News : POLITICO New Jersey Playbook: The gas tax decrease

Wednesday, August 25, 2021

POLITICO New Jersey Playbook: The gas tax decrease

Aug 25, 2021

Good Wednesday morning!

New Jersey's gas tax is decreasing. Yes, you read that correctly.

The tax will decrease by 8.3 cents per gallon on Oct. 1. The new tax will be 42.4 cents per gallon for gasoline, down from 50.7 per gallon.

The change is welcome news for drivers, considering the tax went up by 9.3 cents per gallon last year. (That said, the gas tax in New Jersey remains among the highest in the country.)

The tax rate is the result of a formula set during the Christie administration that is earmarked for infrastructure. And while it's a predetermined formula, the timing is also welcome news for Gov. Phil Murphy, who is running for re-election.

Stories around another gas tax hike, just weeks before the election, would certainly not have been great PR.

WHERE'S MURPHY? — Traveling out-of-state with First Lady Tammy Murphy for a National Governors Association conference in Denver. They will return to New Jersey on Friday afternoon. Lt. Gov. Oliver will serve as acting governor.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY — Brittany "Badger" Wheeler, political director for the Ciattarelli campaign.

WHAT TRENTON MADE

HAZING — "Criminal charges for hazing now harsher under law named for N.J.'s Timothy Piazza," by NJ Advance Media's Matt Arco: "People convicted of hazing at New Jersey schools and colleges will now face harsher penalties under a new bill Gov. Phil Murphy signed into law on Tuesday. The legislation, Timothy J. Piazza's Law, is named for a Readington teenager who died after falling down the stairs during a hazing initiation at a Penn State University fraternity in 2017. Over the course of 82 minutes at Beta Theta Pi, Piazza consumed 18 alcoholic drinks. His blood alcohol content was between .28 and .35, which is nearly five times the legal limit. He fell down a flight of stairs, and fraternity members waited until the next morning to call for medical help."

REFUGEES — Afghan refugees heading to New Jersey; exact number remains unclear, by POLITICO's Ry Rivard: Refugees from Afghanistan will soon be arriving at New Jersey's Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, one of four military bases in the U.S. expected to receive a combined 25,000 Afghans fleeing a country now controlled by the Taliban. The number of Afghans who will be housed in New Jersey and for how long is not immediately clear. Gov. Phil Murphy said Monday he welcomed the refugees and that his administration was honored to do its part. "Our state has always served as a shining beacon of hope to the world, and we will do everything in our power to help these refugees rebuild their lives," he tweeted. The governor said he wasn't sure if the refugees would stay in New Jersey in the long term, noting that other states, including Virginia and California, have larger existing Afghan populations that may attract refugees.

U.S. ATTORNEY SEARCH — "Sellinger is leading candidate for U.S. Attorney, with White House vetting in advanced stages," by the New Jersey Globe's David Wildstein: "New Jersey's two U.S. Senators have asked President Joe Biden to nominate Philip R. Sellinger as the next U.S. Attorney, the New Jersey Globe has learned. With the support of Bob Menendez and Cory Booker, the White House is now vetting Sellinger — something that includes a thorough background check — with the next step being a formal nomination by the President, according to people familiar with the process. Sellinger, 67, is the co-managing shareholder of the New Jersey office of Greenberg Traurig, a national law firm. He served as an Assistant U.S. Attorney from 1981 to 1984. The early front-runner for the post, Hudson County Prosecutor Esther Suarez, withdrew her name from consideration in May."

GOVERNOR'S RACE — Ciattarelli won't rule out reversing mask position if pediatric Covid cases climb, by POLITICO's Sam Sutton: Jack Ciattarelli's campaign left the door open Tuesday on the GOP gubernatorial nominee potentially supporting a mask mandate in schools if cases among children continue to climb. While Ciattarelli has repeatedly hammered Gov. Phil Murphy over the Democrat's decision to reimpose a face covering requirement at schools and day care facilities, new Covid-19 cases and hospitalizations have ticked up steadily among New Jerseyans younger than 17. Ciattarelli's position has been that parents should decide whether their children should wear masks in school and the decision should not be mandated. Asked if Ciattarelli would maintain his position, or if there was room for a mask requirement if the Delta variant continues to drive up infections and hospitalizations among children, a campaign spokesperson told POLITICO in an email that "Jack will continue to monitor the ongoing situation, and we expect Governor Murphy to do the same."

UNEMPLOYMENT — "Murphy won't say if N.J. will extend pandemic unemployment benefits, affecting 500K residents," by NJ Advance Media's Karin Price Mueller: "With approximately 500,000 New Jerseyans set to lose pandemic unemployment benefits after the first week of September, Gov. Phil Murphy won't say if he will extend the federal payments. At his Monday coronavirus briefing, Murphy said he had 'no news' about the prospect of extending benefits. President Joe Biden last week said states with unemployment rates that are higher than the national average — 5.4% — could use COVID relief funds to extend benefits beyond the Sept. 4 expiration date."

— Murphy won't say if N.J. will extend extra unemployment benefits, by the New Jersey Monitor's Sophie Nieto-Munoz: "The state Department of Labor also declined to comment, saying the agency is 'waiting for forthcoming guidance from' Washington, D.C. It's unclear what else the state needs from the federal government. Labor and Treasury officials announced last week states can boost unemployment benefits using pandemic funds like the American Rescue Plan."

