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U.S. Constitution Title: New Jersey Governor Jon Corzine signed the first-ever order today shutting down government operations New Jersey's Corzine Shuts Down Government in Budget Impasse July 1 (Bloomberg) -- New Jersey Governor Jon Corzine signed the first-ever order today shutting down government operations as he waited for the legislature to pass a budget bill to keep the state in business. Corzine signed the order nine hours after the deadline passed for the state to have its fiscal 2007 appropriations bill in place, said spokesman Anthony Coley. The governor waited in his Trenton office until midnight and then returned before 8 a.m. to be available to sign a balanced budget plan. ``We've taken, we believe, every reasonable and responsible measure to ensure that this day would not come,'' Corzine said today in a statement. ``But here we are.'' The budget, which must pass both houses before reaching Corzine, hasn't been released from committee for a legislative vote. The committee will meet at 10 a.m. tomorrow ``for the purpose of crafting a budget designed to win Assembly passage and be presented to the governor,'' Assembly Speaker Joseph J. Roberts Jr. said in a statement. Meantime, about 45,000 state employees in 31 departments, agencies and authorities will be furloughed as non-essential functions begin to shut down, Corzine said. ``Without a balanced budget in place, the state simply isn't allowed to spend money,'' Corzine said, adding that if New Jersey continues to operate as it has in the past, the state will have a $4.5 billion deficit. Casinos Casino operators, meanwhile, went to court yesterday to get permission to upgrade some employees to essential status in order to keep the gaming parlors open. A state appellate judge said the court had no jurisdiction until after the shutdown order was signed. David Wald, a spokesman for the attorney general, didn't return an e-mail message seeking comment. State parks, beaches and campgrounds will remain open until July 5 when the holiday weekend ends, Corzine said. Agencies including the state police, Division of Youth and Family Services, Department of Corrections and parts of the Department of Human Resources will keep operating. Corzine's administration is negotiating with Democrats who are opposed to his record $30.9 billion budget, which would use a sales-tax increase to help plug the deficit. His plan also calls for expanding the sales tax to services such as landscaping, placing new levies on cigarettes and luxury cars, cutting higher-education funding, freezing aid to most schools and increasing property-tax rebates by 10 percent. Assembly Democrats have proposed an alternative $30.4 billion budget that doesn't include a sales-tax increase and would keep property-tax rebates at fiscal 2006 levels and extend
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