Gov. Mikie Sherrill and the Legislature’s top Democrats say they have a deal on state government’s next annual budget, paving the way for its final adoption in the coming days.
The full details of the agreement were not disclosed in a joint statement issued Tuesday afternoon by Sherrill, Senate President Nicholas Scutari (D-Union) and Assembly Speaker Craig Coughlin (D-Middlesex).
The three leaders, though, said their agreement calls for a $60.7 billion budget to be adopted for the fiscal year that begins July 1.
That total matches the amount Sherrill, a first-term Democrat, proposed as a ceiling for annual appropriations in her public address to lawmakers in March.
The agreement calls for fully funding the state’s annual employer pension obligations, expanding New Jersey’s child tax credit and shrinking a structural budget imbalance that Sherrill has identified as a key financial concern, according to the statement.
“We are proud that this budget agreement will help families across New Jersey and look forward to its passing in the coming days,” the statement said.
‘Count on’ Stay NJ
The agreement comes after a series of behind-the-scenes negotiations in the run-up to the constitutionally mandated July 1 deadline. State government will shut down if a spending plan is not in place by then.
It is not known when the full details of the budget agreement will be released. Also not announced Tuesday is when a final draft of the spending bill that will become the next state budget will be introduced and voted on by lawmakers in both houses. Spokespeople for the majority offices in the Assembly and Senate declined to comment beyond what was included in the joint statement.
Among other key details left out of the statement issued Tuesday is whether Sherrill was able to persuade lawmakers to accept cost-saving revisions to the Stay NJ property tax relief program for senior homeowners. She has sought that as part of a broad effort to restrain spending and reduce the budget imbalance, which her administration had projected to total $3 billion unless policymakers change course.
On Stay NJ, the statement issued by the three leaders’ said only that the program itself is “a sustainable benefit retirees can count on.”
‘Behind closed doors’
Also uncertain is whether Sherrill has agreed to restore in the new budget any funding for individual line items that were included in the current spending plan signed into law by then-Gov. Phil Murphy a year ago.
Many of those spending items were left out of the budget plan that Sherrill shared with lawmakers in March as part of her broader belt-tightening effort, upsetting legislators who worked hard to secure that funding last year.
Also not addressed was the fate of several proposed tax-policy changes that could result in the state’s collecting about $750 million in new revenue from businesses.
Republicans, in a statement, raised concerns about transparency as they responded to news of the budget agreement. “Everything is being negotiated behind closed doors,” they said.
“A new governor may put a fresh coat of paint on the process, but it’s still the same broken state budget — one that treats fairness, transparency and taxpayers as an afterthought,” they said.
This story is made possible in part by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, a private corporation funded by the American people.
