Governor Murphy’s State of the State Address

Governor Phil Murphy will deliver the annual State of the State address this afternoon at noon from the Statehouse in Trenton.

Watch it here courtesy of NJTV:

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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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Hanlon: Nationwide Election Results Could Be Held Up By Murphy’s Vote By Mail Law

Monmouth County Clerk Christine Giordano Hanlon

By Christine Giordano Hanlon

New Jersey’s new Vote by Mail law, signed by Gov. Murphy in August, has the potential to leave voters hanging on Election Night, not just in New Jersey, but across the country.  Candidates and voters should be aware that the results on Election Night may be far from final.

With recent polls suggesting that the New Jersey Senate race is tighter than many anticipated, and with several New Jersey congressional races polling within the margin of error, the new law could cause the entire nation to be left wondering which party will control of the U.S. House or Senate come January.

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O’Scanlon Introduces Legislation To Protect NJ Motorists From Other States’ Traffic Camera Schemes

Senator Declan O’Scanlon

New Jersey MVC will no longer be provide information about resident motorist to companies that operate red-light and speed cameras for other states, if bipartisan legislation introduced by Senators Declan O’Scanlon, Nick Sacco, Nicolas Scutari becomes law.

The Camera Enforcement Inoculation Act prohibits the New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission from providing identifying information to camera enforcement entities, thus making it impossible to issue tickets for automated enforcement infractions to New Jersey motorists.

This is such a great idea that Governor Phil Murphy should instruct MVC Commissioner Sue Fulton to implement the practice immediately while the bill works its way through the legislature.

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Congressman Smith Tours Storm Damage In CD-4

Congressman Chris Smith toured storm damage sites in Wall Township and Howell Township yesterday afternoon to prepare his appeal to the Trump Administration for federal assistance in the recovery, if Governor Phil Murphy asks the President for FEMA’s assistance, as expected.

Smith said his letter to President Trump is already written and that he is prepared to work for federal reimbursement as soon as Governor Murphy makes the request.  The knowledge he gained on yesterday’s tour will help him make his case to Trump Administration officials and FEMA when he meets with them to appeal for federal funds.

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Guadagno: Murphy’s $2 billion spending increase is insane but not a surprise

Former Lt. Governor Kim Guadagno appeared on the Tommy G Show yesterday during which she said that the $2 billion in spending increases and $1.5 billion in new state taxes are insane but that no one should be surprised.

Guadagno said that moderate Democrats who are now calling for spending cuts “sound like Republicans, that’s what we’ve been saying all along!”

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Murphy swears in John Pallone as Long Branch Mayor

The State Legislature is still toiling in Trenton making sure Governor Phil Murphy’s conditional vetoes match what he agreed to with Senate President Steve Sweeney and Assembly Speaker Craig Coughlin yesterday, but Murphy has left the Capitol and returned home to Monmouth County where is issued the Oath of Office to Long Branch Mayor John Pallone moments ago.

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Sneaky Murphy trying to change the deal

The Democrats leading the legislature in Trenton are learning first hand how devious bankers are and that a “done deal” really isn’t until the paperwork is signed.

In his deal made with Senate President Steve Sweeney and Assembly Speaker Craig Coughlin yesterday evening,  Governor Murphy agreed to raise the threshold for the so called millionaire tax to $5 million from the $1 million he originally proposed.  That was to have meant that fortunate taxpayers would pay 10.75% of their income over $5 million to the Soprano State of New Jersey.

According to a sleep deprived source in Trenton, the fine print Murphy presented the legislature today set the millionaires tax to be triggered at $5 million, but for the 10.75% to be applied on the taxable income over $1 million.  Sweeney and Coughlin made a deal that would require a wealthy taxpayer with $6 million in taxable income to pay New Jersey $107,500 in tax on the million earned above the threshold.  The legislation Murphy presented would require that taxpayer to pay $537,500. Read the rest of this entry »

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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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Shutdown Averted, Murphy, Sweeney and Coughlin Agree On Tax Increases

Governor Phil Murphy, Senate President Steve Sweeney and Assembly Speaker Craig Coughlin came to terms on tax increased in the New Jersey FY2019 Budget today, averting a shutdown of state government.

While the Senate and General Assembly will not vote on the budget legislation before the midnight deadline tonight, Murphy said that he will not close the government.  Sweeney and Coughlin announced that their Chambers will be in session at 8:00 a.m. on Sunday morning. Read the rest of this entry »

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