| | | | |  | | By Matt Friedman | Good Friday morning! Four years ago, the Murphy administration was having a field day interviewing the previous decade of tax incentives awarded by the Christie administration — most of all for how they benefited George Norcross and his allies. But since then, it’s become clear that Murphy has no problem with tax incentives when it comes to his priorities. At a press conference in Paulsboro, deep in the heart of South Jersey and home to a wind turbine manufacturing facility, Murphy signed three tax incentive bills: One to allow offshore wind company Ørsted to keep hundreds of millions in federal tax incentive, one to make hundreds of millions more in tax incentives available to film studios, and one to loosen up the state’s residential developer tax credit program. | | | | JOIN 7/11 FOR A TALK ON THE FAA’S FUTURE: Congress is making moves to pass the FAA Reauthorization Act, laying the groundwork for the FAA’s long-term agenda to modernize the aviation sector to meet the challenges of today and innovate for tomorrow. Join POLITICO on July 11 to discuss what will make it into the final reauthorization bill and examine how reauthorization will reshape FAA’s priorities and authorities. REGISTER HERE. | | | | |
And at least when it comes to the offshore wind tax credit bill, Murphy got a laudatory statement from former Senate President Steve Sweeney. Tax credits were one of the many points of friction between them when Sweeney was still in office. “Both the Administration and the Legislature worked hard over the past five years to put New Jersey in the forefront of offshore wind manufacturing, supply chains and development,” Sweeney said in a statement.
Read more from Ry Rivard below. TIPS? FEEDBACK? Email me at mfriedman@politico.com QUOTE OF THE DAY: “All night and this morning, I keep having images of two firefighters being lowered down from a pulley from a ship that had to be at least 150 feet or so high, and firefighters lined up on both sides as their fallen brothers were taken to the hospital. That image will forever be stamped in my mind.” — Newark Mayor Ras Baraka on the two Newark firefighters, Augusto Acabou and Wayne Brooks Jr., killed in cargo ship blaze HAPPY BIRTHDAY — Barry Albin, Fred Butler, Michael Soliman, Ben Giovine, Kate McDonnell. Saturday for Brian Bergen, Michael Boonin, Mo Butler, Naomi Nix. Sunday for Christian Sforza, Melanie Willoughby, Christian Sforza, Scott Garrett. WHERE’S MURPHY? — In Long Branch to sign auto theft legislation at 11 a.m.
|  | WHAT TRENTON MADE | |
NEW JEREYANS WILL SOON KNOW HOW TO PRONOUNCE THAT O WITH A SLASH THROUGH IT — Murphy signs law to save wind farm, touting New Jersey as ‘foundation’ of U.S. wind industry, by POLITICO’s Ry Rivard: Gov. Phil Murphy signed a bill Thursday to save New Jersey’s first offshore wind farm from financial uncertainty. The governor held an event in Paulsboro and signed the offshore wind legislation along with two other economic development bills, including one with tax credits for the film industry, to emphasize a narrative about the “21st Century economy” he's had since taking office … The offshore wind law will allow energy company Ørsted to keep hundreds of millions of dollars in federal tax incentives that the company otherwise would be required to pass along to state utility customers. Without the deal, the company and Murphy administration officials said the wind farm would not be built. In exchange for the relief, Ørsted agreed — and now by law will be obligated — to spend $200 million at the Paulsboro port where Murphy signed the bill.
1.11 MASTROS — State takeover of Paterson police gets $10 million — and potentially more — in state budget, by POLITICO’s Daniel Han: New Jersey is funding the police. The state's takeover of the Paterson Police Department — which began in March — got $10 million as part of the FY24 budget Gov. Phil Murphy signed into law last Friday. More funds could be on the way, with budget language added that appropriates “additional amounts as may be necessary … Attorney General Matt Platkin said during prepared remarks before legislative budget committees during the budget process that the takeover would need financial support, although a specific number had never been attached to the vague request. “Since my office assumed control of the operation of the Paterson Police Department in March, I have been clear that significant resources would be needed to improve the day-to-day operations of the Paterson Police Department, and to transform the department into one of the finest in the State,” Platkin said in a statement to POLITICO. LESSONS IN FUNGIBILITY — $200 million for local government health benefits nixed from budget, by POLITICO’s Daniel Han: A proposed $200 million to help local governments and their employees shoulder the cost of increased health care costs was nixed from the budget Gov. Phil Murphy signed last Friday. The proposal, which Murphy championed in his February budget address, would have been for the 2024 plan year and contingent on also coming to unspecified long-term cost savings solutions … It is unclear why the $200 million proposal fell