The fight to remove the cap for state and local taxes (SALT) continues for three North Jersey members of the House. Reps. Josh Gottheimer, Tom Malinowski and Mikie Sherrill are urging the House Appropriations Committee to provide tax relief in the Fiscal Year 2023 Financial Services and General Government funding bill. “The cap of our SALT deduction (from then-President Donald) Trump’s tax law imposed a double-taxation on New Jersey families and billions of dollars in additional costs on taxpayers in my district, and has made it more difficult for our towns and counties to invest in critical services such as our schools and first responders,” said Sherrill. “Our provision will cut red tape and allow states to enact innovative policies that deliver much-needed relief to families in New Jersey and nationwide.” North-JerseyNews.com
Following up on Rep. Mikie Sherrill’s allegations, the Jan. 6 House select committee has asked a Republican congressman to submit to questioning about a tour of the complex he gave one day before the riot, saying they were looking into whether rioters had conducted reconnaissance of the building before the rampage. In a letter May 19 to Rep. Barry Loudermilk (R-GA), the top two members of the panel said investigators had obtained evidence that the Georgia Republican had led a tour through parts of the Capitol complex on Jan. 5, 2021, when it was closed to visitors because of pandemic restrictions. Loudermilk has denied having led any “reconnaissance” tour. The New York Times
Oklahoma’s legislature on May 19 passed a ban on abortion at any stage of pregnancy and delegated enforcement of the law to private citizens, legislation that would be the toughest in effect in the country. The bill allows private citizens to bring civil lawsuits for monetary damages against anyone who performs or aids with an abortion, setting minimum damages at $10,000 plus legal costs. It provides an exception for a medical emergency or if the pregnancy is the result of rape, sexual assault or incest that has been reported to law enforcement. Republican Gov. Kevin Stitt has said he would sign any antiabortion bill that crosses his desk. The law is set to take effect immediately if he signs it. The Wall Street Journal
Assemblyman Christopher DePhillips (R-40) has a message regarding the state’s budget surplus: provide tax relief to residents now. The Wyckoff lawmaker pointed to New Jersey’s average property taxes of $9,112 per year as one of the highest in the nation, and said that instead of one-time tax rebates the state should engage in permanent tax cuts. “We are notoriously overtaxed in this state, making it unaffordable for young people moving from their childhood homes, to the elderly on fixed incomes, and everyone in between,” DePhillips stated. “We must act to lower taxes now to ensure a prosperous New Jersey for everyone later.” North-JerseyNews.com
An Assembly panel unanimously advanced a bill May 19 that would award tax credits to offset rising unemployment taxes on businesses. The bill, supported by the New Jersey Chamber of Commerce, the New Jersey Business and Industry Association, and the National Federation of Independent Businesses, would provide $375 million in corporate business and gross income tax credits whose value would be equal to the tax hikes set to take effect this July. Additionally, it would require new reporting from the Department of Labor about the state’s unemployment trust fund, which was drained when jobless claims skyrocketed in the early months of the pandemic. New Jersey Monitor
New Jersey’s economy continued to make up ground from the pandemic after it added 14,800 jobs in April and saw its jobless rate tick down to 4.1% from 4.2%, the state Department of Labor and Workforce Development said May 19. Notably, the report showed New Jersey has recovered 95% of the jobs it lost during the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, surpassing the nation’s recovery rate for the first time. The Record
New Jersey on May 19 reported nine new COVID-19 deaths and 4,835 new confirmed cases. There were 842 patients with confirmed or suspected coronavirus cases at the state’s 70 of 71 hospitals. Of those hospitalized, 99 were in intensive care and 39 were on ventilators. New Jersey’s statewide transmission rate was 1.29 with the positivity rate at 17.4% for tests conducted on May 14. North-JerseyNews.com
Kids ages 5 to 11 should get a booster dose of Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine, advisers to the U.S. government said May 19. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention quickly adopted the panel’s recommendation, opening a third COVID-19 shot to healthy elementary-age kids — just like what is already recommended for everybody 12 and older. News12 New Jersey
The Assembly Education Committee cleared a bill to increase transparency in sex education, a companion bill to the one approved by the State Senate earlier this month. The Transparency in Comprehensive Health and Physical Education Curriculum Act requires school districts to post sex education syllabi publicly and allow for comment from parents. The bill passed 4-3, with the committee’s three Republicans opposed after a lengthy and often off-topic debate over statewide learning standards. New Jersey Globe
