A New Jersey judge ordered Gov. Chris Christie to reverse a $1.57 billion cut he made to New Jersey’s public pension system, saying that his failure to make full payments to the state pension system violated the state’s constitutional obligation to state workers.

The decision by Mercer County Superior Court Judge Mary Jacobson came after Christie pushed unions into an agreement that required public employees to sharply increase the amount of money they contribute to their pensions. In exchange, the state promised to increase its contributions to the state’s underfunded retirement system.

The 2011 agreement helped catapult Christie to national attention for his determined stance against what he described as generous public employee benefits that were crippling New Jersey’s finances and contributing to the state’s high taxes.

But Christie decided against making the increased pension payments for 2014 and 2015 that were part of the agreement, saying the state could not afford them. That prompted public-sector unions to sue.

The Washington Post, Feb. 23
Politico, Feb. 23