JERSEY CITY, N.J. (AP) -- Lawmakers in northern New Jersey passed a law last month in response to former Gov. Jim McGreevey's four-month stint with Hudson County that gave him health benefits for life.

Former NJ Governor Jim McGreevey
Former NJ Governor Jim McGreevey (Michael Loccisano/Getty Images for HBO)
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The county's nine-member freeholder board approved a measure imposing a 10-year minimum for future employees seeking a similar retirement package. The approval came 12 days after McGreevey, 58, retired as a county attorney.

McGreevey spearheaded the creation of a countywide prisoner re-entry center during his short time with the county, and officials said this week that his retirement package was worth it.

When asked if the measure was in response to McGreevey's situation, Freeholder Bill O'Dea told a reporter from the Jersey Journal to not ask "questions you already know the answer to." He said he doesn't harbor any animus toward the former governor and continues to work with him on getting ex-offenders back on their feet.

"When (you're) trying to control spending, you got to have policies that are reasonable," O'Dea said.

McGreevey, who resigned as governor amid a sex scandal in 2004 and announced that he was a "gay American," runs Jersey City's prisoner re-entry program.

McGreevey didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.

 

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