New Jersey lawmakers and state employees could see the value of their retirement fund rise if they approve a bid by an Australian and Spanish consortium to purchase the state's toll roads. New Jersey's pension fund holds 25.6 million shares of Australia's Macquarie, worth $82 million, and 6.2 million shares of Spain's Cintra, worth $108 million. Both firms have expressed interest in buying the New Jersey Turnpike. Together, the companies spent $5.6 billion buying roads in Indiana and Chicago. In February, Governor Jon Corzine (D) embraced the concept of selling infrastructure to balance the state budget.

"The one option that is new and that we are now studying is asset monetization," Corzine said. "It's something that has been implemented in other states and successfully around the globe."

State Treasury officials told the Newark Star-Ledger newspaper that the investments represented a small portion of total value of the pension funds.