TRENTON, NJ — As Governor Mikie Sherrill and legislative leaders finalize New Jersey's Fiscal Year 2027 budget behind closed doors, advocates from across the state gathered at the State House to call for a more transparent budget process and long-term revenue solutions that meet the scale of New Jersey's challenges.

This budget cycle began with New Jersey facing a structural deficit, rising costs, and growing uncertainty from federal funding cuts. As the June 30 deadline approaches, the public still does not know which programs will be funded, which priorities will be left behind, or how lawmakers plan to address the state's long-term fiscal challenges.

Advocates said the annual scramble for limited resources has become a recurring feature of New Jersey's budget process.

"Every year, organizations and communities that provide essential services are forced to compete for a shrinking share of public resources,” said Eric Benson, For The Many Coalition Manager. “Schools, higher education, housing programs, clean energy programs, disability services, legal aid organizations, and countless other priorities are left waiting until the final days of the budget process to learn their fate. It doesn’t have to be this way. Regardless of the final budget details, New Jersey's major underlying fiscal challenges will still be with us on July 1 without additional revenue."

The coalition noted that while Governor Sherrill proposed closing several corporate tax loopholes, much more must be done to create a tax code capable of supporting the services New Jersey families rely on.

“The tax system we have is not designed to keep up with the current economic system where there is a huge accumulation of wealth in the hands of a few billionaires, and now a trillionaire,” said Maura Collinsgru of New Jersey Citizen Action. “We need to end the budget Hunger Games that we see every year, where really good programs and really essential needs are pitted against one another because we don’t have the political will to raise enough revenue from those that have more than they’ll ever need.”

Advocates warned that even after a budget is signed, the underlying pressures facing New Jersey will remain.

“According to the United Way of NJ’s ALICE annual report, 40% of New Jerseyans struggle each month to make ends meet. We also see homelessness is on the rise and SNAP benefits are on the decline because of H.R. 1. At the same time, mega-corporations and millionaire households are doing better than ever in New Jersey,” said Sara Lilja, New Jersey Coalition of Religious Leaders. “This is immoral, and we need to seriously consider new revenue to address the structural deficits that keep these injustices going.”

The coalition called on state leaders to pursue additional revenue policies that ask the wealthiest households and most profitable corporations to contribute more toward the public investments that benefit all New Jersey communities.

"New Jersey is strongest when every community is seen, every voice is heard, and every person counts. That's why we're calling on lawmakers to invest in the services and institutions that help our communities thrive, from affordable child care and housing to legal representation, local journalism, and Census outreach,” said Calandria Ortiz-Resende of the New Jersey League of Women Voters. “The Census is especially important because it determines how billions of federal dollars flow to New Jersey for schools, health care, housing, transportation, and nutrition programs, while also shaping our representation and political power for the next decade. These investments are possible when New Jersey adopts equitable revenue solutions that ask the wealthiest households and largest corporations to pay their fair share."

"New Jersey has all the wealth it needs to ensure no child goes hungry and no family has to choose between paying to keep the lights on or the water running,” said Peter Chen of New Jersey Policy Perspective. “What New Jerseyans need are political leaders that are willing to tax big businesses and billionaires and close corporate tax loopholes to keep the wealth we generate here, in the investments that make the state great like schools, health care, and transit infrastructure. New Jersey faces this choice every budget season: child care or clean energy, health care or arts funding. That has to end!"

“There is no success in society without housing, and it’s not just affordable housing. If we want to ensure that our residents are successful, we need everyone, advocates, the legislature, and the Governor’s office, to continue to push for more housing, housing access, housing stability, and housing production. Make this a top priority so together we can all stand and say in one unified voice, that housing is a human right,” said James Williams with Monarch Housing Associates.

“Every single year, we have to fight to maintain resources for the Hispanic Women’s Resource Centers funding. For the record, our agencies are multi-service agencies that serve all people. For many, they are the first stops and sometimes one-stop centers for folks that need help filling out applications, who seek referrals for food because their children are hungry, for people that need health care, or even a warm bed on a freezing night,” said Cuqui Rivera, Latino Action Network. She added, “I’ve been on the front lines of community-based services for over 40 years. It’s one thing to see statistics or crunch the budget numbers, but more importantly, we need to see the real people for who they are, and do everything we can to protect the humans in our communities. If for only one day, those who cut these funds to our communities should live just one day in the life, go back and look at their own children, their elders, and see them hungry, or cold, or sick and not have the means to help. Just one day.”