NJ lawmakers advance state budget ahead of July 1 deadline at special meeting

NEW JERSEY (KYW Newsradio) — New Jersey’s record $60.74 billion spending plan for next year advanced in budget committee meetings late Sunday night.

The budget maintains a $6 billion surplus while meeting all state pension, school funding and other government obligations.

In February, Gov. Mikie Sherrill demanded a more transparent approach when she proposed the budget.

“Ultimately, the best way to demonstrate our commitment to transparency is to hold ourselves accountable,” she said.

But that’s not exactly how it went down. Budget Committee Vice Chair Linda Greenstein and other members received the full text just minutes before the vote.

“I’m going to vote yes. I think it’s a pretty good budget in many ways. I’ve got to study it even more closely, but from what I know it seems good,” Greenstein said.

Republican Declan O’Scanlon called the budget a shell game. He said more than $350 million is sneaking in the back door through a supplemental spending bill to appear as though the governor’s initial proposal is unchanged.

“So nobody who votes for it [Sunday night] is going to have read it or knows what’s in it. We do know some things. We do know that there’s hundreds of millions of dollars of pork here,” O’Scanlon said.

Sherrill said the budget is focused squarely on making life more affordable for New Jerseyans and she looks forward to signing it ahead of the July 1 deadline. She added that it’s the most responsible budget in years.