News: POLITICO New Jersey Playbook: The cash is coming in

Monday, April 12, 2021

POLITICO New Jersey Playbook: The cash is coming in

Apr 12, 2021

Presented by Pre-K Our Way

Good Monday morning! I'm filling in for Matt today, and since I cover the budget, you get to kick your week off reading about the state's finances!

On Friday, Moody's improved the state's credit outlook from "negative" to "stable." While this is far less significant than an actual rating change, it's still a good sign.

My colleague Samantha Marcus at NJ Advance Media points out that this move by Moody's comes nearly a year after the state's outlook was lowered "amid the first wave of the coronavirus pandemic and fears of economic collapse."

Now, the state's budget situation feels much different. Revenues came in billions more than projected. We have several billion dollars coming from Washington. That's on top of the more than $4 billion that state officials borrowed.

This will be the sixth time I've covered budget negotiations in New Jersey, and I never thought I'd see a moment when lawmakers and the governor have more money than they know what to do with.

There's talk of retiring debt or using the funds for non-recurring programs, but it's really anyone's guess as to how this plays out. One thing's for sure — I have no idea what will happen between now and June 30th. I guess that's why they call it reporting.

WHERE'S MURPHY — Signing small business legislation in the morning; a coronavirus briefing in the afternoon.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY — Missed Sunday: Assemblymember Robert Karabinchak

HEADLINE OF THE DAY: " Plants have adapted strange techniques to help with sex," via The Record.

A messsage from Pre-K Our Way:

Thanks, Governor and Legislature! Pre-k expansion funding's been in every recent state budget! Working families in 150+ school districts have pre-k expansion – but families in 110+ districts still wait. They're waiting in rural, suburban and suburban communities – from east to west, north to south. Continue substantial pre-k expansion THIS YEAR! Visit prekourway.org

WHAT TRENTON MADE

FIRST ORDER OF BUSINESS: TRIPLE THE NUMBER OF WHITE CASTLES — N.J.'s powerful legal weed panel gets to work Monday. Here are the big things it will do, by NJ Advance Media's Amanda Hoover: "The commission to regulate a legal marijuana industry in New Jersey will finally get to work Monday, kicking off the countdown to the opening of new dispensary doors. And it means we'll soon know more about how the nascent cannabis marketplace will look. The five-member Cannabis Regulatory Commission has considerable power to shape the Garden State's new legal weed industry. The commission, which has three appointees from Gov. Phil Murphy and one each from Senate President Stephen Sweeney and Assembly Speaker Craig Coughlin, is seen as so influential that the NAACP explored legal action over its original makeup, which did not include any Black men."

— Top cannabis execs donated the maximum to Murphy as New Jersey launches adult use, by POLITICO's Sam Sutton: Top executives at one of the largest cannabis businesses in the country contributed more than $20,000 to Gov. Phil Murphy's reelection campaign as New Jersey launches an adult use marketplace, according to campaign finance records. Verano Holdings' co-founders George Archos and Sam Dorf maxed out their contributions, with each signing $4,900 checks to Murphy's campaign on Christmas Eve 2020 — one week after lawmakers sent legislation to the famously pro-cannabis governor to legalize the drug for adult use. Marla and Steven Dorf, who list their respective occupations as attorneys with the company, also each gave the maximum contribution on Dec. 24, 2020. Separately, Darren Weiss, Verano's chief counsel and chief legal officer, contributed $500 to the campaign.

EDNA MAHAN — N.J. prison watchdog to resign after tense public hearing about ongoing failure to flag abuses behind bars, by NJ Advance Media's Blake Nelson: "The ombudsman in charge of investigating problems in New Jersey prisons is resigning in the wake of a tense public hearing Thursday when he struggled to explain how he'd missed years of documented abuse at the state's only women's facility. Corrections Ombudsman Dan DiBenedetti will step down Aug. 1, according to a spokeswoman for Gov. Phil Murphy. Alyana Alfaro declined to comment further Friday. DiBenedetti didn't respond to requests for comment. The announcement came less than a day after more lawmakers said New Jersey needed a new prison watchdog. 'Everyone has to go,' Assemblywomen Aura Dunn, R-Morris, Nancy Muñoz, R-Union, and Assemblymen Christopher DePhillips and Bob Auth, both R-Bergen, said in a joint statement Thursday night about DiBenedetti and Marcus Hicks, the leader of the prison system."

