“To be sure, if you feel more comfortable wearing your facemask when shopping or waiting for your table at a restaurant, by all means, you may continue to do so,” the governor said about the changes that go into effect on May 28.

$190 million will be used to benefit businesses and low- and moderate-income residents in these stretches of the state.

New Jersey is one of just a few states maintaining an indoor mask requirement despite recent guidance from the Centers for Disease Control that fully vaccinated people, in most circumstances, do not have to wear face coverings indoors. While continuing the rule caused confusion among many business owners and workers, some say it’s a simpler approach than the alternative – requiring masks only on unvaccinated residents.

New Jersey in a peculiar situation: too much money and not a solid idea of where to spend it. As of the latest estimates, the state is looking at a $6.3 billion closing balance come June 30. That’s thanks to billions of dollars in federal aid, nearly $4 billion of bond issue proceeds and higher tax revenue fueled by pent-up consumer demand.

The order would go into effect on May 28, putting New Jersey in line with guidelines rolled out earlier this month by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which say that fully vaccinated people do not need to wear a mask indoors.

The request is part of an executive order Mayor Ras Baraka signed outlining business reopenings for the state’s largest city, as vaccination rates increase while cases and hospitalizations continue to drop across New Jersey and the nation.

“Small businesses are the backbone of New Jersey’s economy and assisting them as we reopen our state is paramount," reads a joint statement from 14 Democratic sponsors in the state Assembly. "We need to bolster our small business community in every way possible."

The state added just 3,500 private sector jobs last month, compared to the 20,800 jobs added in March, according to the New Jersey Department of Labor & Workforce Development. For April, the state unemployment rate was 7.5%, compared to 7.6% in March, 7.8% in February and January, and 7.7% in December.

The legislation, which has the support of both Assembly Speaker Craig Coughlin and Senate President Stephen Sweeney, would keep in place 14 separate executive orders Murphy has signed since the onset of the pandemic.

First beer, now wine, free state park passes and you could even win a private dinner with the Murphys--just some of the incentives of “Operation Jersey Summer,” meant to fully vaccinate 4.7 million - representing 70% of the state’s adult population - by the end of next month.

A package of bills to assist microbusinesses, child care providers, restaurants, bars, other food and beverage establishments, businesses and nonprofits, startups, and the “Sustain and Serve NJ” program, which effectively pays restaurants to prepare meals for some of the state’s most in-need residents, will be administered by the New Jersey Economic Development Authority.

New Jersey is embarking on what Gov. Phil Murphy has described as the “most aggressive” reopening measures taken in the pandemic thus far on Wednesday. Here's what that means.