| | | | | |  | | By Katherine Landergan | Presented by Ørsted | Good Tuesday morning! The state's largest city is embarking on its guaranteed income experiment. Newark Mayor Ras Baraka took to the steps of city hall yesterday to promote the new pilot program. A select group of residents will receive $6,000 per year for two years, no strings attached. The city will start with a cohort of 30 participants and hopes to scale up to 400 people in the fall. They are relying on donations, and have raised about $2.2 million so far. Universal basic income is not a new idea, but the policy has punctured the national discourse in recent years. A number of mayor-led pilot programs have cropped up across the United States, most notably in Stockton, California. Universal basic income in its truest form gives cash payments to residents regardless of income level. But many of these pilot programs, including Newark's, are just targeting low-income residents with the hopes that they can demonstrate how this policy can close the racial wealth gap. Read my dispatch from Newark here, and here's an earlier story from 2020 on this mayor-led trend. WHERE'S MURPHY — No public schedule. QUOTE OF THE DAY : "New Jersey has enjoyed a strong relationship with New York for years. But congestion pricing runs completely counter to our record of working together. Congressman Gottheimer and Senator Lagana are looking out for the needs, and the wallets, of their constituents with this proposal. We will take any action needed to fight the double standard being imposed on our residents by this unfair policy." — Senate President Steve Sweeney on congestion pricing
| | | | A message from Ørsted: Together, we have helped New Jersey progress towards its ambitious renewable energy goals and plant the seeds of green growth. But at Ørsted, we want to go further. With Ocean Wind 2, we can deliver an additional 1,200 MW to power 500,000 New Jersey homes with clean, reliable energy. Building upon our firm roots, we want to grow a healthier Garden State that is sustainable and equitable. Learn more: us.orsted.com/newjersey | | | |  | WHAT TRENTON MADE | | LAWMAKING, NEW JERSEY STYLE — New Jersey lawmakers send ultimatum to New York on congestion pricing, by POLITICO's Daniel Han: North Jersey lawmakers sent an ultimatum to New York on Monday, declaring they would introduce legislation to tax non-New Jersey drivers entering the state if New York decides to hike fees on drivers entering Manhattan. "New Jersey is not New York City's piggy bank and if they move forward with this scheme, it would be irresponsible for us not to find a way to protect our own residents," state Sen. Joe Lagana (D-Bergen) said at a press conference in Paramus with Assemblymembers Chris Tully and Lisa Swain (both D-Bergen) and U.S. Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-N.J.). SO…. NOW CAN I FIND OUT WHAT THE $6B GOING TO BE USED FOR? — Treasury launches $350B aid program for states, cities, by POLITICO's Victoria Guida and Brian Faler: The Treasury Department on Monday announced it will begin doling out the $350 billion set aside by Congress for states and cities, an effort to bolster the budgets of municipal governments across the country. Local officials will have considerable leeway in how they spend money that replaces revenue losses they've experienced during the coronavirus pandemic, while additional funds will have to be directed toward more specific uses, such as public health expenditures, food and housing assistance and replenishing reserves for unemployment benefits. Though states and cities have been less damaged than expected by the pandemic, Gene Sperling, the White House's point person on coordinating relief efforts, called the aid "a critical component of the president's plan to have a strong and equitable recovery." APPARENTLY NOT ON THAT — Treasury spells out new restrictions on state tax cuts, by POLITICO's Brian Faler: States that cut taxes will have to demonstrate to the federal government that they didn't finance them with stimulus money under new Treasury Department rules. The agency said Monday that state governments will have to file annual reports detailing whether they cut taxes, how much those cost and how they financed them. The department also explained when states are exempt from the rules — such as when their total tax receipts surpass pre-pandemic levels. ...Gov. Phil Murphy at his Covid briefing in Trenton on Monday said of the funding, "bear with us we have to parse through that. That guidance, we've been predicting it was coming, it's come which is great. We now need to get a very specific sense of the parameters." WRITE TO ME...If you're a lawmaker, a staffer, Phil Murphy, or anyone with a computer who has thoughts on state should use the $6-odd billion that's coming into its coffers, email me at klandergan@politico.com. BUT JOURNALISM SCHOOL SAYS THREE IS A TREND — "Two nursing homes close and may signal a trend," by NJ Spotlight News' Lilo Stainton: " After 83 years as a nursing home that filled a unique cultural niche in Emerson, Bergen County, the Armenian Nursing & Rehabilitation Center closed its doors on Easter Sunday, a victim of a changing industry and the coronavirus pandemic. The Villa at Florham Park, a nursing home in southern Morris County with a 130-year history, is scheduled to follow suit in the weeks to come. 'This whole thing is so scary. You're just hoping the next place isn't going to close too,' said a New Jersey woman whose brother will be forced to move from The Villa, where he has lived for a year-and-a-half. 