News: Legislative leaders begin to flex budget muscle

Tuesday, May 23, 2023

Legislative leaders begin to flex budget muscle

May 23, 2023

Good Tuesday morning!

Less than six weeks before the June 30 budget deadline, legislative leaders are beginning to flex their muscles with spending ideas of their own, setting up a possible collision course with Gov. Phil Murphy's plan to sunset some corporate business taxes.

On Monday, Assembly Speaker Craig Coughlin unveiled a plan that would “effectively cut most seniors’ property taxes in half.”

“It’s time to cut property taxes in half for seniors in New Jersey,” Coughlin, who turned 65 this year, wrote in an op-ed for NJ.com. The plan comes with its own campaign-ready moniker, StayNJ.

Hours later, following a Senate floor session, Senate President Nicholas Scutari told reporters that he was working in tandem with Coughlin on property tax relief programs and that he would introduce legislation.

Scutari then signaled he’s looking to keep a surcharge on corporate business taxes in place as a possible source of money for the senior tax cuts. Murphy has been unequivocal that an additional 2.5% tax for corporations with over $1 million in taxable income sunset by the end of the year.

To top it all off, Scutari then threw his support behind 400 New Jersey mayors who are asking lawmakers to release hundreds of millions of dollars they say the state is withholding from local governments. The mayors — of both parties and from across the state — argue the state is hoarding utility fees that rightfully belong to local governments.

All the developments suggest a period of quiescent budget hearings is ending, and serious negotiations are about to begin over the emerging tensions.

The budget hearings have mostly been a time for lawmakers to ask questions but also to prod Murphy administration officials about their priorities. Lawmakers have, among other things, questioned how much a deal Murphy made to help end a strike at Rutgers University will cost the state.

Read Daniel Han’s story on corporate business tax tensions for more

TIPS? FEEDBACK? Email me at rrivard@politico.com.

QUOTE OF THE DAY: “Our history is ripe with the love of cranberries. For this reason, we think that cranberry juice is the right juice to be the state juice!” — Robbie Minniti, one of the grade school students lobbying to make cranberry juice the state juice.

WHERE’S MURPHY? Returning from the Democratic Governors Association Spring Policy Conference in Michigan.

DON’T MISS POLITICO’S HEALTH CARE SUMMIT: The Covid-19 pandemic helped spur innovation in health care, from the wide adoption of telemedicine, health apps and online pharmacies to mRNA vaccines. But what will the next health care innovations look like? Join POLITICO on Wednesday June 7 for our Health Care Summit to explore how tech and innovation are transforming care and the challenges ahead for access and delivery in the United States. REGISTER NOW.

WHAT TRENTON MADE

ARE DEMS IGNORING A GRAVE THREAT — “Why are NJ Democrats mum as Bob Menendez faces a major new threat?” by NorthJesey.com’s Charles Stile: U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez “finds himself at the center of another federal criminal probe, this time conducted by the Southern District of New York” but amid “indications that the probe is now widening into the Statehouse — there are no indications from New Jersey Democrats that their party is ready to leap into political crisis mode over Menendez, who is up for reelection in 2024.”

THE ONLY GOVERNOR WHO LIKES THE SENATE — “Democratic icons are running against each other in high-stakes N.J. Senate primary” by NJ.com’s Brent Johnson: “Between them, they have 80 years of experience in the New Jersey Legislature. State Sen. Richard Codey, a former governor and Senate president, is the longest-serving lawmaker in Garden State history. State Sen. Nia Gill is tied for the longest-serving female and longest-serving Black legislator currently in office. They’re both Essex County Democrats. They were even running mates at one point. … Instead of retiring, both Codey, a 76-year-old funeral director, and Gill, a 75-year-old attorney, decided to challenge each other.”

GET READY FOR GLOBAL TECH DAY: Join POLITICO Live as we launch our first Global Tech Day alongside London Tech Week on Thursday, June 15. Register now for continuing updates and to be a part of this momentous and program-packed day! From the blockchain, to AI, and autonomous vehicles, technology is changing how power is exercised around the world, so who will write the rules? REGISTER HERE.