TEACHER SHORTAGE? — "NJ's teacher shortage adds to list of concerns in return to in-person learning," by NJ Spotlight News' Joanna Gagis: "The education community will have more to grapple with this fall than COVID-19 and a vaccination mandate. The state has been facing a teacher shortage for several years before the pandemic, but that's now compounded by such pandemic-related issues as concerns over contracting the virus, vaccination requirements and unreliable child care. Richard Bozza, executive director at the New Jersey Association of School Administrators, said of the scramble to fill vacancies: 'We see this really exacerbated mostly in the largest, particularly urban districts. But this year, we're all feeling the pinch, especially in the areas that are hard to staff — special education, science, mathematics, bilingual education.'"

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BIDEN TIME

AFGHANISTAN — Biden sticks to Aug. 31 withdrawal from Afghanistan, by POLITICO's Lara Seligman, Andrew Desiderio and Quint Forgey: President Joe Biden has agreed with a Pentagon recommendation to stick to an Aug. 31 deadline to withdraw U.S. combat troops from Afghanistan, according to two people with knowledge of his decision. Biden's plan comes despite deteriorating conditions in Kabul, where U.S. troops are rushing to evacuate as many Americans and Afghan allies as possible, and despite warnings from lawmakers that it's not possible to complete the evacuations before the end of the month. The decision has already sparked criticism at home and abroad as the administration continues to face harsh scrutiny for its handling of the withdrawal and ongoing execution of an urgent evacuation effort at the Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul.

GOTT-A-DEAL — Anatomy of a power play: How 9 House Dems cut their deal with Pelosi, by POLITICO's Sarah Ferris and Heather Caygle: Josh Gottheimer had been in the political wilderness for 10 days before he was finally summoned by Speaker Nancy Pelosi to cut a deal. The de facto leader of a rebellious group of party moderates had signaled for weeks that he had the votes to upend Pelosi's carefully laid legislative plans and wasn't going to go quietly this time. Gottheimer and eight allies indicated, privately and then very publicly, that they wanted an immediate vote on the Senate's infrastructure bill and would tank the budget if they didn't get their way.

On Tuesday, Gottheimer and his group pulled off what just days ago seemed unimaginable — Pelosi praised them for their "enthusiasm" in a public statement while announcing her commitment to pass the infrastructure bill by Sept. 27. "Not everybody loves you every day, but when you sit and work with both sides, you tend to take body blows from both sides," Gottheimer said in an interview about his tactics. "If it's for the good of the country, making progress and doing what's right for the people we represent, that's my job."

New Jersey Globe: "Some unions tell Gottheimer to vote for full Build Back Better plan."

LOCAL

FIFTH HARMONY PREDICTED IT — "What is the work-from-home impact on local downtowns? Pascack Valley towns are finding out," by North Jersey.com's Stephanie Noda: "With the coronavirus pandemic spurring a work-from-home revolution, towns in the Pascack Valley are studying what the shift means for their local economies. Officials are surveying local residents, employees and business owners in eight northern Bergen County towns on how their work-life habits have changed, with an eye toward better planning for downtown parking, commuter services and other needs. 'Understanding what consumer and commuter habits, interest and business uses the pandemic may have changed in a lasting way seemed like a good place to start,' said Westwood Mayor Raymond Arroyo."

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EVERYTHING ELSE

ENERGY — Environmental group calls for ban on natural gas hookups in New Jersey by 2030, by Ry: New Jersey buildings should soon no longer come with natural gas hookups, the New Jersey League of Conservation Voters plans to argue Wednesday, setting up a policy battle over gas that has been gradually brewing in other parts of the country. The league, in a series of policy recommendations it will release during a press conference in Trenton, will propose that all new residential and commercial buildings be 100 percent electric by 2030. That means no natural gas stoves, heating systems or other gas-powered appliances. The effect of such a switch — which is effectively a ban on new gas customers — is to curb long-term demand for natural gas, decreasing the justification for building new gas pipelines and sinking new gas wells.

THIS SEEMS FAMILIAR — "In major shift, Pa. panel votes to count incarcerated people in home districts, not state prisons," by Spotlight PA's Sarah Anne Hughes: "Thousands of people incarcerated in state prisons will be counted in their home legislative districts rather than in corrections facilities when Pennsylvania redraws the maps, a major policy change that will benefit communities of color. The Legislative Reapportionment Commission voted 3-2 in favor of a resolution introduced by House Minority Leader Joanna McClinton (D., Philadelphia), who said it 'makes no sense' to count people in communities where they have no long-term relationships or plans to remain. 'We cannot wait another 10 years,' she said. 'The time to correct this injustice is now.'"

HEALTHCARE — "Midwives ask state to end physician oversight as home births rise," by the New Jersey Monitor's Dana DiFilippo: "New Jersey requires licensed midwives to have a 'consulting agreement' with an obstetrician in order to practice. The idea is to ensure midwives have a go-to expert on call if complications arise. But it's grown tougher for midwives to persuade doctors to partner with them, as more doctors leave independent practice and more insurers, citing liability concerns, increasingly reject such relationships. As pandemic fears drive up home births, midwives say the regulation has become burdensome without enough doctors willing to sign on as official consultants. That could force women who want a home birth to instead head to the hospital — or go it alone at home."

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