BODY CAMS — New Jersey working group releases final recommendations on body cams, by POLITICO's Katherine Landergan: New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy and Attorney General Gurbir Grewal on Friday released the final report of a 14-member working group that offers guidance and recommendations on how local governments can save money in purchasing body-worn cameras and related technology. The Interagency Working Group on Body Worn Cameras, a group that Murphy created via executive order, issued three recommendations for savings, including that the state Treasury Department "aggressively negotiate" with vendors for an increased volume discount on buying the cameras and for the storage to hold camera footage. The group also recommended that the Attorney General issue guidance to expand the types of law enforcement officers who must wear body cameras.

MY PETITIONS FOR GOVERNOR WERE REJECTED BUT IT WAS MY MOM'S NAME 20K TIMES — "NJDSC Files Formal Objection to Gubernatorial Candidate Lisa McCormick's Petitions," by InsiderNJ: "The New Jersey Democratic State Committee is filing a formal objection with the Secretary of State's Office against gubernatorial candidate Lisa McCormick after the party discovered what it calls 'credible instances of possible fraud' in her campaign's nominating petitions. An investigation by state party officials shows that numerous voters who are claimed to have signed Ms. McCormick's petition did not in fact sign them, did not authorize their names to be used, and most importantly did not even know that their names or electronic signatures were being utilized by Ms. McCormick's campaign — in fact, in one instance a voter who died in January is listed as having signed McCormick's petition."

NJ Advance Media: "N.J.'s largest nurses union filed 24 worker safety complaints during pandemic."

NJ Spotlight News: "NJ store is helping families stay clothed free of charge."

POLITICO: More than half of New Jersey's State Board of Ed members are sitting in expired seats

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BIDEN TIME

GATEWAY — Gateway Program moves forward under new DOT, by POLITICO's Danielle Muoio: Officials behind the Gateway Program are cheering news that the federal Department of Transportation has committed to finish its environmental review by May 28. Details: After years of delay under the Trump administration, Gateway officials now see an end in sight for the environmental review they submitted back in 2018 for a total rebuild of the Hudson River rail tunnels that connect New York and New Jersey. The project is designed to repair the tunnels that were damaged by Superstorm Sandy and expand rail capacity. "The US DOT's commitment to finish the Hudson Tunnel Project environmental review by May 28th is the latest demonstration of the Biden Administration's clear resolve to expedite the project and start construction as soon as possible," the Gateway commissioners wrote in a statement. New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy categorized it as a "a major step towards relief for New Jersey commuters."

VAN DREW — "Why this N.J. congressman keeps voting against big bills he'd sponsored," by NJ Advance Media's Jonathan D. Salant: "When the U.S. House in March 2019 passed far-reaching ethics legislation to expand voter registration, mandate that presidential candidates release their tax returns, end partisan gerrymandering, and match small-dollar donations to candidates, New Jersey Rep. Jeff Van Drew co-sponsored the bill and voted yes. 'This reform bill will clean up corruption in Washington, restore our democracy, and promote bipartisanship,' Van Drew said at the time. 'We need to restore our democracy to a government of the people, by the people, and for the people.' When the House passed a near-identical bill last month after the first one failed in the Senate, Van Drew voted no. 'We were warned for years about the rise of socialism,' Van Drew said on the House floor. 'Here it is served on a platter, using your money to pay for politicians' campaigns. This bill puts Washington, D.C., in charge of our states' elections and how those elections are run.' The bill hadn't changed. Van Drew's views of it did, along with his party affiliation."