'I guess it's survival of the fittest — or the ones that can change,' said the woman, who declined to be identified because of concerns over her brother's privacy and care." MURPHY SOON TO GIVE OUT A FREE TAMAGOTCHI WITH EVERY VAX — Murphy: New Jersey prepared to 'transition to vaccinating' kids 12 to 15, by POLITICO's Carly Sitrin: New Jersey is preparing to begin vaccinating younger residents now that the Food and Drug Administration has authorized Pfizer's coronavirus vaccine for kids 12 to 15 years old. "Formal plans to guide both parents and guardians and practitioners are being finalized," by the state Department of Health, Gov. Phil Murphy said Monday during his regular briefing in Trenton, several hours before the FDA's announcement. Vaccination sites, he said, are prepared to "transition to vaccinating eligible adolescents as soon as Pfizer receives its emergency use authorization." "All-in-all, we know it is only a matter of time until this happens and we have spent our time preparing so we can get this latest expansion underway with minimal lead time," Murphy said. Murphy said New Jersey intends to use its megasites as a "hub and spoke" model to bring doses into communities. Walgreens has already been partnering with some school districts in the state to vaccinate students 16 and older and the governor said he anticipates the company will be able to pivot to vaccinating younger students. | | | | SUBSCRIBE TO WEST WING PLAYBOOK: Add West Wing Playbook to keep up with the power players, latest policy developments and intriguing whispers percolating inside the West Wing and across the highest levels of the Cabinet. For buzzy nuggets and details you won't find anywhere else, subscribe today. | | | | |
| | BIDEN TIME | | TRUMP WORLD — "Christie and Cheney carve opposite paths amid Trump's Republican Party," by The Record's Charles Stile: "Liz Cheney, the outspoken Wyoming congresswoman, and Chris Christie, the outspoken former New Jersey governor, have a few things in common. Both are lifelong Republicans. Both got their early start in the George W. Bush wing of the GOP establishment. Both are crafty in courting controversy. But both have taken dramatically different paths in the modern GOP that remains locked in Donald Trump's trance. Cheney is publicly repudiating the Cult of Donald Trump and wants to salvage her party before it's too late. Christie, who had a brief stint as Never Trumper, is now pandering to the Trump cultists — albeit with his typical, thread-the-needle nimbleness." NOMINATIONS — NJ man could be the first Muslim federal judge. But a question about Sharia is stoking controversy, by The Record's Hannan Adely: " New Jersey's Zahid Quraishi has served as a military prosecutor and an Army captain in Iraq, as an assistant U.S. attorney who has tried cases of public corruption, organized crime and financial fraud, and as a white-collar criminal defense lawyer. But when Quraishi, who grew up in Union County, appeared last month before the Senate Judiciary Committee — which is considering his nomination as a federal District Court judge — one of the few questions he faced had nothing to do with his noteworthy resume. 'What do you know about Sharia law?' asked the committee chair, Sen. Dick Durbin. .... Some Muslim and South Asian advocacy groups and legal organizations have publicly supported Quraishi's nomination. But other Muslim leaders have been hesitant, saying they want an explanation of his role as a U.S. Army legal adviser for detention operations in Iraq and his work for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Quraishi declined an interview request." | | | | A message from Ørsted:   | | | | | EVERYTHING ELSE | | CORONAVIRUS — "As pandemic recedes, NJ's hospital workers are still getting sick — and dying — from COVID," by The Record's Lindy Washburn: " As COVID cases spiked earlier this year and began to wane in the spring, New Jersey hospital workers remained at high risk of contracting the virus. More than 5,400 were infected in the first four months of 2021, according to new data released by the state, and at least one North Jersey nurse died in recent weeks. "These people are putting their neck on the line here, and still sustaining infections," said Reynald Panettieri, director of the Rutgers Institute for Translational Medicine and Science and co-author of two studies on COVID among health care workers." — "NJ's White Residents Receive COVID-19 Shots At Almost Twice The Rate Of Blacks, Latinos," by WNYC's Karen Yi: " New county-by-county numbers in New Jersey show white residents are receiving COVID-19 vaccines at nearly twice the rate of Black and Latino people. The disparities are the widest in the southern end of the state but remain sizeable in denser, urban counties in the north. A WNYC/Gothamist analysis of state health data shows the biggest difference in Burlington County, where white people received doses at nearly three times the rate of Black residents. UNEMPLOYMENT DELAYS — "Did not receive $300 from NJ unemployment? Fix coming Tuesday, says Labor Department," by The Record's Ashley Balcerzak: "New Jersey workers collecting jobless benefits should expect to see their weekly supplemental $300 federal benefits in their bank accounts or on debit cards by Tuesday, after a processing delay led claimants to wonder where their benefits were, according to the New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development. "We are working with our partners at the Office of Information Technology and Bank of America, and deposits that have not yet come through will post to accounts tomorrow," said Thomas Wright, a spokesperson for the state Labor Department. "While we like to remind our claimants deposits can take two to three business days, depending on their bank, some have become accustomed to receiving their deposits on the early side of that timeline," Wright said." — Support grows in New Jersey for policies affecting undocumented immigrants, poll finds — "For decades women were raped and abused. Now NJ prisons promise changes." | | | | JOIN THURSDAY FOR A CONVERSATION ON TRANSGENDER POLITICIANS: More transgender people got elected to office at all levels across the country in 2020, in both blue and red states – and that number is likely to continue to grow. During the last year, constituents across America elected six transgender candidates at the state level as transgender rights gain more attention across the country. Join POLITICO Nightly: Daytime Edition for a conversation featuring transgender elected officials as they discuss their experiences running for and serving in public office. REGISTER HERE. | | | | | | | | | A message from Ørsted: From building the world's first offshore wind farm to becoming the global leader, offshore wind is what we do. It's what brought Ørsted and New Jersey together.
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