As he heads toward an end of the month deadline for the NJ 2020 budget, Governor Phil Murphy says he was elected to fix the state in a responsible way.

“The legislature sent us a budget back that includes overwhelming funding of programs we care about, including historic reinvestment in our middle class,” Murphy said.

“There are some tweaks and cuts that I bemoan, including community college funding. It’s in there, just not enough. The bigger concern I have is on the revenue side – the lack of tax fairness. The opioid distribution and manufacturing fee. I don’t want to make light of the cuts.

“All options remain on the table,” he said.

A reporter asked him if he has a message for state workers who find themselves up against a government shutdown in the event that Murphy doesn’t reach a budget agreement with the legislature by the end of the month.

“The message I have is we were sent here to fix this state and fix it responsibly,” Murphy said.