WOODBURY, NJ (July 8th, 2024) – Steve Sweeney, Democratic candidate for governor, today pledged to be the first governor to implement consensus revenue forecasting and multi-year budgeting as major reforms to the state budget process.

“The New Jersey Constitution gave the governor the power to unilaterally set revenue projections, but that doesn’t mean that’s the best way to do things,” said Sweeney, the former Senate President. “As governor, I would set up a broad-based team of economists and budget experts appointed both by the Legislature and by me to develop consensus revenue forecasts. No other governor has been willing to share that power with the Legislature, but I would.

“These independent experts would also generate multi-year revenue and spending projections so that everyone would understand in advance the challenges that we face. I would also seek and sign legislation making these initiatives a permanent part of New Jersey’s budget process,” Sweeney said.

Sweeney advocated consensus revenue forecasting and multi-year budgeting while serving as Senate President. New Jersey Policy Perspective, the state’s leading liberal Democratic think tank, highlighted the need for both reforms in its study, Tools for Building a Healthy Budget. The Volcker Alliance gave New Jersey a “D” for budget forecasting in its last Truth and Integrity in State Budgeting report.

“Thirty states use consensus forecasting to take the politics out of revenue projections and 22 states were providing multi-year budget projections,” Sweeney noted, citing the Volcker Alliance report. “These are common-sense reforms that increase government transparency, and as governor, I would immediately put them in place. I know firsthand how valuable it is to get all of the best experts in the room and let them do their work.”

Multi-year budget reports were developed by the Facing Our Future task force assembled by the Council of New Jersey Grantmakers in 2010 and 2011 and by the Multi-Year Budget Workgroup as a project of Rowan University’s Sweeney Center for Public Policy starting in 2022, but never as official government documents developed with access to full Treasury data, Sweeney noted.

Sweeney served as a member of the Multi-Year Budget Workgroup until December, when he announced his candidacy for the Democratic nomination for governor; current officials or candidates for state office are not allowed to serve on the group.

The NJPP and Volcker Alliance reports can be found at https://www.njpp.org/publications/report/tools-for-building-a-healthy-budget/ and https://www.volckeralliance.org/resources/truth-and-integrity-state-budgeting-preparing-storm