BIDEN TIME

FILMED WHILE BEING DOUBLE TOLLED — “Gottheimer calls for ‘reasonable bipartisan conversation’ on debt limit,” by NJ Spotlight’s Briana Vannozzi: “U.S. Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ), co-chairman of the Problem Solvers Caucus, has been trying to find common ground to help get a deal done.”

LOCAL

BYRNE — “Visitation for longtime Jersey City City Clerk Robert Byrne Wednesday,” by Jersey Journal’s Ron Zeitlinger: “Visitation for longtime Jersey City City Clerk Robert Byrne will be held Wednesday in Cliffside Park. The 63-year-old Byrne, who worked for the city his entire adult life, died Friday after a 10-month battle with glioblastoma, an aggressive form of brain cancer. He started in the city clerk’s office in 1982 and in 1989 became the city clerk. The visitation is scheduled for 1-4 p.m. and 6-9 p.m. at A.K. Macagna Funeral Home, 495 Anderson Ave., Cliffside Park.”

FULOP’S FILL-UP QUESTIONED — “Less campaign spin, more transparency needed from Jersey City City Hall,” a Jersey Journal editorial: “The Jersey City Council is expected to approve a plan Wednesday to borrow $57 million over the next five years to make up for a whopping deficit the city administration is blaming on COVID-era revenue losses. Since it’s otherwise against state law to borrow to fill holes in a municipal budget, the city is relying on a 2020 law that makes an exception for COVID-related losses. The city administration said it is going the borrowing route instead of biting the bullet in the upcoming budget plan so it can spread the resulting property tax pain over several years, at about a 2 percent increase each year. That all sounds reasonable, but we’re left with the same question Ward E Councilman James Solomon expressed earlier this month when the administration announced the plan: Why is this just coming out now?”

FROM BLUE LIGHT TO BLUE PLATE SPECIAL — “Jersey City real estate icon announces he’s taking step back from billion-dollar business” by NJ.com’s Joshua Rosario: When Richard LeFrak and his father, Samuel, surveyed Jersey City, they thought the desolate train yards near the Holland Tunnel might be a good spot for a Kmart. …. The third-generation leader of the city’s largest developer, LeFrak, sat exclusively with The Jersey Journal in his Manhattan office as he prepares to take a step back from the company and let his sons, Jamie and Harrison, take the helm. The 77-year-old master developer, whose net worth is estimated by Forbes at $3.4 billion, reflected on the journey in transitioning the once-downtrodden waterfront into an affluent neighborhood packed with luxury apartments and condos, retail stores and restaurants.”

DEGISE THIS GUY — “ELEC: Hudson County executive candidate Craig Guy has raised $891k to date,” by John Heinis: “Hudson County executive candidate Craig Guy has raised an eye popping $891,209.13 to date, according to his May 8th report filed with the New Jersey Election Law Enforcement Commission.” Plus, per NJ Globe’s David Wildstein, “A super PAC allied with Jersey City Mayor Steven Fulop will spend six figures on a cable and connected TV ad backing Craig Guy for the Democratic nomination for Hudson County Executive that targets Democratic primary voters in the county.”

GREEN LIGHTING KUSH — “Jersey City proposing new cannabis dispensary limit of 48 citywide, eight per ward,” by Jersey Journal’s Mark Koosau: “A newly proposed limit on the number of cannabis dispensaries that can open in Jersey City and its wards could be coming soon to the city’s burgeoning industry, along with changes to how applicants get prioritized for approval. The city council’s proposals, which will first be voted on Wednesday to be sent for planning board review, would cap the number of retail cannabis dispensaries citywide to 48 and the amount in each of the six wards at eight.”

BUCKLE UP — “N.J. seat belt ticket blitz starts today. These 132 towns got grants for crackdowns,” by NJ Advance Media’s Jeff Goldman: “Police officers across New Jersey will be extra vigilant over the next two weeks looking for drivers and their passengers who still refuse to wear seat belts.”

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