Tax Relief, Debt Service, Transit Fare Freeze: 3 NJ Budget Takeaways

NEW JERSEY — Touting “no new taxes and more middle-class tax relief,” Governor Phil Murphy unveiled a proposed $53.1 billion budget for 2024, which includes extending property-tax relief and funding for public schools and pre-K.

The governor announced that the budget would fully fund a second year of ANCHOR, expand the Senior Freeze property tax relief program, and make a $15 million investment in First-Generation Homebuyer Direct Assistance. The budget plan also calls for doubling the child tax credit to $1,000 per child.

Murphy also said the budget would make the third consecutive full payment into the state’s pension fund, drawing a round of applause.

“What is $7 billion among friends?” he joked in front of both houses of the New Jersey Legislature at the Statehouse in Trenton.

Murphy is also seeking to boost the state’s surplus to $10 billion by the end of the next fiscal year.

He further announced that there would be no transfer fee increases on NJ Transit, and said the budget cuts transfers from the transit authority's capital program to a 21-year low, meaning more money to keep the lines running.

"The facts bear out that NJ TRANSIT is moving in the right direction," Murphy said.

The proposed budget has $830 million in direct aid to public K-12 schools, moving the state a year closer to fully funding its K-12 school aid formula. Murphy also proposes an additional $109 million towards the state’s universal pre-school program.

“This support is also critical not just for keeping our public schools the envy of the nation – and lifting up others – but it will also help districts and educators continue to turn around the learning loss we know occurred when the pandemic forced our students to move to remote learning,” Murphy said.

Senate Republican Leader Steven Oroho has criticized the school funding formula in the past, and said the plan continues to cut funding at some districts while it funnels money into others.

“Since he took office, Governor Murphy has cut funding each year to hundreds of rural and suburban school districts,” Oroho said in a statement. “If we’re funneling $1 billion more into education, there shouldn’t be cuts to any school districts, especially as we’re dealing with plunging test scores and pandemic learning loss across New Jersey.”

Republican Senators also said Murphy has not done enough to address inflation, and Budget Officer Declan O’Scanlon (R-13) said the administration is “hoarding” money in the surplus.

“Instead of providing real tax relief to New Jerseyans, the governor is building a massive $10 billion surplus that will get devalued by inflation,” O’Scanlon said. “We should focus on addressing tax bracket creep and providing inflation relief to New Jerseyans.”

The budget also includes:

• A $100 million Boardwalk Fund to assist Shore communities in repairing and upgrading their wooden boardwalks, thus taking some of the burden off of local taxpayers
• Expanded eligibility for PAAD (Pharmaceutical Assistance for the Aged and Disabled) and Senior Gold programs
• Allowing the 2.5 percent corporate business tax to expire
• $15 million in stipends for student-teachers and waiving of teacher-certification fees
• Investing federal American Rescue Plan funds into both New Jersey’s aging water infrastructure, and into preserving affordable housing and creating urban workforce housing
• Proposing a pilot program to eliminate medical debt
• Another year of fee-free entrance at New Jersey state parks
• Making sure every county has its own Veterans Service Offices through the Department Of Military and Veterans Affairs
• Launching a statewide network to help more students focus on mental health wellness (the New Jersey Statewide Student Support Services network)
• Rolling out a $10 million ARRIVE Together program statewide in partnership with the Attorney General's Office to connect mental health professional with law enforcement officers.

The AARP New Jersey said the budget included many of its priorities to help older adults, but added "more must be done" for the million family caregivers in the state.

Director of Advocacy Evelyn Liebman said the AARP-NJ urges the legislature to pass the Caregiver's Assistance Act and change the Senior Freeze from a reimbursement to a credit.

“The average family caregiver spends 26 percent of their income on caregiving activities, and often, they are juggling or sacrificing their job or tapping into their savings to make it work," Liebman said. We need our state legislators to support family caregivers by making family caregiving more affordable."