Democrats who control the state Legislature finalized an agreement on a $50.6 billion state budget for New Jersey, with the spending plan approved by both the State Senate and Assembly budget committees shortly after it was introduced the night of June 27. The plan (S2023)— for the fiscal year that begins July 1—features the largest surplus in state history and several affordability measures, including a new $2 billion property tax relief initiative, a state-level child tax credit program, driver’s license fee waivers, free state parks, and a 10-day sales tax holiday on back-to-school supplies that will go into effect later this summer. The full state Legislature is expected to vote on the measure June 29, clearing the way for Gov. Phil Murphy to sign it into law before Thursday’s midnight deadline. NJ.com
A bipartisan group of critics expressed frustration with the state’s yearly chaotic budget process they say happened behind closed doors. Republican lawmakers say they’ve been shut out of the process entirely, with their proposals not considered by their colleagues across the aisle. A bid to vote on a GOP tax relief program, which would hand out $4 billion in tax rebates, was rejected by Senate Democrats. State Senate Minority Leader Steve Oroho (R-24) said the Legislature could have taken the billions in unexpected revenue the state has seen as an opportunity to “transform New Jersey structurally. We’ve been talking about this for months. We gave a plan weeks ago. Now you’re talking about $50 billion, and this interview will be longer than how long we get to see the budget.” New Jersey Monitor
State Senate Republicans are accusing State Treasurer Elizabeth Maher Muoio of purposely deceiving GOP Budget Committee members regarding the rapidly growing state debt. At issue is written testimony submitted by Muoio on May 16 that cited “we have substantially reduced our debt load.” Nine days later, a state audit revealed New Jersey’s actual long-term obligations last year increased by 24.7% to $44.4 billion. “It’s clear the Treasurer knew her prepared testimony to our Budget Committee was grossly inaccurate. She must be called to appear before our committee to be held accountable for misleading the Legislature in what appears to be an intentional way and to address allegations of serious fiscal mismanagement by the Murphy administration,” said State Senate Minority Leader Steve Oroho (R-24). North-JerseyNews.com
Gov. Phil Murphy signed an executive order June 24 to examine where New Jersey can restrict guns in public places. The executive order directed all state departments and agencies to review statutes, rules, and regulations to identify actions that may be taken to determine whether, and in what manner, firearms may be carried, displayed, or otherwise regulated. This includes the authority to designate certain locations where carrying of firearms is prohibited, as well as authority to regulate the manner of carrying, transporting, possessing, or conveying firearms. ”Allowing ordinary citizens to carry concealed weapons into stores and malls, on mass transit, in daycare centers and hospitals, in polling places, or in bars and restaurants does not make us safer,” said Murphy. “And it does not make our police safer as they do their jobs.” North-JerseyNews.com
Two panels of state lawmakers June 27 approved legislation that would provide legal protections for patients fleeing states where the procedure is outlawed. The first bill (S2642) would prohibit New Jersey from allowing a person to be extradited to another state to be prosecuted for a crime that involves performing an abortion or any other form of reproductive health care. The other bill (S2633) would ensure the privacy of medical records of patients who have received an abortion or other reproductive health services here in New Jersey and would protect the license of a medical professional in the state who provided an abortion to a person who lives in a state where the procedure is illegal. New Jersey Globe
State judges in Louisiana and Utah issued restraining orders temporarily blocking abortion bans in those states June 27, while a federal judge cleared the way for South Carolina to enforce a ban on abortion after six weeks of pregnancy. The Louisiana order is in response to a lawsuit to the state having three different laws triggering bans on abortion, causing confusion over which one is in effect, what the penalties are and what exceptions are available. A Utah judge blocked that state’s 2020 law triggering a ban on all abortions except in the case of rape, incest or a medical emergency. The Wall Street Journal
The attorneys general of 22 states, including New Jersey, reaffirmed their commitment June 27 to supporting and expanding access to abortion care nationwide in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court decision overturning Roe v. Wade. “Abortion care is healthcare. Period,” wrote the group. “We stand together, as our states’ chief law officers, to proudly say that we will not back down in the fight to protect the rights of pregnant people in our states and across the country.” NJ.com
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled on June 27 that a high school football coach had a constitutional right to pray at the 50-yard line after his team’s games, the latest step by the court in expanding the place of religion in public life. The vote was 6 to 3, with the court’s three liberal members in dissent. The decision came less than a week after the court ruled, by the same vote, that Maine could not exclude religious schools from a state tuition program. “Respect for religious expressions is indispensable to life in a free and diverse republic—whether those expressions take place in a sanctuary or on a field, and whether they manifest through the spoken word or a bowed head,” wrote Justice Neil M. Gorsuch for the majority. The New York Times
