This year marked the first time that two legislative races in a single year topped $6 million in expenditures, said Jeff Brindle, the executive director of the New Jersey Election Law Enforcement Commission.

The organization also found that 28% of respondents said they plan to sell their business or cease operations due to the pandemic restrictions and cuts to both revenue and staffing. Some were more optimistic: 37% said they did not plan to make any changes and another 31% has adopted a wait-and-see attitude.

Gov. Phil Murphy is asking lawmakers to approve $700 million in COVID-19 recovery spending to bolster health care infrastructure and support New Jersey’s post-pandemic economic rebound. The proposals must be cleared by the Legislature’s Joint Budget Oversight Committee. Murphy, in a Nov. 26 announcement, said legislative leaders have agreed to approve the funds. “This proposal ...

All the spending must be cleared by the bipartisan Joint Budget Oversight Committee, which includes Republican and Democratic lawmakers from the state Senate and Assembly.

The candidates combined to spend nearly $49 million, according to the New Jersey Election Law Enforcement Commission. Outside groups spent another $41.7 million, for total expenditures of $90.6 million.

“The more things change, the more they stay the same - at least when it comes to how residents view taxes,” said Ashley Koning, the director of the Eagleton Center for Public Interest Polling at Rutgers University.

So far, the state has distributed more than $500,000 to 60 separate businesses through the $10 million “Return and Earn” program.

If enacted, the Build Back Better bill would raise the cap on state and local property tax deductions from $10,000 to $80,000 through 2030.

The legislation comes as productions stream into New Jersey following the COVID-19 pandemic, and as players such as Netflix eye the former Fort Monmouth Army base, and NBC Universal uses the former Meadowlands Arena, for its productions.

In a speech to the League of Municipalities Convention, the governor cited his actions on the economy, the cost of living, the pandemic and taxes but offered no details on his next term or lame duck priorities.

The state added 20,000 positions back to its workforce last month, making for more than 500,000 recovered since the business closures of March and April 2020.

“I think no matter what stripe you wear, the electorate told us that affordability and also efficiency of government is essential, and things we need to be mindful of as state legislators,” Sen. Troy Singleton, D-7th District, said during Nov. 17 panel at the New Jersey League of Municipalities convention in Atlantic City.