New Jersey Has Spent Only a Fraction of $2.4B Federal COVID-19 Aid, Legislative Sources Say

It’s difficult to follow the money, but evidence is that Murphy administration has used less than 3% of state’s allotment

BY COLLEEN O’DEA, NJSpotlight

While Gov. Phil Murphy complained Wednesday about the latest federal stimulus proposal from Senate Republicans and its lack of funding for states, New Jersey has spent less than 3% of the almost $2.4 billion it has received from the federal government to cover general needs created by the COVID-19 pandemic.

As of Wednesday, the state had spent $229 million from the Coronavirus Relief Fund (CRF), the federal assistance giving states and local governments the most flexibility to use the money to offset impacts from the novel coronavirus, and allocated another $51 million for spending, according to legislative sources. That leaves almost 97.7% untouched about four months after the state learned how much it would receive.

The state treasurer’s office did not respond to a request for comment about the spending figures.