NEW JERSEY (KYW Newsradio) — Republicans in Trenton are responding to the governor’s Tuesday budget proposal, saying the spending is out of control and leaving a mess for the next administration.
Gov. Phil Murphy says the $58 billion budget funds vital programs and services while also showing restraint, as there is a $6 billion surplus.
Republican state Senator Declan O’Scanlan says the governor failed to mention the fact that the state is still spending more than it collects in taxes. He expects the structural deficit for the next governor to be between $3-to-4 billion.
“There doesn’t seem to be any interest or effort on behalf of Democrats to pay attention to things like this,” he said.
O’Scanlan says Pennsylvania is five times larger, with 4 million more residents, yet its budget is $6.5 billion less than New Jersey. He says it’s time to get deep into the books in Trenton with a state-level Department of Government Efficiency, similar to the Elon Musk-led initiative in Washington, D.C.
“So you need to do that, otherwise government just continues to grow out of control and build on itself,” O’Scanlan said.
“We’ve been at it here for years, advocating for reassessment of priorities, advocating reassessment of programs and value.”
The Democratic controlled legislature must approve the budget before Murphy can sign it. The deadline is June 30.