With a $1.3 billion gas tax increase proposed by some in the Legislature, it’s more important than ever to understand New Jersey’s transportation spending.
More than a year ago, I called for the state to create a “State Transportation Cost Analysis Task Force” to conduct a methodical analysis of the factors that contribute to New Jersey’s road costs, compare our costs to those of other states, and provide recommendations to complete projects more cost-effectively.
While many would consider this legislation to be a matter of common sense, it has failed to advance in the Democrat-controlled Legislature.
I initially introduced S-1888 in response to a study by the Reason Foundation that found Garden State roads to be the nation’s most expensive to build, operate and maintain.
According to that report, New Jersey’s state-administered highways cost taxpayers $2 million per mile, which the Reason Foundation claims to be 12 times the national average, three times the cost in the next highest state and four times the cost in New York.
Summer is finally upon on – the weather is cooperating and the first official day of summer is just around the corner.
So proud to have been at Asbury Park High School last week for the announcement of the partnership between the Asbury Park School District and Brookdale Community College for the Asbury Park-Brookdale Promise. This program targets all Asbury Park High School students and is designed to give them access to college readiness programs and scholarship opportunities in an effort to increase the number of students attending college. This will be achieved by granting scholarships to attend Brookdale to any of our students who have been enrolled at Asbury Park High School for all four years. This is a great accomplishment for the Asbury Park school district as this will enable more students to come closer to realizing their dreams of attending college.
Senator Joe Kyrillos yesterday endorsed a $.23 per gallon increase in the New Jersey’s tax on gasoline in order to fund the Transportation Trust Fund for the next 10 years. Proponents of the tax increase say the fund will only have money for debt service starting at the end of this month, if the state tax on gasoline remains at its current level of $.14 per gallon.
“In total, it is a productivity, prosperity and quality of life package for New Jersey, and very, very significant,” Kyrillos (R-Monmouth) said at a Statehouse news conference, according to NJ.com.
The gas tax increase legislation also reduces the estate tax and taxes on retirement income.
WHIPPANY — With the state’s Transportation Trust Fund less than three weeks away from running out of money for new road, bridge and rail projects, Gov. Chris Christie said the fix being pushed by the Democratic-controlled legislature lacked sufficient tax breaks to be signed into law. Speaking to the Morris County Chamber of Commerce on Monday,… Read the rest of this entry »
A Chick-fil-A restaurant in Orlando on Sunday delivered sandwiches and iced tea to a blood drive supporting victims of the gay nightclub terrorist attack. The restaurant on University and Rouse Road delivered the food free of charge to the One Blood donation center, the DC Gazette reported. The owners of the Christian-run organization, which is normally… Read the rest of this entry »
An Islamic scholar who spoke earlier this year at an Orlando mosque has previously said gay people should be killed according to Islamic law “out of compassion.” “Death is the sentence,” Sheikh Farrokh Sekaleshfar said at a speech at the Husseini Islamic Center in Orlando in 2013. “We know. There’s nothing to be embarrassed about this.… Read the rest of this entry »
Omar Mateen aspired to be a police officer and had once applied to join a police academy. He worked at a centre for juvenile delinquents as a correctional officer. More recently he was an armed guard for a gated retirement community in South Florida. A former co-worker said that Mateen’s anger was “constant.” He was known… Read the rest of this entry »
The gunman in a mass shooting that left at least 50 people dead and 53 others wounded early Sunday in an Orlando night club was once married to a New Jersey woman. Records show Omar Mateen, who died in a shootout with a police, married Sitora Yusufiy in 2009 in Florida. Yusufiy lived in Edison and… Read the rest of this entry »
TRENTON — There was no winner in Friday night’s drawing of the Mega Millions lottery jackpot so the pot has grown to $293 million. The next drawing is Tuesday night. If the winner chooses the cash option, it would be $198.2 million before taxes. Friday night’s winning numbers were 34 61 66 67 68, megaball 07.… Read the rest of this entry »
The gunman who killed 50 people and wounded 53 others after opening fire at a popular gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida, is believed to have ties to Islamic terrorism, according to early reports from authorities. “It’s really early in the investigation, but the indicators are clear that this person did have Islamist leanings,” said Rep. Peter… Read the rest of this entry »
With a $1.3 billion gas tax increase proposed by some in the Legislature, it’s more important than ever to understand New Jersey’s transportation spending.
