Murphy and Kim Battle for County Support in US Senate Democratic Primary
On Monday, Gloucester County Democrats endorsed Tammy Murphy for U.S. Senate after a vote of the county committee ratified the recommendation of the screening committee.
This is Murphy’s eighth organization line, something that may or may not be valuable by next week, depending on how U.S. District Court Judge Zahid Quraishi rules in a lawsuit filed by Murphy’s opponent, Rep. Andy Kim (D-Moorestown), that is currently ongoing.
To date, candidate Murphy has prevailed in a secret ballot convention in Bergen County and has scored lines in Passaic, Union, Somerset, Middlesex, Hudson, and Camden Counties. She is also expected to win the endorsement of Essex County.
Rep. Andy Kim, a three-term South Jersey congressman, has won organization lines in Atlantic and Burlington and contested Murphy to a draw in Cape May. He has won secret ballot convention victories in Monmouth, Burlington, Hunterdon, Sussex, Warren, Ocean, Mercer, Atlantic, and Morris.
Two very small South Jersey counties, Salem and Cumberland, have not yet voted. Salem votes on Saturday, although it was one of two counties – Sussex is the other – that utilizes office block voting; Cumberland County’s Democratic convention is scheduled for March 25. New Jersey’s Primary Election is on June 4th.
Murphy Signs Historic Affordable Housing Reform Legislation
On Wednesday, Governor Murphy signed what he called a “monumental” and “historic” bill that will institute a new process in which New Jersey municipalities will determine where affordable housing will be built, renovated or zoned.
Bill A4/S50, codifies a formula to help towns determine the number of units they need to fulfill a constitutional mandate under the Mount Laurel Doctrine to provide their “fair share” of homes for low and moderate-income families. The State estimates that it currently lacks approximately 200,000 units of affordable housing.
“This legislation will enable us to build new, affordable housing where it is needed with far fewer hurdles, and creating more affordable housing will also help close the racial wealth gap and help more families escape generational poverty,” said Governor Murphy.
Starting in mid-October, the state Department of Community Affairs must publish obligation numbers for towns to consider based on the amount of developable land, growth in number of households, and change in non-residential property values, among other things, to determine how much affordable housing is needed in a particular municipality.
Municipalities must then meet a series of deadlines to create plans and resolutions that outline where they would zone for such housing, what type of housing they would authorize, and other factors to meet that obligation so they can be protected from zoning litigation, in which developers could forgo zoning approvals and choose where to build as long as at least 20% of units were affordable.
Legislature Passes TTF Funding Bills
On Monday, both houses of the state legislature approved legislation that would increase New Jersey’s gas tax 1.9 cents per gallon for five years and charge owners of electric vehicles a $250 fee as part of an eight-year Transportation Trust Fund reauthorization bill that is now on the Governor’s desk waiting for approval.
The Senate and Assembly voted along party lines, with Republicans opposing the Democrat-sponsored legislation, citing affordability issues for drivers related to the gas tax hike and EV fee.
The legislation proposes changing the state’s gas tax formula in fiscal year 2025, which starts on July 1, to raise revenues for the trust fund that finances major highway and transit projects. That revenue goal would increase to $2.115 billion in FY 2026 and would continue to grow to $2.366 billion in FY 2029.
The bill also proposes a new electric vehicle fee that would begin at $250 on July 1, 2024, and increase annually by $10 until reaching $290 on July 1, 2028. The fee would be paid at the same time the vehicle registration is renewed.
“The plan that is on the table is modest, is responsible, it is the least costly plan to get the value (and) the amount of infrastructure investment the state needs,” said Governor Murphy’s Chief of Staff Diane Gutierrez-Scaccetti. “It is affordable to many if not all, and it is meant to be something that is not taxing to a family’s budget.”
Murphy Taps Eric Miller to Run Office of Climate Action and the Green Economy
Eric Miller has been named as the executive director of the Governor’s Office of Climate Action and the Green Economy. Miller’s appointment follows the departure of Catherine Klinger.
“I am thrilled to announce Eric Miller as our new executive director of the Office of Climate Action and the Green Economy,” Governor Phil Murphy said. “Eric is a passionate advocate who has initiated high-impact policies across clean energy, building electrification and transportation. I am confident in Eric’s leadership, and I want to thank outgoing Executive Director Catherine Klinger for her notable contributions to this team and to the state.”
In his new role, Miller will oversee the environment and energy policy portfolio, leading work on the governor’s clean energy, environmental justice and climate resiliency agenda, among other key initiatives.
Previously, Miller served as the New Jersey energy policy director for the Natural Resources Defense Council, where he worked to develop and advance clean energy, buildings, and transportation policy in the state of New Jersey.
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