Better Choices Coalition Responds to Passage of FY2020 Budget Bill

After the New Jersey legislature voted to pass the FY2020 Budget bill, the Better Choices for New Jersey Coalition has released the following statement:

This Thursday, the New Jersey Legislature voted to pass the FY2020 budget without a Millionaire’s Tax virtually unanimously.

While the budget contains funding for some programs we are in support of, including increased funding for New Jersey transit, public education, healthcare, and property tax relief — it is short-sighted and does not contain reliable sources of revenue. The legislature used cherry-picked calculations from OLS and the Treasury to balance their budget and made phantom investments that fail to support the needs of New Jerseyans in a long-term manner..

Moreover, the budget does not raise enough revenue to cover the programs it claims to sustain. Left out of budget bill S2020/A5600 are good policies that help to lift up and solve problems that disproportionately affect working and middle class families while also raising the revenue necessary to sustain the budget’s goals, such as:

• The millionaire’s tax, which would have implemented only 2 cents on every dollar after individuals exceed a net income of over 1 million dollars, providing $536 million in revenue for the 2020 FY, and helped mend New Jersey’s deep income inequality by prioritizing tax fairness.
• The per-pill fee on opioids to help reduce deaths from opioid addiction and overdose, which would have raised $21.5 million in revenue over the coming fiscal year.
• The corporate responsibility fee, which would have prevented diversion of public funds by requiring private employers with more than 50 employees to provide $150 per employee enrolled in Medicaid.
• The gun fee, which would have raised the cost of a $2 gun license and $40 concealed carry permit to $50 and $400 respectively, resulting $3.9 million in revenue for New Jersey.

Finally, this budget — like many before it — does not make any deposits into the Rainy Day Fund: a reserved amount of money to be used in times when regular income is disrupted or decreased in order to continue typical operations. This is the tenth year in a row we have not deposited to the Rainy Day Fund, an irresponsible pattern to continue given the current reserve in the Rainy Day Fund would not see New Jersey through another crisis.

The budget’s dependence on rosy revenue projections, in combination with New Jersey’s lack of savings, fails to meet the state’s long-term needs and sustainable fiscal health. The passage of Thursday’s budget has left us woefully unprepared for the next economic downturn, and is a missed opportunity to bolster the state’s reserves and protect New Jersey working and middle class families, who will be hit the hardest.

The Better Choices for New Jersey  is a coalition comprised of dozens of community, labor, environmental, and faith groups fighting for a budget that puts working families first. Since its inception in 2009, it has led the charge to rein in corporate welfare and ensure New Jersey is poised to make smart investments in education, transportation, and clean energy.

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