apart. A Murphy administration official not authorized to speak publicly about the matter said that while the $200 million line item for health benefits was not there, local governments received $200 million in other forms of relief. The official pointed to the partial restoration of energy tax receipts — which is pegged at $150 million — as well as another $50 million in federal pandemic relief to create an “Urban Investment Fund.” Those two items, the official said, are functionally $200 million to local governments in another form … Local government groups did not see the administration's redirection of the $200 million as a straightforward comparison … That's an apples to pizza comparison,” Mike Cerra, the executive director of the New Jersey League of Municipalities, said in an interview … John Donnadio, executive director of the New Jersey of Association of Counties, was blunter, saying that argument was “horseshit.” | | | | SUBSCRIBE TO POWER SWITCH: The energy landscape is profoundly transforming. Power Switch is a daily newsletter that unlocks the most important stories driving the energy sector and the political forces shaping critical decisions about your energy future, from production to storage, distribution to consumption. Don’t miss out on Power Switch, your guide to the politics of energy transformation in America and around the world. SUBSCRIBE TODAY. | | | | |
FIREFIGHTER DEATHS — “Hoses deployed to tackle fatal Port Newark ship fire were not big enough, firefighter official says,” by NJ Advance Media’s Jackie Roman and Ted Sherman: [W]hen Newark firefighters took over, they found that the hoses that had been deployed to put out the huge blaze were not nearly large enough to handle the volume of water needed to knock down the flames, according to Anthony Tarantino, president of the Newark Fire Officers Union, who said the issue was getting enough water on the fire. The hoses that had been set out were only 1-inch in diameter, more suitable for putting out dumpster fires in the industrial port. This fire, Tarantino explained, needed more penetration and pressure that called for a much larger 2 ½ inch hose that would have been able to blast the fire from a greater distance. ‘The Newark Fire Department is one of the best fire departments in the country,’ he said. ‘We are capable of handling any fire, but the combination of fighting a fire in the equivalent of a 12-story building on a ship with a 1-inch in diameter hose, which does not provide the protection, reach, and ability to put out the volume of fire, caused the deaths of our brave brothers,’ he said.”
— “Some bills left in limbo after breakneck June voting sessions” —“In New Jersey, new GOP registration outpaces dems, but just slightly” —“‘Crisis pregnancy’ centers call for transparency in battle over consumer alert” —“N.J. teachers can now use sick days when they aren’t sick. Here’s why” —“Brewery owners urge Murphy to sign reform bill” | | BIDEN TIME | |
EVEN IF CHRIS CHRISTIE BECOMES PRESIDENT? — $7 billion for Hudson River tunnels locks in project beyond Republican reach, by POLITICO’s Ry Rivard: A long-delayed plan to build new train tunnels across the Hudson River is locked in beyond the reach of possible Republican attempts to undo it after federal officials awarded the project nearly $7 billion, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said Thursday. The announcement of a $6.88 billion federal grant for the Hudson River train tunnel project is the largest federal transportation grant ever, and the largest single transportation grant ever given to New York state. The tunnel will connect New York and New Jersey and is a key part of a regional Gateway infrastructure program to improve passenger rail in the Northeast. “The dollars are there and Gateway will get done,” Schumer, a New York Democrat, said during a press conference at a Manhattan railyard
—“Booker slams ‘two-tier system’ of marijuana criminalization that shields powerful from punishment while discussing Hunter Biden plea deal” | | LOCAL | |
KIM JONG UGH — “Old Bridge school board president hit with ethics violation for COVID mask email,” by MyCentralJersey’s Mike Deak: “The president of the Old Bridge Board of Education has been reprimanded by the state School Ethics Commission for sending an email on his Board account advocating his personal position that school boards and parents should fight the ‘totalitarian’ executive order about masking in public schools during the pandemic. The Commission ... agreed with an Administrative Law Court decision that Sal Giordano had violated an ethics rule by expressing his personal views and encouraging action on his Board account … In that email, Giordano called the mask mandate ‘totalitarian’ and said ‘if parents and school districts can prove, which we can, that masks are dangerous to the health of children then we should be able to fight this, and I expect lawsuits to come because of this reason. School districts and elected officials need to be more vocal about this especially since executive orders are not even approved by the General Assembly and State Senate which I would personally argue is not a ‘law.’”
