46° and Overcast
Image
Budget Increases Property Tax Relief, Investment in School Funding, & Affordable Housing, with Another Full Pension Payment of $7.1 Billion, Additional $2.4 Billion to Reduce Debt.
New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy (who announced he had a tumor on his left kidney last week) has proposed a Fiscal Year 2024 Budget that he says promotes affordability, fiscal responsibility, and economic opportunity.
The $53.1 billion budget includes a projected surplus of $10 billion and includes no new taxes or fees with $2 billion for the ANCHOR Property Tax Relief Program, continuing the historic investment made in Fiscal Year 2023. The Governor has cut taxes 18 times for middle and working-class families since 2018.
In addition, the Governor is doubling the Child Tax Credit to enable families with young children to receive up to $1,000 per child. The Senior Freeze property tax relief program is also being expanded to those with incomes up to $150,000, and eligibility for the popular Pharmaceutical Assistance for the Aged and Disabled (PAAD)
and Senior Gold programs is being extended.
The Governor is also dedicating more than $40 million
to continue improving the unemployment insurance system, digitizing more services at the Motor Vehicle Commission, and expanding the ANCHOR call center.
The budget proposal includes investments in education, with $10 million for student-teacher stipends, certification fee waivers
that will save educators $5 million, and $2 million for school culture and climate innovation grants.
An additional $109 million is allocated for preschool education aid, including $40 million toward expanding pre-K programs in new districts, as well as investing in the Pre-K workforce development and other critical needs for further expansion, advancing the Governor's goal of universal pre-K.
The Fiscal Year 2024 budget proposes a $10 billion surplus, which is 16 times greater than the average surplus under the prior administration. The budget also includes over $50 million in new resources to grow the green economy, including a $40 million Green Fund that can leverage both private and public investment. The proposal would also allocate an additional $200 million in relief to lower health benefit costs for local governments.
Overall, New Jersey’s in decent financial shape! Responsible fiscal stewardship created a surplus the State used to make full pension payments for three years in a row, the first time in over a quarter-century.
However, the budget does not seem to include major investments in local transportation. Under the proposal, NJ TRANSIT's Capital to Operating Transfer would be reduced to its lowest level in 21 years while maintaining fares at their current level for a sixth straight year. Despite our constantly deteriorating infrastructure, the Governor’s budget instead tackles the State’s notorious taxation policies.
You can read the State of New Jersey's Fiscal Year 2024 Budget in Brief, here.
