Incumbent Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy continues to hold a lead over Republican challenger Jack Ciattarelli in a 50% to 41% split, according to a Stockton University Poll released Oct. 28. The figures reaffirm a September Stockton poll when Murphy also held a nine percent lead over Ciattarelli and the second poll this week showing Murphy with a comfortable lead. “When you consider that this poll was taken after the gubernatorial debates were done, it appears that voters’ feelings are fairly baked in at this point,” said John Froonjian, Hughes Center executive director. “The polling spread between the candidates is very consistent.” North-JerseyNews.com
President Joe Biden presented the framework of his $1.75 trillion Build Back Better reconciliation budget on Oct. 28. The bill includes a universal pre-K program for 3-and-4 year-olds, limits childcare costs so that families do not pay more than 7% of their income, and extends funding for both for six years. Those two programs are estimated to cost $400 billion. Additionally, it extends for a year the expanded child tax credit; improves long-term care for seniors and people with disabilities; extends expanded tax credits for the Affordable Care Act; and provides the tax credits to 4 million uninsured people in states where Medicaid has not been expanded. Notably the plan does not include such programs Biden campaigned on including paid parental leave, free community college, and climate change policy such as the Clean Energy Performance Program, which incentivized utilities to switch to clean energy and penalized those who don’t. New Jersey Monitor
Before President Joe Biden announced a framework had been agreed upon to his Build Back Better budget, he told Democrats it was time to rally behind his spending bill because nothing less than his Presidency and control of Congress is at stake. “The House and Senate majorities and my presidency will be determined by what happens in the next week,” President Biden reportedly told lawmakers during the hourlong session. The New York Times
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) had to delay an immediate vote on the Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill following the release of the Build Back Better framework as progressive lawmakers indicated they weren’t ready to support it. While progressives said they needed more certainty about the social-spending bill’s contents and its fate in the Senate, Progressive Caucus Chairwoman Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-WA) indicated a vote on both bills could happen as soon as next week as progressives would back off their insistence that the Senate pass the social-spending bill before the House could move on infrastructure. “We’re going to trust the President on the Senate vote,” said Jayapal. “But we do need the text and we do need the votes on both bills in the House at the same time.” The Wall Street Journal
Two North Jersey House Democrats expressed confidence that the repeal of the state and local tax deduction will be part of the reconciliation budget when it reaches the floor for final passage. “I believe, based on every single conversation that I’ve had with leadership, my Senate colleagues, and the White House, that SALT will be in the bill,” Rep. Josh Gottheimer said. “They know they don’t have the votes without it.” Rep. Tom Malinowski added, “I’m comfortable with where we are on SALT. If we pass these two bills, we will have kept a lot of important promises to New Jersey, including on SALT.” NJ.com
State Sen. Teresa Ruiz will be the next majority leader of the upper house, Senate President Steve Sweeney confirmed Oct. 28. If she’s approved by members of the Senate Democratic Majority and the full Senate, Ruiz (D-29) will replace current Majority Leader Loretta Weinberg (D-37), who is retiring in January. In addition to Sweeney and Ruiz, other members of the Senate’s leadership team will be Sandra Cunningham (D-31) as Senate president pro tempore; Paul Sarlo (D-36) as deputy majority leader; Nicholas Scutari (D-22) as majority whip and Nellie Pou (D-35) as majority caucus chair. PoliticoNJ
State Sen. Steve Oroho (R-24) reportedly has the votes to become the minority leader of the New Jersey State Senate next year. Oroho’s two opponents, Deputy Minority Leader Bob Singer (R-30) and Senate Minority Whip Joseph Pennacchio (R-26) are expected to withdraw from the race soon. Both are expected to remain in a leadership position. State Sen. Declan O’Scanlon (R-13) is viewed as a leading candidate to replace Oroho as the Senate Republican Budget Officer. State Sen. Anthony M. Bucco (R-25) is also headed to leadership, and possibly a seat on the Senate Judiciary Committee and State Sen. Kristin Corrado (R-40) will remain as the Republican Conference Leader. New Jersey Globe
Spending by New Jersey legislative candidates and independent organizations trying to influence the election has exploded as campaigning draws to a close, with more than a third of that money being spent on State Senate races in the 2nd and 8th Legislative Districts. Candidates for the 120 seats on the ballot spent $21.7 million through Oct. 19. Groups legally not affiliated with the candidates have laid out $12.4 million through Oct. 26. That puts the cost of this year’s races at more than $34 million so far, according to the latest analysis from the state Election Law Enforcement Commission (ELEC). That total is more than double the $14.6 million that ELEC reported had been spent just 16 days ago. NJ Spotlight News
