TRENTON - New Jersey Governor Chris Christie supports privatizing the state??s lottery and has been quietly pressing forward with plans to do so, the Philadelphia Inquirer reports.

Without holding news conferences or having his treasurer testify about it, Christie has been negotiating a 15-year contract with a company to operate New Jersey??s lottery. However, the New Jersey Assembly voted on a measure that would give the Legislature the ability to reject or accept any online gaming contract, NJ.com reports.

Specifically, the bill would give the Legislature "the power to reject or accept the 15-year, $120 million contract the Christie administration is reviewing. Current law does not require Christie to seek approval from lawmakers," writes the news source.

Democrats have accused the Republican governor of acting unilaterally and subjecting the state to lawsuits with a privatization plan that may be unconstitutional.

Cristie??s privatization plan would bring in about $1 billion a year to fund scholarships and programs for military veterans and the disabled. Treasury officials say that the state would continue to own the lottery.

NJ.com writes that Assemblyman Vincent Prieto, chairman of the Budget Committee, said he??s asked the treasurer and lottery officials to appear before the panel but has not received a response. He also said the governor??s plan has been "flying under the radar" and that lawmakers "don??t know much about it."

"If this was a good thing, I figure it this way: I would have heard some type of press conference or some type of press release (saying) that this was a great thing," said Prieto. "You always get that from the administration. You??re not getting that now."