The Republican members of the Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee released the following statement highlighting their concerns after hearing testimony today from OLS and State Treasurer Elizabeth Muoio:

“When the Governor delivered his budget address, we had serious concerns that he was relying on savings that have yet to be determined, overly-optimistic revenue projections, and accounting gimmicks to disguise New Jersey’s financial problems,” Senate Republican Budget Officer Steven Oroho (R-24) said. “OLS can’t back up the administration’s revenue projections. Outmigration of income continues to be a major problem, equaling a loss of $3.5 billion, according to the most recent yearly data. A new income tax will only make it worse. This is insanity. There would be no need for any tax increases at all if the governor would come to the table and enact our bipartisan Path to Progress reforms.”

“How can we possibly ask New Jersey taxpayers to cope with half a billion dollars in new taxes? It’s unconscionable. There are bipartisan solutions on the table right now and refusing to consider commonsense options like pension and health benefit reform isn’t just irresponsible – it’s dangerous,” Senator Declan O’Scanlon (R-13) said. “The rhetoric alone is enough to drive people away. Families are leaving. Job creators are leaving and they aren’t all leaving for warmer weather – they’re leaving because they simply can’t afford to stay here, and this budget does nothing to address this problem.”

“The Governor is asking us to take a huge leap of faith and trust that the revenue to fund his massive tax-and-spend budget will magically appear by April 15. That’s not a risk Republicans are willing to take. You can’t craft a budget with Monopoly money,” Senator Sam Thompson (R-12) said. “Children across New Jersey will still be victimized by unfair school funding cuts under this budget. Small business owners are once again being thrown under the bus. It’s time for the Governor to work with us to pass a budget that includes real fiscal reforms, instead of forcing hardworking New Jersey residents to pick up the tab.”