It's nice to write something positive once in awhile. Gov. Phil Murphy just issued a veto that kills the implementation of so-called smart parking meters in New Jersey. Some townships were practically salivating over a parking meter that would automatically issue the registered owner of a vehicle a parking ticket the moment their time expired. Remember the red light camera program that would snap a picture of your license plate? They work in a similar way, and townships would have reaped a windfall both in the extra ticketing and the savings in not having to pay parking enforcement.

His reason for this veto? The little guy.

"If we are going to seek additional revenue to support important public priorities, I firmly believe that we should first ask those at the very top, such as those with incomes in excess of $1 million, to pay their fair share," the governor said. He added these smart meters would be "extracting additional money from low-and-middle-income New Jerseyans." He went on to say this would have resulted in a flood of parking tickets making New Jersey even less affordable.

Good for him! And I'm not the only one who feels this way. State Sen. Declan O'Scanlon, a republican, said, "I applaud the governor for this action. Automated, for-profit enforcement of any law inevitably becomes more about revenue generation than safety or accountability. His reasoning, aside from his dragging in another call for higher taxes, was sound and his conclusion correct." Remember it was Declan O'Scanlon who practically single-handedly fought back against and won the war on red light cameras.

Lord knows I don't often agree with the governor, but he was spot on with this. Another ugly part of this now dead legislation was that it would have tacked on a $2 surcharge to parking violations. What did Murphy have to say in full on this veto? Check it out here.

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