Hornik and McCormac holding joint fundraiser in Marlboro tonight

Marlboro Mayor Jon Hornik

Marlboro Mayor Jon Hornik and Woodbridge Mayor John McCormac are having a joint high dollar fundraiser tonight at Cuzin’s Seafood Clam Bar in Marlboro. The $300 per head event is being hosted by Middlesex Democrat Chairman Kevin McCabe and Monmouth Democrat Chair David Brown.

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Middletown Mayor: If Pot Is Legalized, It Should Be Regulated Like Alcohol

Middletown Mayor Tony Perry

Middletown Mayor Tony Perry says that if recreational marijuana is to become legal in New Jersey, that its retail sale of should be regulated like alcohol is regulated…with municipalities selling licenses and conducting background checks on the sellers.

The legislation currently under consideration in Trenton, and reportedly agreed upon by Governor Phil Murphy, Senate President Sweeney and Assembly Speaker Craig Coughlin amounts to an unfunded burden upon local governments, Perry said in a letter to Buena Vista Mayor Chuck Chiarello, President of the New Jersey Conference of Mayors, with copies sent to the 13th District legislators; Senator Declan O’Scanlon and Assemblywomen Amy Handlin and Serena DiMaso, as well as Monmouth County Sheriff Shaun Golden and Freeholder Director Tom Arnone.

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Art G and Tommy G on the radio this afternoon at 4

Art Gallagher is back on the Tommy G Show on Tuesday afternoon, January 29 at 4 PM.

Tommy’s show is always good for laughs and provocative conversation about local, state and national news.  On the agenda this afternoon is discussion about the $15 minimum wage bill that Governor Phil Murphy, Senate President Steve Sweeney and Assembly Speaker Craig Coughlin  promoted at the press conference in Sayreville this morning.

I wouldn’t be surprised if former Governor Chris Christie’s new book which was released today also comes up in conversation.

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Three GOP State Senators Willing To Trade Marijuana Support For Fiscal And Public Safety Reforms

Senator Declan O’Scanlon

Three  Republican State Senators, including Monmouth County’s Declan O’Scanlon are willing to vote to legalize recreational marijuana in New Jersey if Governor Phil Murphy and Senate President Steve Sweeney deliver the return of the Energy Receipts Tax to municipalities, a dedicated 911 System and Emergency Response Trust Fund, funding for addiction recovery services and a guaranteed reimbursement fund for municipalities paying to train police officers as Drug Recognition Experts who can assess if a driver is impaired by cannabis, according to an article on NJ.com

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Budget deal not ready, Bramnick put Republicans in a box

Assembly Minority Leader Jon Bramnick put his caucus in an untenable position.

By Art Gallagher

Governor Phil Murphy, Senate President Steve Sweeney and Assembly Speaker Craig Coughlin announced last night that the had a last minute budget deal to avert a state shutdown and that the legislature would pass the necessary bills this morning starting at 8am.

As of 9:45 a.m.  the legislator and many staffers have been in Trenton for three hours, but the bills have yet to be drafted and some of the details…where the devil lives…are still being haggled over, according to a sleep deprived source who called this morning.

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O’Scanlon legislation would keep road work going, keep Monmouth Park open, in the event of a NJ shutdown

Senator Declan O’Scanlon (R-Monmouth County) announced that he will introduce two bills tomorrow in the NJ Senate tomorrow that, if enacted, would lessen the destructive aspects of a state government shutdown.

Governor Phil Murphy and the Democrat leaders in the legislature, Senate President Steve Sweeney and Assembly Speaker Craig Coughlin, are thus far deadlocked over their competing proposals to raise taxes on New Jersey residents, tourists and businesses.   If they are unable to come to an agreement, and get the legislature to concur, by midnight tomorrow, the government will shutdown.

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Democrats Budget Compromise Talks Stall

Assembly Speaker Craig Coughlin and Governor Phil Murphy. NJGlobe photo by NIKITA BIRYUKOV

The Democrat debate in Trenton over which taxes to raise on New Jersey residents and by how much ended last evening with no deal.  Voting sessions scheduled for today in the Assembly and the Senate where cancelled.  Legislators were told to report to Trenton on Saturday.

If Governor Phil Murphy, Senate President Steve Sweeney and Assembly Speaker Craig Coughlin do not make a deal that is approved by the legislature by midnight on Saturday, New Jersey’s state government will shutdown for the second consecutive year.

Governor Murphy wants to increase income taxes on millionaires and the sales tax on everybody.  Sweeney and Coughlin want to raise taxes on businesses to the highest in the nation, expand the sales tax to internet purchases, real estate sales, and impose a new tax on vacation rental homes and Airbnb rentals.

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O’Scanlon and DiMaso: Don’t tax summer rentals

As part of their compromise with Governor Phil Murphy over how many taxes to raise and by how much in the new state budget, the Democrat leaders of the legislature have proposed taxing seasonal rentals of vacation homes and Airbnb rentals.

Senator Declan O’Scanlon and Assemblywoman Serena DiMaso came out against a seasonal rental tax, which will have a disproportionate impact on Jersey Shore property owners, in a statement issued this afternoon.

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Murphy blinks: Offers Legislature budget compromise

In an effort to get a State budget passed by Saturday and avert a government shutdown, Governor Phil Murphy offered a compromise between his proposed budget and the budget that passed in the Democrat controlled legislature last week, according to NJBiz.

Murphy has previously threatened to veto or line item veto the legislature’s budget.

According to NJBiz, Murphy has proposed a lower corporate business tax increase than the legislature passed and to phase in the sales tax increase proposed over two years.   The Governor said he would accept the School Funding Formula proposed by Senate President Steve Sweeny, which has passed the legislature. Read the rest of this entry »

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Murphy puts the brakes on sports betting at NJ racetracks despite legislature’s green light

Don’t count on placing a bet on the NBA Finals or the Yankees/Mets subway series games this weekend at Monmouth Park.  Governor Phil Murphy has not signed the bill regulating sports betting that passed the legislature unanimously yesterday and the New Jersey Racing Commission, which Murphy controls, warned the state’s three tracks not to take bets before he does, according to a NJ.com report.

Following the U.S. Supreme Court decision overturning the nationwide sports betting ban, except for Nevada, Dennis Drazin of Monmouth Park announced he was prepared to start taking bets at the William Hill Race and Sports Bar on Memorial Day. New Jersey already had a law on the books, and a state constitutional amendment, that allows sports betting, so with the federal ban overturned by SCOTUS, there was no legal barrier to accepting bets.

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