By Bob Ingle
TRENTON — The people opposed to the merger of Rowan University and Rutgers-Camden are questioning whether Gov. Christie can do that on his own. There also are questions about whether Jon Corzine had authority to create Cooper Medical School at Rowan, which fits into all this.
The Office of Legislative Services, an arm of the Legislature, said that Christie can’t use a 1969 law that empowers the governor to reorganize state departments with modest legislative input. That, in turn, was based on a recent appeals court decision that Christie couldn’t abolish the Council of Affordable Housing on his own.
“Now OLS has their own opinion and we’ll certainly have governor’s counsel office look at that in detail and have the AG’s office look at it in detail and give their opinion on it,” Christie said at a news conference.
The governor also said he hasn’t ruled out involving the Legislature but if he can do it without lawmakers, it would be faster. That’s partly because the merger is far from the most popular item on the agenda. It’s big in South Jersey, where Camden County political boss George Norcross, a prime backer of the merger, tells Democrats what to think on a regular basis.
Norcross is also the chairman of Cooper University Hospital, which will be affiliated with the medical school at Rowan. That in itself has raised questions about the purpose of the merger.
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