HEHE. SHE SAID ‘BLACK HOLE’ — “N.J. town proposes book banning rules, but some parents say they don’t go far enough,” by NJ Advance Media’s Camille Furst: “The board last month introduced a proposed framework for determining whether a book is suitable to be on its schools’ library shelves — and while some felt the framework was unnecessary, most parents at the board’s meeting said it didn’t go far enough. That framework for the Morris County town’s school system isn’t stringent enough in prohibiting explicit material, parents said at the recent board meeting. Most speakers wanted certain books with sexually-explicit content to be banned from the schools’ libraries. ‘The state has no right to undermine the moral teachings of the family,’ one Roxbury parent said. ‘The system insists on exposing all children to the dark, black hole of sexual experimentation and have made available explicit books ... with pictures.’ … The framework can be used to determine the ‘literary merit’ of a material, according to the policy’s proposal. Those who use the framework can evaluate a book based on whether it ‘supports the reader’s ability to grow in an understanding/appreciation of a topic,’ ‘allows for critical analysis’ and if the ‘questionable content is not the main message but adds/contributes to the story/theme,’ among other points, according to the proposed policy.” ARRESTED DEVELOPMENT — “From up here, you can see Manhattan, and houses left to crumble,” by The New York Times’ Caren Lissner: “One by one, investors began taking over Mountain Road and Manhattan Avenue. Between 2005 to 2009, investors bought 12 contiguous properties on the cliff — many with century-old buildings displaying unique architectural features — for between $360,000 and $6.5 million. There were initial plans by a developer, Sky Pointe LLC, to build 450 to 500 residential units in five towers. And then, nothing happened. For reasons neighbors are only partly aware of, neither development nor demolition has occurred on the properties since they were bought. Instead, they’ve suffered from fires, intruders, graffiti, broken fencing, and overgrowth that make it difficult for an onlooker to believe they were occupied and full of light 18 years ago. In a hot real estate market (where other developments have risen on the hills to take advantage of the views), such a promising neighborhood has been left to crumble.” —“Atlantic City Council passes budget after state issues ultimatum” —“Stone Harbor parking app switch leads to 1,600% increase in tickets” —“No rival emerges for Laura Ali in Morris GOP chair contest” —“Jersey Shore town made illegal, ‘wrongheaded’ beach fixtures, state says. Mayor disagrees” —“United Natural Foods distribution center shutting down. 60 jobs lost in Logan” —“Judge guts lawsuit that aimed to stop Exchange Place redesign around Katyn monument” —L.A. Parker: “Trenton’s short-term fixes for long-term problems are a start, but not enough” | | EVERYTHING ELSE | |
IF SUBCOM WAS LOCATED A LITTLE FARTHER SOUTH IT WOULD BE CALLED HOAGIECOM — “Inside the subsea cable firm secretly helping America take on China,” by Reuters’ Joe Brock: “10 last year, the cable ship CS Dependable appeared off the coast of the island of Diego Garcia, an Indian Ocean atoll that’s home to a discreet U.S. naval base. Over the next month, the ship’s crew covertly laid an underwater fiber-optic cable to the military base, an operation code-named ‘Big Wave,’ according to four people with direct knowledge of the mission, as well as a Reuters analysis of satellite imagery and ship tracking data. The new super-fast internet link to Diego Garcia, which has not previously been reported, will boost U.S. military readiness in the Indian Ocean, a region where China has expanded its naval influence over the last decade. The CS Dependable is owned by SubCom, a small-town New Jersey cable manufacturer that’s playing an outsized role in a race between the United States and China to control advanced military and digital technologies that could decide which country emerges as the world’s preeminent superpower … SubCom’s loyalty is especially important because it is the only major U.S. subsea cable company. Headquartered in the quiet borough of Eatontown, New Jersey, SubCom secured a $10 million-a-year contract in 2021 from the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) to run a two-vessel fleet to provide undersea cable security”
ONE DOWN, EVERY OTHER SMOKES SHOP AND GAS STATION IN THE STATE TO GO — “Federal agency warns N.J. smoke shop to stop selling delta-8 candy,” by New Jersey Monitor’s Sophie Niet-Munoz: “A New Jersey-based smoke shop selling gummy candies and chocolate bars infused with delta-8 received a warning from federal officials to stop selling those products immediately. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration and Federal Trade Commission issued a warning letter to The Haunted Vapor Room for its misleading packaging and claims about potential medical benefits … The FDA and FTC reviewed the store’s website between February and June and found it was selling delta-8 products online, officials said in the warning letter. The agencies said it’s a “prohibited act to introduce adulterated food into interstate commerce” under the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act.” EAST RUTHLESSFORD — “American Dream mall workers trying to organize union should be given jobs back, judge says,” by The Record’s Daniel J. Munoz: “A federal judge has sided with two former cleaning staff members at the American Dream mall in East Rutherford who said they were fired for trying to organize a union. Judge Kevin McNulty, in his opinion released Thursday evening, says they should get their jobs back by July 11. The opinion marks a victory for 32BJ SEIU and the two workers, Luis Varela and José Terán, who tried to organize with the union last year.” R.I.P. — “Coroner names victims in North Myrtle Beach area plane crash” R.I.P. — “Tom Chesek, scribe of Asbury Park, has died. 'He spread the word of creative people'” | | | | Follow us on Twitter | | | | Subscribe to the POLITICO Playbook family Playbook | Playbook PM | California Playbook | Florida Playbook | Illinois Playbook | Massachusetts Playbook | New Jersey Playbook | New York Playbook | Ottawa Playbook | Brussels Playbook | London Playbook View all our political and policy newsletters | | Follow us | | | | |
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