Gov. Chris Christie vetoed part of a bill on unemployment benefits today, saying the legislation would have prevented the state from recovering millions of dollars in overpaid benefits. The bill (S1968) said people receiving unemployment checks would not be held liable by the state Department of Labor and Workforce Development for overpayments due to reasons other than fraud or misrepresentation.

“With the unemployment insurance fund $1.75 billion in debt, it is our responsibility to ensure that every state dollar spent on benefits is done correctly, lawfully and that any waste — whatever the cause — is rooted,” Christie said. “It would be fiscally imprudent, and possibly in conflict with federal law, to take away the department’s ability to evaluate instances where an overpayment of benefits has occurred and make a case-by-case determination of whether a hardship waiver is in order.”

Christie said $28 million would have been exempted from scrutiny.

The bill had bipartisan support in the Legislature: It passed 70 to 9 in the Assembly and unanimously in the state Senate. Assembly Speaker Sheila Oliver (D-Essex) said Christie was overstating the problem. She said the state should not be looking to punish people who received excess unemployment benefits through no fault of their own. Read more in Star Ledger.