By Kate King 

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie ordered state officials to develop a plan by Saturday to shut down all nonessential road projects after a stalemate in Trenton led to the state's depleted transportation fund's expiration.

Mr. Christie, a Republican, issued an executive order late Thursday night declaring a state of emergency and directing the state Transportation Department to craft a shutdown plan. The governor didn't specify when the shutdown would take effect.

"When the plan is done and reviewed, the public will be informed on the exact projects impacted," a spokesman for Mr. Christie said.

The work stoppage hits the construction industry during its busy season, and some union members reported that they had been laid off Friday, said Greg Lalevee, the business manager for the Local 825 Operating Engineers union. He couldn't specify how many workers lost their jobs.

"We're in the spot where our people should be working and stockpiling hours...to cover their benefits for wintertime," said Mr. Lalevee, who also sits on the Transportation Trust Fund Authority, the agency that finances the state's transportation system.

Mr. Christie blamed the shutdown on Senate Democrats, who oppose an Assembly bill that would increase the gas tax by 23 cents, to 37.5 cents a gallon, and cut the state sales tax to 6% from 7%.

The Democratic-controlled Assembly passed the legislation early Tuesday morning following hours of late-night negotiations with Mr. Christie at the Statehouse.

"The Senate's inaction ignored the benefits the package would bring to the overburdened taxpayers of New Jersey," the governor said in a statement.

Senate Democrats pointed out that Republicans in their chamber also oppose the Assembly bill and accused the governor of manipulating the crisis to advance his national political agenda.

Mr. Christie, who is serving as transition team chairman for presumptive GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump, is expected to be part of Mr. Trump's administration if he wins.

Assemblyman John Wisniewski, a Democrat and chairman of the Transportation and Independent Authorities Committee, said the governor wanted to secure a major tax reduction that would be embraced by conservatives nationwide.

Mr. Wisniewski pointed out that the Assembly bill was endorsed by Americans for Tax Reform, an antitax group founded by conservative activist Grover Norquist.

"This has nothing to do with some noble crusade on his part to protect taxpayers," said Mr. Wisniewski, who voted against the Assembly bill. "He's looking to burnish his Republican credentials."

A spokesman for the governor said, "I don't need to wade into this type of banal nonsense from the usual partisan snipers."

Assembly Speaker Vincent Prieto said the governor's executive order underscored the importance of quickly reaching a compromise.

"This is too important for jobs -- especially in our construction industry -- and our economy to allow this to continue," Mr. Prieto, a Democrat, said in a statement.

The Assembly is willing to compromise, Mr. Prieto said, "as long as it's a bill the governor will sign."

Senate President Steve Sweeney, a Democrat, said in a statement Friday that he was disappointed by the governor's executive order. "Most painful will be the workers laid off because of this immediate stoppage, " he said.

In the order, the governor said that a shutdown was necessary to preserve the fund's few remaining dollars for essential projects. Emergency work and federally funded projects would continue without interruption.

While state authorization of the fund expired Thursday night, the Transportation Department said it had enough money to continue work through early August.

Sen. Bob Gordon, a Democrat, said the governor's executive order was a ploy to ratchet up pressure on the Senate to pass his preferred bill, which Mr. Gordon described as financially reckless. The shutdown is disingenuous, Mr. Gordon said, because until recently the governor had dismissed Democrats for describing the depleted transportation trust fund as a crisis.

"Now all of the sudden he's saying we have an emergency and he's stopping work on ongoing projects," Mr. Gordon said. "We are not going to be pressured. We want to do this in a deliberative way that fully analyzes the long-term implications of what we're doing."

Sen. Tom Kean, a Republican, said the same charge could be leveled against Democrats who left the Statehouse on Thursday without reaching a compromise with the Assembly and governor's office.

"They chose to leave Trenton hours early rather than stay and do the work and find a solution," Mr. Kean said. "That was disheartening."

Mr. Kean, who is opposed to a 23-cent gas-tax increase, doesn't support the Assembly bill or a competing proposal by the Senate. The Senate's plan would also raise the gas tax 23 cents in exchange for a phaseout of the state estate tax over several years.

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

July 01, 2016 20:03 ET (00:03 GMT)