The leaders of New jersey's legislature say state employees should not be penalized for the three-day government shutdown last week.
Senate President Steve Sweeney plans a Senate session Thursday to act on bipartisan legislation requiring the state to pay workers furloughed because of a delayed budget.
"It's just showing our intent for what we think is important. For the workers that should have been paid, this wasn't their fault that we had an impasse. We should pay them. It was in the budget. It's not like the money is not there."
Assembly Speaker Vinnie Prieto wants Governor Christie to use his executive authority to pay the workers.
"I've spoken to many different attorneys that have look at what his powers are. They feel that he can do it by executive order. So I say, you know what, let's get these employees paid and let's get them done right now."
If Christie won't act, Prieto says he'll urge the Assembly to also pass legislation authorizing payment.