Democratic legislators have agreed on a $45 billion budget they are promoting as providing tax relief to residents of New Jersey while spurring economic growth, paying down debt and setting aside sufficient reserves to avert a future fiscal cliff. “This is a smart and responsible budget that makes the best use of public resources to address the needs of the people of New Jersey as we work to emerge from the most severe public health crisis of a lifetime,” said State Sen. Paul Sarlo (D-36). According to supporters of the bill, the budget makes strategic investments out of American Rescue Plan (ARP) funds to address emergent needs, restores the Rainy Day Fund and puts extra funding into the pension system up-front to save on future costs. North-JerseyNews.com
Republican lawmakers criticized the Fiscal Year 2022 budget as too high and tax relief too low. Assemblyman Hal Wirths (R-24) said the budget includes a “minuscule” amount to give back to the taxpayers in light of the state’s projected $10.1 billion surplus and State Sen. Steve Oroho (R-24) decried the Murphy administration for not being transparent about what bonded debt it plans to unload. NJ.com
The Rutgers University Board of Governors approved a budget for the 2021-2022 academic year that includes an overall 2.6% increase in tuition and fees for students at its three main campuses. A typical in-state, full-time arts and sciences undergraduate at Rutgers-New Brunswick would be billed $15,804 in the academic year beginning in September 2021. The price tag would be $15,208 at Rutgers-Newark and $15,657 at Rutgers-Camden. NJ1015.com
New Jersey students from families that earn less than $65,000 a year could be eligible for up to four years of free college tuition in the 2022 state budget. The plan includes money to expand the state’s free community college program, which already funds two years of tuition and fees at community colleges for low-income students. Additionally, the new Garden State Guarantee Initiative would add a third and fourth year of tuition-free education at one of New Jersey’s public four-year colleges, allowing students in families that earn less than $65,000 to complete their bachelor’s degrees tuition free. NJ.com
Rep. Mikie Sherrill kicked off her “Summer of SALT” campaign designed to end the federal state and local tax (SALT) deduction cap in Woodland Park. Sherrill spoke with local officials, community members, and union leaders to highlight how the SALT cap has affected their ability to make investments in the community and for families to make ends meet. “The impact of the state and local tax deduction cap stretches to every town, county, and borough in my district,” said Sherrill. “For New Jerseyans in the 11th District, the SALT deduction cap has imposed a harmful double tax and has created one of the largest marriage penalties in the federal tax code.” North-JerseyNews.com
Republicans on June 22 blocked the most ambitious voting rights legislation to come before Congress in a generation, dealing a blow to Democrats’ attempts to counter a wave of state-level ballot restrictions and supercharging a campaign to end the legislative filibuster. The bill, which passed the House in March, would have ushered in the largest federally mandated expansion of voting rights since the 1960s, ended the practice of partisan gerrymandering of congressional districts, forced super PACs to disclose their big donors and created a new public campaign financing system. Additionally, it would have pushed back against more than a dozen Republican-led states that have enacted laws that experts say will make it harder for people of color and young people to vote, or shift power over elections to GOP legislators. The New York Times
Gov. Phil Murphy continues to hold a sizable lead over Republican nominee Jack Ciattarelli in their November matchup for Governor in New Jersey, according to the latest FDU Poll, which found Murphy leading his GOP challenger by 48% to 32% margin. Most notably, the FDU Poll found 50% of New Jersey residents had a favorable view of the job Murphy has done while in office, compared to just 39% holding an unfavorable view. Ciattarelli remained a relative unknown among most New Jersey voters, with 16% viewing him favorably, 14% thought of him negatively and 70% said they didn’t know enough about him to have an opinion at all. North-JerseyNews.com
A bill to raise the pay of Election Day workers from $200 to $275 was approved by the Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee. New Jersey had a shortage of poll workers for the primary election, forcing officials to offer $400 for the 14-hour day. New Jersey Globe
New Jersey small businesses and other entities crushed by the coronavirus pandemic are now eligible for another round of grant funding under a package of bills totaling $235 million. Gov. Phil Murphy signed into a law the bill that allocates $120 million for microbusinesses; $20 million for bars and restaurants; $10 millon for childcare facilities; $50 million for other small businesses and non-profits; $25 million for new businesses and start-ups; and $10 million for the Sustain and Serve NJ grant program for restaurants. News12 New Jersey
State officials expressed concern that the Delta variant of the coronavirus will be the driving force of new cases in New Jersey in the coming months. “For those who have yet to be vaccinated or fully vaccinated, there’s reason to be concerned about the increase in the highly transmissible variant … known as the Delta variant,” said New Jersey Department of Health Commissioner Judith Persichilli. Health officials noted the Delta variant is between 40% and 60% more transmissible and could become the dominant strain in the U.S. sometime next month. Gov. Phil Murphy reiterated the new cases being encountered now are “almost entirely driven by the unvaccinated among us. With the emergence of the more transmittable variants, the time to get vaccinated is now. We cannot risk any COVID brush fires in any communities where vaccinations lag.” North-JerseyNews.com
New Jersey’s eviction moratorium may end earlier than the current deadline of Jan. 1, 2022, for families with higher incomes, under new amendments to a bill that passed the Senate and Assembly budget committees. Under the compromise bill, tenants who missed rent payments would be protected through Aug. 31, if their annual household income is above 80% of their area median income. For renters who make less than 80% of their county’s median income, they could not be kicked out of their home before Dec. 31. For all homeowners, meanwhile, a foreclosure moratorium would end on Nov. 15 under the bill. New Jersey Herald
The Assembly overwhelmingly passed six more bills to increase oversight of state prisons and bolster prisoners’ rights in New Jersey. The proposals would require prisons to report when staff used physical force, allow some incarcerated women to raise their newborns at halfway houses, bar commutation credits from being removed for “minor disciplinary infractions,” and mandating an annual report summarizing when officers restrained prisoners and when prisoners attacked staff. NJ.com
The Schools Development Authority (SDA) will be restructured or moved under state control after a political patronage scandal led to mass firings, internal reforms and costly lawsuits. In a joint announcement from Gov. Phil Murphy, State Senate President Steve Sweeney and Assembly Craig Coughlin that did not offer specific details, the lawmakers stated, “We will act to effectuate change and look to restructure the organization or move it under another state entity to improve the state’s ability to deliver and effectively manage public school construction projects. As we work toward funding reauthorization, we will also review the organizational structure of the SDA and consider all possible alternatives to the current structure in the months ahead.” The Record
The State Senate Judiciary Committee voted unanimously on a suite of bills addressing domestic violence that State Sen. Loretta Weinberg (D-37) had recently complained were being held up. The bills voted on requiring law enforcement officials to undergo training to better understand why some victims of domestic violence who want justice are too afraid to seek it, require law enforcement officers to make victims aware of the services provided by a domestic violence crisis response team, and create standards for court-ordered batterers’ intervention programs. NJ.com
Bayonne Mayor Jimmy Davis will be challenged by Mary Jane Desmond in a bid to replace him as head of the Bayonne City Regular Democratic Organization. A former council and school board member, Desmond’s bid marks the first political challenge Davis has seen since his recent controversial decisions, including unseating sitting Assemblyman Nicholas Chiaravalloti by backing newcomer William B. Sampson IV and reportedly seeking replacements for two councilmembers who won alongside him. The Jersey Journal
And finally…Clifton native Rachel Zegler will star as Snow White in the upcoming Disney live-action film. The Record
