Orgy of pork.
Now there’s something you don’t hear every day.
As state lawmakers in Trenton on Thursday prepared to vote on New Jersey’s new, record-setting $46.4 billion state budget, Republicans declared the bill is filled with excessive unnecessary spending. There’s at least $500 million in the budget for pet projects for lawmakers in the wake of a massive tax revenue windfall.
And state Sen. Michael Testa took it a step further.
“This budget again represents an orgy of pork and unnecessary spending and leaves our taxpayers to mop up the floor while being asked to pay for it,” Testa, R-Cumberland, said during an hour-long debate on the budget crafted by Democrats who control New Jersey’s government.
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And he wasn’t alone in his criticism. State Sen. Singer, R-Ocean, called the price tag of the budget “virtual insanity.” In general, Republicans said the spending plan missed the chance to give more tax cuts to taxpayers and to put the state on more long-term stable financial footing.
At the same time, progressive advocates held a rally outside the Statehouse on Thursday saying legislative leaders left out more funding NJ Transit, undocumented immigrants, and clean energy programs despite the budget’s $10.1 billion surplus.
The budget does include income tax rebates to hundreds of thousands of New Jersey families, new tax deductions for college savings, tuition and loans, and an historic $6.9 billion contribution to the state’s public pension fund.
Republicans and advocates have also bemoaned how quickly the bill has moved this week, with legislative committees approving it Tuesday, 11 minutes after the final version was introduced. Both the Democratic-controlled Senate and Assembly then passed it along party lines Tuesday. It now goes to Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy, who is expected to sign it.
The list of legislators’ pet projects, called “pork” in most places but better known in Trenton as “Christmas tree” items because they are akin to gifts, could be a record-setter. There are roughly 150 requests with a price tag of more than $500 million, according to an NJ Advance Media analysis of the latest version of the budget.
Some of the requests are parochial, such as $15 million for demolition work by the Camden County Improvement Authority and $25,000 for the construction of a YMCA building in Union County. Others are for big-ticket items that affect thousands of residents, such as $100 million in “extraordinary aid” to reimburse school districts for special education services.
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It’s unclear if there’s any “pork” going to Testa’s South Jersey district. Legislative officials have not yet released a list of which lawmakers made requests.
State Senate President Stephen Sweeney, D-Gloucester, said that list could come as soon as Friday. Sweeney also took issue with his colleagues who described the spending as pork.
“They can call it pork all they want,” Sweeney said after the vote. “When they ask for me for pediatric cancer, right, to get money for that, I don’t consider that pork.”
“They can call it whatever they want to call it. I think these are necessary,” he added. “The vast majority — I can’t say 100% — but the vast majority are actually projects that impact people, and for this year we have the ability to help people, so we’re doing it.”
Assembly Speaker Craig Coughlin, D-Middlesex, said the revenue influx gave lawmakers extra money to a produce a budget that “does an awful lot of good for New Jerseyans.”
“I think it’s a very responsible budget,” said Assemblywoman Eliana Pintor Marin, D-Essex, chairwoman of the Assembly’s budget committee.
State Senate President Stephen Sweeney is pictured Thursday.Patti Sapone | NJ Advance Media
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Matt Arco may be reached at marco@njadvancemedia.com.
Brent Johnson may be reached at bjohnson@njadvancemedia.com.