The proposal is part of the so-called “Path to Progress” reforms Senate President Stephen Sweeney, D-3rd District, has championed since 2018 as a means to cut taxes.

The proposal calls for major spending on Hackensack Meridian Health, the New Jersey Wind Port in South Jersey, and hundreds of millions of dollars toward other projects meant to bolster the state’s health care infrastructure and the economy.

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.