New Jersey Lawmakers Hear Sandy Recovery Proposals
By John Ostapkovich
TRENTON, NJ (CBS) - Superstorm Sandy looms large in Trenton where the legislature took testimony on a long list of ideas of how to recover.
A joint Senate/Assembly committee got an earful about the job ahead.
Senator Bob Smith of Middlesex County says the biggest ticket is the $100 million requested for the Emergency Disaster Relief Act of 2013, which is 2 1/2 times what the Governor mentioned in his budget address, and also higher than after a previous calamity: "We had Flood Floyd. That was the very first time that the State of New Jersey got into the catastrophic relief business and. while Flood Floyd was devastating, it was not as devastating as this storm."
Smith also pointed to a problem with building shore-protecting dunes: "Because of a recent case where a property owner was compensated up to $375,000 for loss of view, it probably means that if that case is not in some way modified, we'll never be able to do another dune project."
Another proposal is a three-year increase in the state share of shore preparation money while keeping the local contribution the same.