Advisers to U.S. health regulators are set to meet June 28 to consider whether and how COVID-19 vaccines should be updated to better target circulating variants of the coronavirus, in preparation for a Fall booster-shot campaign. The options for a Fall booster shot include sticking with current vaccines or using updated, Omicron-targeted vaccines that have shown promise in clinical studies. Another option: Use boosters that target more recent Omicron subvariants, including BA. 4 and BA. 5, but which haven’t been tested in people. The Wall Street Journal
New Jersey on June 27 reported three new COVID-19 deaths and 1,205 new confirmed cases. There were 726 patients with confirmed or suspected coronavirus cases in 69 of the 71 state hospitals that reported. Of those hospitalized, 93 were in intensive care and 30 were on ventilators. New Jersey’s positivity rate was 9.1% for tests conducted on June 22. North-JerseyNews.com
The bodies of at least 46 people believed to be migrants who crossed into the United States from Mexico were found dead in and around a tractor-trailer that had been abandoned on the outskirts of San Antonio on June 27. At least 16 others, including children, were taken to local hospitals alive but suffering from heat exhaustion and apparent dehydration, city officials said during a news conference at the scene of what appeared to be one of the worst episodes of migrant death in the United States in recent years. The New York Times
Rep. Bill Pascrell said he will fight a recent recommendation from the Biden Administration to close a Veterans medical facility in Paterson. Pascrell called the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) plans to close the Paterson Community-Based Outpatient Clinic in Veterans Integrated Service Network 2 which serves veterans in northern and central New Jersey as “misguided.” “The VA says it came to its recommendations by asking ‘what is best for the veterans we serve’,” wrote Pascrell to VA Secretary Denis McDonough. “Removing a community clinic that thousands of veterans rely on is not ‘what is best’ for veterans but is a slap in the face to those who served.” North-JerseyNews.com
The Jan. 6 House select committee is expected to hear public testimony on June 28 from Cassidy Hutchinson, a former aide to Mark Meadows, the final chief of staff for President Donald J. Trump. The committee on June 27 abruptly scheduled a hearing for this afternoon to hear what the panel called “recently obtained evidence.” But it did not disclose the nature of the evidence or who would be testifying, touching off a wave of speculation. The New York Times
New Jersey Acting Secretary of State Tahesha Way was approved unanimously by the Senate Judiciary Committee June 27, clearing her for another Senate-confirmed term in the job she’s held throughout Gov. Phil Murphy’s entire tenure as governor. State Sen. Kristin Corrado (R-40), who represents Way’s hometown of Wayne, held up Way’s nomination for months via senatorial courtesy. “I had wanted to meet with her and talk with her about some of the things that happened in past elections, and we had an opportunity to do that,” she said. “Once we did that, I signed off.” New Jersey Globe
A State Senate panel unanimously advanced seven of Gov. Phil Murphy’s judicial nominees June 27, as the state inched toward reducing a severe shortage of judges that has backlogged cases and suspended several types of cases in some counties. Among the judges who are slated by the full Senate June 29 are Cynthia Santomauro of North Caldwell, a commercial litigator with the Hackensack-based firm Cooke & Santomauro; Angela Gunter Foster of Nutley, an attorney and former deputy attorney general; Amy K. DePaul of Verona, trial court administrator for the Essex vicinage; and Jennifer Critchley of Verona, a commercial litigator at the law firm Connell Foley. New Jersey Monitor
The Paterson Board of Education has hired a company from Illinois to conduct a nationwide search for the next superintendent. The unanimous vote for hiring Hazard, Young, Attea & Associates represents a major change from a year ago, when a majority of board members wouldn’t even approve a measure to seek proposals from search firms. Board President Kenneth Simmons said the search firm would meet with local stakeholders over the next several weeks to decide what qualifications Paterson will include in advertisements for the job, such as whether applicants would need a doctoral degree or experience as a classroom teacher. The Record
A Jersey City resident and Polish organization have filed a lawsuit to stop a recently approved plan that would transform the area around the Katyn Memorial and Exchange Place PATH Station. The lawsuit, filed June 24 by Jeanne Daly and the Polish American Strategic Initiative, claims that the Planning Board both violated the Open Public Meetings Act and made its decision based on information that was not on the record. The suit names the Exchange Place Alliance, which designed the plan, as well. Residents have argued against the project because of how it would affect the existing monument, arguing that it would be obscured and harder to access since it would be nearly encircled by grass berms and other vegetation. The Jersey Journal
And finally…Vance the Emu is home in West Milford after being on the loose for a week. The Record
