10th District Legislators Oppose Budget Extension

The 10th District legislators voted against a massive $7.7 billion spending bill (S-20) to extend the FY 2020 State Budget after the Murphy Administration pushed this state further into debt amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Senator Jim Holzapfel and Assemblymen Greg McGuckin and John Catalano issued the following statement to explain how this budget lacks any input from Republican legislators:

“Trenton Democrats have refused to work across the aisle to create a reasonable and affordable budget proposal to get New Jersey back on track after it was impacted by the public health emergency.  Republicans have addressed their concerns to Governor Murphy about the many challenges facing our State, including tax revenue losses and an unconstitutional plan to borrow without voter approval.  Unfortunately, these matters have been ignored and the Governor has his own agenda separate from the people we represent.

“The Governor’s plan to cut the Senior Freeze and Homestead Rebate property tax relief programs greatly affects our senior communities.  They’ll be facing tax increases no matter how the Democrats try to package it.  Balancing a budget on the backs of our seniors is not the answer for our most economically vulnerable citizens.

“Republicans have repeatedly provided common-sense solutions to make New Jersey more affordable and to help our small businesses recover from the extended shutdowns.  Our caucuses have presented a proposal for a furlough program for State workers, including a real wage freeze and eliminating New York’s ability to tax New Jersey commuters who have been working from home.  These measures would address the severe losses in State tax revenue and provide some relief during this economic crisis.

“In addition, we repeatedly urged the Governor to lift restrictions for small businesses that provided a detailed plan to safely reopen, but those requests were rejected. We could not support a budget that values partisan politics over the best interests of the people, which is why we voted against Governor Murphy’s $7.7 billion budget extension.”