Salary, Pension Bill Shelved for Now

Legislation that would have given Gov. Chris Christie the power to raise salaries for his cabinet, increased judges' pay and tweaked the public employee pension law to benefit a few elected officials is on hold indefinitely.

The Senate Budget Committee canceled a session Thursday to consider the proposal. The Assembly Budget Committee's pulled it from the agenda Monday.

Legislative leaders had planned to fast-track the bill and send it to Christie this week.

But it stalled after The Associated Press published a story detailing the proposal.

Assembly co-sponsor Michael Patrick Carroll tells AP he believes judges and cabinet officers deserve raises, though approving pay hikes for professionals who earn six-figure salaries is politically unpopular.

The Republican says the bill may be revived, but a number of his colleagues remain opposed.

(Copyright 2014 by The Associated Press.  All Rights Reserved.)