsons' early years of managing the inspection program were steeped in controversy. When the inspection network was opened in December 1999, it was plagued by computer malfunctions and frozen equipment that left drivers fuming in lines four hours long.
Hetty Rosenstein, New Jersey director of the Communications Workers of America state workers union, said the plans outlined in the report would create "bad service" and "less safety" while failing to save the state money.
But Zimmer stressed "stringent" controls will be put in place.
Despite past predictions that up to 2,000 public employees could lose their jobs to privatization, the report does not specify the number of layoffs to come. But its impact could be felt from parks -- where private recreation firms would run concessions, operate facilities and perhaps collect a fee -- to preschools.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/10/2010 09:19 ||
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#1
As a Retired Master Mechanic I have past experience with "Privitizing Inspections" I have talked with friends/Mechanics from other states where the Inspections were done by dealerships and Private Gaages.
Almost all said the system GUARANTEED A PROFIT because (Said under your breath If we don't pass them they don't drive,) Much abuse, (Ma'am you need a new set of Mufler Bearings before we can pass you, that'll be 399.99,
PLUS the "Inspection fee (And another inspection FEE when the new Bearings are installed to be sure the problem's corrected)
By the way, for all you Non-Mechanics out there there's no such thing as a "Muffler Bearing".
Or "Halogen Headlight fluid" ETC.
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
07/10/2010 12:45 Comments ||
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Jim,
The muffler bearing trick must be a classic, because I remember my dad telling me 50 years ago about a woman at his shop who was subjected to the muffler bearing trick.
There is a way to privatize the inspections without as much chance for fraud: set up places that ONLY do inspections. They may replace taillights or wiper blades, but that is it. They do no major mechanical work. North Carolina uses that approach and it seems to work pretty well.
Posted by: Rambler in Virginia ||
07/10/2010 16:52 Comments ||
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Test Only works fairly well in CA (one of the few things...) but you also need to have State undercover "shoppers" periodically visit to see if what's caught is correct
Posted by: Frank G ||
07/10/2010 16:59 Comments ||
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The state of Colorado ran private emissions testing for fifteen years without a problem. The test initially cost $15, was raised to $25 four years ago. All testing equipment had to pass a state licensing inspection, and anyone failing a test was guaranteed a free re-test. ANY service station and most other auto repair shops were allowed to conduct emissions testing, as long as their equipment passed state standards. The program has been so successful that emissions in the state have dropped below where emission controls are needed, and the testing has been suspended until it's needed again.
As with anything else, if you're not an educated consumer, you can get ripped off.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
07/10/2010 17:14 Comments ||
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Alvin Greene, the obscure jobless man whose come-from-nowhere victory in the June Democratic primary for U.S. Senate created a national furor, had legitimate sources of income to finance his $10,400 primary entry fee, law enforcement sources said Friday.
He will not face criminal deception charges, according to SLED, for requesting a taxpayer funded attorney in a still pending criminal case against him. State law enforcement investigated Greene's finances after questions were raised about how he could qualify for indigent defense and still afford the U.S. Senate filing fee.
Greene's surprise victory over prominent former circuit judge Vic Rawl caused many to speculate that well-to-do Republican operatives had secretly bankrolled Greene's primary entry fee to sabotage the primary.
The mystery surrounding Greene's victory also caused comedians to make South Carolina -- already a laughingstock due to sex allegations surrounding Gov. Mark Sanford and gubernatorial candidate Nikki Haley -- once again the butt of numerous national jokes.
But the real source of the bulk of Greene's money has turned out to be none other than the U.S. government and the S.C. state government, said SLED director Reggie Lloyd.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/10/2010 09:49 ||
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Republican nominee for Illinois 2ndCongressional District Isaac Hayes released the following statement calling for Attorney General Eric Holder to resign after failure to prosecute the New Black Panther Party for voter intimidation during the 2008 election.
"The Justice Department's refusal to prosecute the terrorist actions of the New Black Panther Party for its 2008 intimidation and threatening vitriol outside a Philadelphia polling place is criminal affirmative action. This selective justice paradigm was exposed during the testimony of J. Christian Adams - a former U.S. Prosecutor assigned to the Civil Rights Division, Voting Section, before the U.S. Civil Rights Commission - who testified he was told 'cases are not going to be brought against Black defendants for the benefit of White victims.'
"Attorney General Eric Holder has historically taken a partial approach to justice. It was in 2001 that he spearheaded the pardon of Marc Rich, a billionaire financier who had fled the country rather than face federal tax evasion charges.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/10/2010 09:40 ||
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Under the bus with him!
Posted by: Abu Uluque ||
07/10/2010 12:28 Comments ||
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Holder needs to go back to being Oprahs boy friend...Oh wait, that guy is Stedman.
Posted by: Frank G ||
07/10/2010 16:57 Comments ||
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I'd much rather he be forced to spend the next five years cleaning the beaches in Louisiana with a 50lb ball attached to his right ankle with a short chain. ANYONE who is responsible for damage to equality under the law should be faced with similar actions, including our current "president".
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
07/10/2010 17:18 Comments ||
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Holder, Obama, Michelle, Sharpton, Jackson, Wright, Farrakhan, Mugabe, Zuma.... all share a common, cultural theme of tribal dominance and exclusivity which predates the modern era. Blaming them individually or collectively is pointless. Recognizing and dealing with the reality, the risk to civilization as most of us define it, may help.
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