Enrollment in New Jersey’s traditional public schools fell by about 18,000 over the last two years, according to new enrollment data from the state Department of Education as of October 2021. The losses, mirroring a national trend, came in the state’s urban centers and suburban districts alike with Passaic reporting 800 fewer students and Edgewater’s enrollment slumped by nearly 300. Decreases are not unprecedented as year-over-year enrollment changes for the last decade have been negative for all but two years. New Jersey Monitor
The federal government is providing four grants totaling $6.5 million to help New Jersey clean up contaminated sites and encourage economic development. The money, much of which comes from President Joe Biden’s $1 trillion bipartisan infrastructure law, would go towards cleaning up what are known as brownfields, which could be redeveloped but for the presence or potential presence of contaminants, pollution or hazardous materials. The monies will go to sites in Camden, Asbury Park, Hamilton and $2 million to the New Jersey Economic Development Authority as it prepares to clean up and redevelop 12 sites in Atlantic City, Bridgeton, Jersey City, Millville, Paterson, Perth Amboy, and Trenton. Potential sites include a former gas station, abandoned landfill and former industrial site that has been vacant for 40 years. NJ.com
Twitter is adding more content guardrails, as it plans to slow what it deems misinformation around crises including armed conflicts, natural disasters and public health emergencies. The company, in a move that appears to go against prospective new owner Elon Musk desire for the social-media platform to dial back on moderating tweets, will elevate credible information, defining a crisis as a situation in which there is a widespread threat to life, physical safety, health or basic subsistence. The company said it would determine whether claims are misleading through verification from multiple credible, publicly available sources, including evidence from conflict monitoring groups, humanitarian organizations, and journalists among others. The Wall Street Journal
Sen. Bob Menendez and Rep. Albio Sires both are unhappy with policy changes from the Biden Administration to Cuba. Menendez said he was “dismayed” to hear of the rollbacks of Trump Administration rules that include easing travel restrictions, allowing more money to be sent to families back home and new steps to reunify families in the U.S. “(This sends) the wrong message to the wrong people, at the wrong time and for all the wrong reasons. To be clear, those who still believe that increasing travel will breed democracy in Cuba are simply in a state of denial. For decades, the world has been traveling to Cuba and nothing has changed,” stated Menendez. North-JerseyNews.com
Russia has suspended at least two commanders whom it blamed for not capturing the northeast city of Kharkiv and for the sinking of the Russian flagship in the Black Sea, according to Britain’s defense intelligence agency. Ukraine’s military efforts were set to get an American boost once President Joe Biden signs a $40 billion aid package into law. The U.S. Senate overwhelmingly approved the measure May 19. The New York Times
A controversy over campaign flyers has emerged in the GOP race to be the nominee in the 5th Congressional District. A mailing paid for by Rep. Josh Gottheimer’s campaign earlier this month declared 2020 Republican nominee Frank Pallotta “too much like Trump” to serve in Congress. But Nick DeGregorio, is accusing Gottheimer of trying to confuse voters about who the “true conservative” is in the campaign since Pallotta was endorsed by Trump in two years ago but not in this race. New Jersey Herald
The Hoboken City Council adopted an ordinance grandfathering existing medical cannabis dispensaries that want to sell recreational cannabis will have to get approval from the local Cannabis Review Board and the Planning Board. The dispensaries can apply regardless of other previously proposed or approved facilities in the city, and will also be exempt from the proximity limitations from other dispensaries at 500 feet, or primary or secondary schools at 600 feet. Plus, any approved dispensaries that sell both medical and recreational cannabis will count as one facility in calculating the new cannabis store limits for up to six city-wide and up to three per ward. Hudson Reporter
Franklin Lakes Republicans have split into two municipal slates for the June 7 primary as four incumbents are divided between two columns. The slate for Republicans for Responsible Government, running in the party-line Column 2, includes Councilman Charles Kahwaty, who is running for mayor, and newcomer Joel Ansh, running for council. Republicans for Franklin Lakes in alternative party Column 3 have Councilwoman Gail Kelly running for mayor with Councilwoman Ann Swist and Councilman Joseph Cadicina, who are seeking new terms. The Record
And finally…Temperatures are expected in the 90’s this weekend. News12 New Jersey
