Christie Curbs Scrutiny of Halfway Houses Gov. Chris Christie on Friday curbed an effort by the New Jersey Legislature to improve oversight of the state's system of large, privately run halfway houses. Mr. Christie, a Republican who has close ties to a company that is the dominant operator of halfway houses in the state, used a line-item veto to reduce new disclosure requirements about halfway houses that the Democratic-controlled Legislature inserted in the state budget approved this week. Lawmakers sought to mandate that the Corrections Department send quarterly reports to the Legislature detailing information about the halfway houses" operations. Mr. Christie allowed some of the measure to stand, but vetoed the requirement that the reports be issued quarterly, leaving unclear when the department had to make the disclosures. Mr. Christie also vetoed a requirement that the department report actions that the halfway houses had taken to prevent, and protect inmates from, violence. The Democrats do not appear to have enough votes to override the vetoes. In a message to the Legislature, the governor said he issued the vetoes because the reporting requirements were burdensome and threatened the security of the facilities. "The administration recognizes the critical importance of maintaining client safety as well as accountability for the efficient expenditure of state dollars," the message said, adding, "The administration has retained robust reporting requirements." In response to articles in The New York Times that detailed widespread violence, gang activity, drug use and escapes plaguing the halfway houses, Mr. Christie ordered the Corrections Department last week to step up their inspections and the Legislature sought to increase their scrutiny. After the governor's vetoes, Democratic lawmakers on Friday denounced him, saying he was trying to protect Community Education Centers, the dominant halfway house operator, which has long had connections to prominent politicians of both parties. A close friend and political adviser of Mr. Christie's, William J. Palatucci, is a senior vice president at the company. Mr. Christie was registered as a lobbyist for the company in 2000 and 2001, when he was a private lawyer, and in recent years he has repeatedly visited and praised the company's facilities. Community Education received roughly $71 million of the $105 million that was spent on halfway houses in New Jersey in the fiscal year ending last June 30. In an interview, Assemblyman Joseph Cryan, a Democrat from Union County who is also an undersheriff, said the accusations against the halfway houses were so disturbing that the state should immediately pull inmates from them. Mr. Cryan said he was surprised by the line-item vetoes. "He seems not to care about the obvious conflict of interest with his friend Bill Palatucci," Mr. Cryan said. The Assembly speaker, Sheila Y. Oliver of East Orange, said in a statement, "This language was placed in there to ensure the public safety of the general public, inmates and employees, and according to recent reports is sorely needed." State Senator Loretta Weinberg, a Democrat from Bergen County who is the majority leader, said the system clearly needed more regulation. "To take out the word quarterly really decimates the whole idea," she said. Leaders of both legislative houses said this week that they planned to hold hearings on the system this summer. Michael Drewniak, a spokesman for Mr. Christie, said that the governor wanted better oversight, but that the Legislature's measures "were oddly shoe-horned into the state's budget, where they simply do not belong." He said improved security measures needed to be "more carefully thought through, not just flippantly appended to a budget bill, which is now being treated as a political opportunity." Community Education Centers bought advertisements in New Jersey newspapers this week defending its record. Asked about legislation, the company said in a statement, "C.E.C. has and will continue to welcome any objective review of the facts by the Legislature, as well as any and all agencies." Meanwhile, United States Senator Frank R. Lautenberg called on the Federal Bureau of Prisons to investigate conditions in the federal system of halfway houses, saying he was "troubled that the implementation of these programs puts residents, staffers and local communities at risk." New Jersey has sent inmates to halfway houses - many as large as prisons - for more than 15 years. The system houses about 3,500 state inmates and parolees and hundreds of county inmates. The state pays the operators about $60 to $75 per person per day, roughly half what it costs to keep inmates in prison. Inmates are usually sent near the end of their sentences to halfway houses, which are supposed to provide drug treatment, job training and other services to help in their return to society. In addition to the budget measure, the Legislature also approved a bill this week that would require audits of halfway house contracts. Mr. Christie's aides have not said whether he will sign the bill, which had languished for eight years and was sponsored by State Senator Jeff Van Drew, a Democrat from Cape May County.