NOTHING LIKE THAT PEACEFUL MORNING COMMUTE INTO MANHATTAN — New Jersey congressmen urge slowdown on plans for congestion pricing , by POLITICO's Katherine Landergan: New Jersey Democratic Reps. Bill Pascrell and Josh Gottheimer said Friday that the Biden administration should hold off on plans to taxi drivers who enter Manhattan until more studies are done and hearings are held. "This is an extra tax on our drivers, and that's exactly how we're going to look at it," Pascrell said during a press conference held on a highway overpass in Fort Lee as cars and trucks sped by. "We have a responsibility to make sure New Jersey is going to be respected." New York is moving closer toward implementing a policy that would charge drivers to enter Manhattan south of 60th Street. There is no set price range yet for so-called congestion pricing, but past proposals have recommended charging $12 to $14 for cars. Pascrell and Gottheimer say that could cost New Jersey commuters about $3,000 a year, on top of the pricey tolls drivers already pay to enter Manhattan via Hudson River crossings. The Biden administration has notified New York's Metropolitan Transportation Authority that it should launch an environmental assessment of congestion pricing. An environmental assessment is a far less rigorous than a full scale environmental impact statement, which could have taken years to complete. The request indicates the Biden administration is interested in moving quickly.

A messsage from Pre-K Our Way:

LOCAL

SICK PAY — "Palisades Park asks workers to return $200K in sick pay. Some residents say it's not enough," by NorthJersey.com's Kristie Cattafi: "The borough is seeking reimbursement of over $200,000 after a scathing comptroller's report found that officials were improperly paying employees for unused sick time. A month after the report from New Jersey's comptroller found hundreds of thousands of taxpayer dollars being wasted, the mayor and Borough Council made changes like amending white-collar contracts, issuing gas cards to department heads only and instituting an oversight committee. The report found that in 2018, the borough made over $109,000 in sick leave payouts to 27 employees who, under a 2010 law, should not have received them. In 2019, $95,000 was paid to 22 employees. Most payments were between $3,000 and $5,000, the report said."

FOR A MERE $1M YOU TOO CAN BUY A HOME IN NORTH JERSEY — "How hot is NJ's spring real estate market? Cash offers, bidding wars, forgone inspections," by NorthJersey.com's Mary Chao: "Welcome to the COVID pandemic real estate market in New Jersey, where homes are selling as soon as they are listed, often with multiple offers. Low inventory — coupled with the increased appeal of suburban living — has created a fiercely competitive market for buyers. Even as COVID restrictions about showing homes lifted, properties are still not coming on the market. 'It's crazy. It's really crazy,' said Ann Marie Battaglia, a real estate agent at KL Sotheby's International Realty in Madison. Traditionally, the spring season, which runs from early April through the end of June, is the busiest time for home sales in North Jersey. This year — with low inventory — sellers have the upper hand."

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EVERYTHING ELSE

MARIJUANA — Border weed: How the hometown of tater tots became a cannabis capital, by POLITICO's Natalie Fertig: The fear of losing out on tax revenues to neighboring states is motivating legislatures around the country to consider cannabis legalization. In the last five months, Arizona, South Dakota, Montana, Virginia, New Mexico, New York and New Jersey have all legalized marijuana. Those law changes have created more than twenty new cross-border regions. Pennsylvanians will likely soon be popping into Camden, N.J. to partake in the Garden State's newest crop, as will shoppers from Maryland and Delaware — all depositing tax dollars in New Jersey's coffers. On the other side of the state, the race is now on to see which direction PATH traffic will be going for weed, even for a little while — into Hoboken, or into Manhattan?

A messsage from Pre-K Our Way:

Thanks to the Governor and Legislature, there's been pre-k expansion funding in every recent state budget! That's enabled NJ to expand pre-k for working families into 150+ school districts.

However, families in 110+ eligible districts still wait in rural, suburban and urban communities, and from east to west – and north to south.

The proposed FY2022 budget would continue to recognize pre-k expansion as a priority for now, and for our future. We agree with former Governor Tom Kean, "There are a few priority reforms we need to make to improve education in our state. One of our highest priorities should be the availability of quality pre-k programs for all of our children. These programs offer our best hope for future success in school and life."

Let's maintain pre-k expansion as a statewide priority. Continue substantial pre-k expansion in the coming year for New Jersey, and especially for its working families.

Visit prekourway.org