Governor Murphy Signs $50.6 Billion FY2023 Budget
Yesterday, at a ceremony held at Cranford High School, Governor Murphy signed the FY2023 state budget, which was passed by Democratic majorities in both houses of the state legislature on Wednesday. The budget is the largest in state history and takes effect today.
Originally proposed by the governor as a $48.9 billion spending plan, legislators added $1.7 billion due to an unprecedented surplus.
Governor Murphy highlighted several aspects of the budget including property tax relief and investments in education. He said that when he proposed his budget plan in March he asked the Legislature to "make New Jersey the true state of opportunity" and delivered.
“We want New Jersey to be a place where middle-class families can breathe a little easier making ends meet, a place where our kids can dream of finding their place and raising their families, a place where our seniors can live out their golden years in dignity, a place where the American dream is alive and well," said Governor Murphy.
Republican Budget Officer Senator Declan O’Scanlon, a critic of the budget, said the “delayed and failed tax relief efforts in the Democrats’ budget when the state is ridiculously flush with funds will go down as one of the biggest missed opportunities in New Jersey history.”
“Sadly, Democrats opted for huge increases in pork spending and the establishment of massive slush funds that will do nothing to help New Jersey families suffering today from high gas prices, soaring inflation, and property taxes,” added O’Scanlon.
FY2023 Budget Highlights:
Transportation, Infrastructure & Capital Projects
The new budget includes $814 million for transit projects, including capital improvements and maintenance at various facilities. Projects include $250 million to redevelop Walter Rand Transportation Center in Camden, $191 million in improvements at Newark Penn Station and $176 million for infrastructure and access improvements at the Hoboken Ferry Terminal Building and Hoboken Bus Terminal. The budget also includes $300 million dedicated to capital projects at Rutgers University.
Education & School Facility Funding
The budget allocates $1.9 billion to the Schools Development Authority. Of that, $1.55 billion would pay for school facilities projects, emergent needs and capital maintenance in the state's 31 SDA districts, while $350 million would pay for projects in non-SDA school districts. The authority does not have funding for new projects and has about $6.5 billion in needs to address overcrowding and outdated schools.
ANCHOR Property Tax Relief Program
The cornerstone of Governor Murphy’s effort to improve affordability is the ANCHOR Property Tax Relief Program. First unveiled in March as a three-year plan, the updated version is expected to provide $2 billion in relief to homeowners and renters who meet eligibility requirements.
Tax and Fee Holidays
A 10-day sales tax holiday for back-to-school shopping is included in the budget. The Back-to-school tax reprieve will be in effect from August 27 to September 5, 2022, and will include traditional school items like laptops, notebooks and pencils but includes products like televisions and bicycles.
The budget allocates another $60 million to provide "fee holidays" for driver's license renewals, marriage licenses, state park entry and about 130,000 health care professionals who are applying for or renewing their licenses.
Savings in Surplus
The budget allocates $6 billion into surplus, a record amount, to help the state’s credit rating and to buffer against an anticipated economic slowdown or recession.
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