STATEWIDE – NJN News will provide complete live coverage of Governor Jon Corzine’s Budget Message to a joint session of the New Jersey State Legislature on Tuesday, February 26, at 11:30 am. Kent Manahan hosts the program live from the Trenton studios with senior political correspondent Michael Aron at the State House. This special public affairs program will be simulcast on NJN Public Radio, and web cast and archived on the NJN web site. The budget message will be rebroadcast on NJN Public Television at 10 pm.

In his budget message, Governor Corzine will outline his plan for filling a multi-billion dollar budget gap including the elimination of several state departments. Republican political analyst Roger Bodman and Democratic political analyst Julie Roginsky will be in the studio with Kent Manahan. At the State House, Michael Aron will be joined by Brigid Harrison, Montclair State University political scientist, and will follow up with the legislative response with four budget officers: Assembly Budget Committee Chair Louis Greenwald, Senate Budget Committee Chair Barbara Buono, Senate Minority Leader Leonard Lance, and Assembly Budget Officer Joseph Malone.

Funding for this program is provided by PSE&G, Wachovia, Verizon, The New York Shipping Association, The New Jersey Education Association, New Jersey Carpenter Contractor Trust, The New Jersey Association of REALTORS, Delta Dental Plan of New Jersey, BP, The Horizon Foundation for New Jersey, The Proformance Insurance Company of New Jersey, and The Johnson and Johnson Family of Companies.

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