Senate President Stephen Sweeney plans to move ahead with a bill that would allow local school districts to raise property taxes beyond the 2 percent annual cap that has been in effect since 2010. Sweeney, D-3rd District, said in a Nov. 23 statement that the changes are necessary because of a June 2018 “equalization” overhaul to the state’s school funding ...
Read More »Author Archives: Daniel J. Munoz
Changes to independent contractor bill could rein in affects of legislation
New Jersey’s top Senate Democrat is proposing a change to a controversial measure that would reclassify freelance-workers to effectively scale back how many people would qualify as employees.
Read More »Murphy optimistic about hashing out tax incentives: ‘We think we’re close’
"We’ve had very constructive conversations with the Legislature and their teams,” Murphy told reporters Thursday at the New Jersey League of Municipalities convention in Atlantic City.
Read More »Murphy decries ‘race to the bottom’ on public worker health plans
Gov. Phil Murphy's comments at the New Jersey League of Municipalities conference in Atlantic City come less than a day after Senate President Stephen Sweeny – also in the resort town for the annual event – vowed to force the governor's hand on the topic via a ballot question, should negotiations on legislation falter.
Read More »Top lawmakers, from both sides, shoot down Murphy’s state bank proposal (updated)
Senate President Stephen Sweeney, Senate Minority Leader Tom Kean and Assembly Minority Leader Jon Bramnick all questioned whether the system could actually benefit the state during a Wednesday afternoon panel at the New Jersey League of Municipalities conference in Atlantic City.
Read More »Sweeney to make final push on pension, health plan cuts
The Senate President said he would make a last attempt to pass the bills in the Legislature during lame duck — before putting them before voters in 2020.
Read More »Local officials, cannabis insiders uneasy about decision to pull legalization vote
“Whenever the Legislature can’t do anything, they just punt it to the voters,” Trenton Mayor Reed Gusciora said Wednesday at the annual New Jersey League of Municipalities conference in Atlantic City.
Read More »Murphy signs order doubling New Jersey’s offshore wind energy goals
Executive Order 92 is part of the governor's broader goal for the state to be 100 percent reliant on clean and renewable energy by the year 2050. The new 2035 goal for 7,500 megawatts replaces a prior goal set for 2030.
Read More »Marijuana legalization to head to voters for 2020 election (updated)
Efforts to pass a measure during lame duck go up in smoke as Senate President Stephen Sweeney and Sen. Nicholas Scutari introduce a constitutional amendment Monday that would legalize the use of recreational cannabis for anyone at least 21 years of age, and establish a Cannabis Regulatory Commission to oversee the new market.
Read More »Norcross speaks: Swats at task force, media ‘mistruths’ on Camden tax breaks
At a meeting of the Senate Select Committee on Economic Growth Strategies in Trenton on Monday, political powerbroker George Norcross spoke for the first time publicly about the nearly year-long investigation into New Jersey's, now-expired, corporate incentive programs.
Read More »NJ quality of life index bounces back from February record low
New data from Monmouth University shows six out of 10 New Jerseyans are happy with living here.
Read More »Murphy task force sends lawmakers questions ahead of Norcross committee appearance
The queries revolve around the $39 million tax break application submitted by Cooper University Health Care, where George Norcross is board chair, and an $86 million tax break application for insurance company Conner Strong & Buckelew, where he is an executive.
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