Senate Minority Leader Anthony Bucco said Thursday that Gov. Mikie Sherrill’s first budget process has fallen short of the transparency she promised during her February budget address, reflecting growing frustration among Senate Republicans as negotiations enter their final week.
“It’s turning out to be business as usual, despite the governor’s words back in February about having a budget that would be transparent, open, and available well before June 30,” Bucco said. “So far, we haven’t seen anything, and that’s discouraging.”
Bucco’s criticism marks a notable shift from the tone Senate Republicans struck immediately after Sherrill’s budget address. While Assembly Republicans dismissed the governor’s speech at the time as more of the same, Senate Republicans initially appeared more willing to give the new administration the benefit of the doubt.
As the budget process has unfolded, however, Senate Republicans have increasingly aligned with the skepticism their Assembly counterparts expressed in February.
Bucco also compared Sherrill’s first budget cycle to those under her predecessor, Gov. Phil Murphy, saying he has seen little evidence of a different approach.
“No, there hasn’t been any change in this budget cycle, and I was hopeful there would be,” said Bucco. “At the very beginning, Republicans sent the governor a list of recommendations that could save the state money and help restore some of the programs that have been cut, and we got crickets.”
The Senate GOP leader argued that Democrats, who have controlled both chambers of the Legislature for the last quarter-century, have largely ignored Republican proposals and must ultimately take responsibility for the state’s fiscal challenges rather than blaming Washington or previous administrations.
“At some point, people have to recognize that this state has been controlled by the Democratic Party for 25 years, and they have nobody to blame for the shortfalls we are seeing but themselves,” Bucco said. “You can’t blame Washington. You can’t blame a prior governor. You have to own it. This is their responsibility.”
Sherrill has proposed a $60.7 billion budget. She took on lawmakers of her own party by calling for an end to last-minute budget giveaways.