With a COVID-19 vaccine expected to be approved as early as next week for children ages 5 to 11, state officials layed out their plans to deliver doses to this new cohort. According to health officials, there are 760,000 5- to 11-year-olds in the Garden State that will be eligible for the vaccine. The state has pre-ordered 205,000 of the pediatric Pfizer doses with designated sites receiving the vaccine to start immunizing children as soon as the approval is granted. “We want to make sure that any large site has a pediatric section that is welcoming to the parents and the kids so that children do not have to be afraid to get their immunizations in a large area,” said Health Commissioner Judith Persichilli. North-JerseyNews.com
A recent study suggests that most parents are unlikely to vaccinate their children against COVID-19. The study, published by the Kaiser Family Foundation, shows that 73% of parents don’t plan to vaccinate young children against COVID-19 right away. A total of 28 million children as young as 5 could soon be eligible to get the shot after federal approval. News12 New Jersey
Annual flood insurance rate increases would be capped at 9% under a bipartisan bill to reform the National Flood Insurance Program expected to be introduced Friday, the ninth anniversary of Superstorm Sandy. The National Flood Insurance Reauthorization Act of 2021 is being introduced by Sen. Bob Menendez to limit what he termed “rate shock,” the sharply rising premiums that he said many policyholders will feel under a new federal method of calculating flood risk. The Federal Emergency Management Agency’s Risk Rating 2.0 could lead to rate hikes of 5% to 18% a year—or 25% a year for vacation homes—until the cost is in line with what FEMA says is the actual flood risk and value of each individual property. New Jersey Herald
Public Service Enterprise Group (PSEG) and Ørsted submitted several joint proposals for offshore wind transmission that would support New Jersey’s ambitious clean energy goals. Submitted into the PJM State Agreement Approach Proposal Window, the joint proposals are collectively named Coastal Wind Link and are designed to deliver thousands of megawatts of offshore wind energy into New Jersey, drawing from PSEG’s extensive transmission experience and Ørsted’s expertise in offshore wind energy. ROI-NJ.com
The Secaucus Town Council will use $1.1 million as part of its allocation of COVID-19 recovery funds from the federal American Rescue Plan (ARP) for its 2021 budget. According to Town Administrator Gary Jeffas, the money will go to fill a budget shortfall caused by the coronavirus pandemic. “We’ve had budget deficits from COVID-19, from the lack of parking tax and hotel tax,” Jeffas said. “Recreation fees are down at the town pool, etcetera. So we’ve had a budget shortage. There’s other fees that amount and possibly more at the end of the day.” Hudson Reporter
Gov. Phil Murphy proposed more than $100 million in investment spending for urban parks, playgrounds, and open spaces through the state’s Green Acres program. The proposal, which still requires final approval from the Garden State Preservation Trust, would both establish new parks and expand existing ones. Additionally, new open spaces would be built, access to waterways would be improved, and athletic fields and playgrounds would be developed. Among the targeted spaces are Riverside County Park in Lyndhurst, Newark’s Broadway Park, Passaic Avenue and Bellevue Turnpike in Kearny and Dundee Island Park in Passaic. North-JerseyNews.com
Hoboken is expected to close on the Monarch land swap deal next week, acquiring both a waterfront property and a block on the west side, while a developer gets a property near the PATH station. The developer, Ironstate Development, will instead build residential units on Observer Highway at the current site of the city Department of Public Works garage and hand $3.5 million to the city. The city will take the waterfront land, move its garage uptown, and build a park in an additional new city-owned plot at 800 Monroe St. The Jersey Journal
Rockaway Township School board officials voted to reinstate Columbus Day on the school calendar after Italian-American activists protested its removal. Last December, the board voted to rename Columbus Day as Indigenous Peoples’ Day but some board members said there was confusion on what members were voting on. In September, school officials considered reinstating Columbus Day, but board members were split on the decision to either reinstate Columbus Day or have both on one day, leading to the motion’s failure to pass. The Daily Record
The Morris County Board of County Commissioners adopted a resolution that authorized the Morris County Park Police to be absorbed into the sheriff’s office. The resolution followed a vote on Monday by the Morris County Park Commission to merge New Jersey’s last remaining independent county park police department into the Sheriff’s Office. The move will keep the 29 park officers on staff and enable an increase in overall park patrols, officials from both offices said. The Record
And finally….Have a happy and safe Halloween this weekend. But watch out for the Jersey Devil.
