UPDATED at 8:56 p.m. June 30, 2023: Mere hours before the start of the new fiscal year, at about 8:36 p.m., Gov. Phil Murphy officially signed the Fiscal Year 2024 budget bill (Assembly Bill 5669/Senate Bill 2024) into law.

The June 30 approval of the record $54.3 billion spending plan follows a wild week in Trenton, which NJBIZ has detailed, as the state narrowly avoided an almost unthinkable government shutdown, especially since the parameters of the budget deal negotiated between Murphy and the Democrat-controlled Legislature had been all but sewn up.

As NJBIZ reported below, the chaos stemmed from a confluence of factors, including a number of last-minute tweaks that had Trenton scrambling, even more so than usual, during an already frenzied budget week.

Earlier Friday, the spending plan measure was passed by the Assembly (51-27, all Democrats and six Republicans voted in favor) and Senate (25-12, all Democrats and three Republicans voted in favor), sending it to the governor’s desk for his signature.

Murphy signed the bill during an evening ceremony at the State House, where he was joined by Democratic legislative leaders, budget officers and State Treasurer Elizabeth Maher Muoio.

“This budget continues to fully deliver on our commitments to pension payments, school funding, while at the same time maintaining not just a healthy surplus but a record surplus,” said Murphy. “None of us up here has any desire to return to the bad old days before our time here when the state could not fulfill its obligations. So, clearly, there is a lot in this budget, but the bottom line is that this is a budget focused on the pocketbooks of our families.”

Murphy also pointed to his original message at the outset of the process, aimed at building the “Next New Jersey.”

“Today, we are delivering on all of those promises,” the governor added.

When asked about the chaotic process down the stretch and the race to finish, Murphy described the bill as an incredible product.

“I think everybody out there, particularly if you’re at a kitchen table, you’re a middle-class family, you’re a working family, you’re a senior, focus on what this does for you,” said Murphy. “It is a game-changer.”

He did acknowledge the last few days of the process, and said he suspects there will be a post-mortem about it.

“And figure out if there’s a way to do this at the very end in a little bit more of a smoother fashion,” said Murphy.

He then signed the budget into law.

Stay with NJBIZ for continued coverage, analysis and reaction.

Editor’s note: The original story, below, was posted at 3:14 p.m. ET June 30, 2023.

In a week marked by last-minute chaos and criticisms about a lack of transparency, the record, now-$54.3 billion Fiscal Year 2024 budget bill is on its way to passage Friday afternoon and set to head to Gov. Phil Murphy’s desk to be signed into law — just ahead of the June 30 deadline before the new fiscal year starts at midnight.

As NJBIZ reported, the committee advancement of Assembly Bill 5669/Senate Bill 2024 played out in dramatic fashion in Trenton Wednesday night. And, frankly, the drama has continued through the end of the week, including a lot of finger-pointing, back-and-forth, potential technical problems with the bill that may need to be amended after the fact, and last-minute add-ons that have resulted in a spending plan that is nearly $1.2 billion more than the one the governor first proposed in February.

The process moved one step closer to the finish line Friday when the Assembly passed the bill 51-27, with all Democrats voting in favor as well as six Republicans.

Some of the toplines of the budget plan include:

• The sunset of the 2.5% corporate business tax (CBT) surcharge;
• More than $8 billion in budget surplus;
• $11 billion in direct aid to K-12 schools;
• A third consecutive full pension payment of over $7 billion;
• Another deposit into the Debt Defeasance and Prevention Fund—bringing that total to more than $9 billion over the last two years;
• Another full funding of the ANCHOR property tax program;
• The initial phase-in of the new StayNJ property tax plan (A1), which overwhelmingly passed in a separate vote during the Assembly session;
• And much more, which NJBIZ will analyze and detailing further once the plan is signed by Murphy.

“I’m proud of this budget because I firmly believe in the transformative power of supporting families,” said Assembly Budget Chair Eliana Pintor Marin, D-29th District, and the prime sponsor of the measure, as she spoke before moving A5669 to a vote. “And this budget does so much to support so many New Jersey families.”

She added that because of the surplus and debt defeasance cushions, the plan also leaves the state prepared to handle the future while recognizing the needs of Garden State residents today.

“While some of you may disagree with some parts of this budget, that’s OK,” the assemblywoman said. “But taken as a whole, this reflects our commitment to a stronger, fairer, and more prosperous state. And I hope you all consider the New Jersey residents as you consider your vote. We might not like everything that’s in here. But overall, I think it’s pretty good. So, Mr. Speaker [Craig Coughlin], I proudly move this bill.”

Closed doors

Prior to the vote, Republicans questioned the transparency of the process, the last-minute add-ons, and the fiscal responsibility of a spending plan that is 7% higher than last year and 56% higher than when Murphy took office in 2018—especially as revenues soften and federal pandemic aid dries up.

“It’s a $20 billion increase from the last administration,” said Assembly Republican Budget Chair Hal Wirths, R-24th District. “It’s $1.2 billion more than the governor’s address and increases spending by $3.7 billion. We’re back into a structural deficit of $2.7 billion and revenue projections are plummeting.”

Wirths added that this level of spending was unsustainable.

Some of the harshest words on the Republican side came from Assemblyman Brian Bergen, R-25th District.

“I think there’s two very important things happening here today,” said Bergen. “The death of two very important items. First is transparency. Second is fiscal responsibility.

“I’m quite frankly pretty embarrassed about the way this budget was prepared,” he continued. “I’m going to break the ongoing Kumbaya of the Budget Committee and bring a little bit of reality to what happened here. The Budget Committee, as hard as they may have worked and tried to work, could quite frankly probably have just stayed home. This budget was issued by the governor, prepared behind closed doors, regardless of the testimony that was given. And when the budget was finally given at the very end, nobody got a chance to read it. That’s the truth.”

As Assemblyman John McKeon, D-27th District, touted the budget plan and voiced his support for it, he also defended the process and time spent by the Budget Committee over the last few months.

“Just one last point, because I think we all need to hear it,” said McKeon. “I tabbed it up, just for fun, while listening to everybody. This Budget Committee was here on 14 different days for a total of 67.5 hours. Big rush.”

The action now shifts to the Senate, which is holding a voting session Friday afternoon and is expected to pass the bill to Murphy’s desk for a signature later that day. Murphy is scheduled to hold a signing event and press conference at a to-be-determined time, according to his public schedule.

Stay with NJBIZ for continued coverage as that process plays out, along with further details on the budget bill and a round-up of the reaction.