Garden State Times

On May 22, 2024, Republican members of the Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee submitted a letter to the Senate President and Assembly Speaker outlining comprehensive changes to Governor Phil Murphy's FY25 budget proposal. The letter, signed by Senate Republican Budget Officer Declan O'Scanlon (R-13), Senator Michael Testa (R-1), Senator Doug Steinhardt (R-23), and Senator Carmen Amato (R-9), called for bipartisan cooperation to control spending and lower taxes.

The Senators highlighted two previous Republican budget proposals that they believe contain relevant solutions to address what they describe as New Jersey's affordability crisis. "Our past budget resolutions sought additional tax relief, a full restoration of school and municipal aid, and financial support for various service providers — all of whom have been struggling due to New Jersey's affordability crisis," stated the Senators in their letter. "We also proposed how to more-than-pay-for these priorities to help address budget imbalances and increase funding for debt reduction. Our ideas for improving the budget have almost been entirely ignored by the Democrat Majority."

Key points from the letter include proposals to control spending, prioritize tax relief, fully restore school funding for districts that were cut, support various service providers, and offer reductions and reforms aimed at saving taxpayers billions of dollars.

The letter criticizes Governor Murphy's proposed cuts to school aid for approximately 150 districts and slashes in municipal aid amidst high inflation. It also addresses concerns about funding cuts for county colleges, independent universities, battered women's services, and other statewide service providers.

Additionally, the Senators advocate for several cost-saving measures such as eliminating pension abuses and controlling health care costs. They suggest generating additional revenue through efforts like combating New York’s taxation of New Jersey residents and changing investment policies within the State Investment Council.

The Republicans urge Democrats to consider their previous proposals seriously. "Had our prior proposals to control spending and generate additional revenues without increasing taxes been taken seriously years ago, we are confident all our priorities could be addressed," they wrote.

The letter concludes with an offer of bipartisan collaboration: "We stand ready and willing to work with you to develop a truly bipartisan budget."

For further information or interviews with any of the signatories, contact Kyle Fischer, SRO Director of Communications.