Weinberg Applauds Governor’s Acceptance of Legislature’s $50 Million Increase in NJ Transit Funding

Trenton – Senate Majority Leader Loretta Weinberg today applauded the Governor’s announcement that he would keep the Legislature’s $50 million increase in funding for NJ Transit in the budget bill he will sign Sunday.

“Senate President Steve Sweeney and I said on the day of the Governor’s budget speech that NJ Transit’s operating budget was severely underfunded, and that we would need to add significant funding to meet the needs of over 900,000 daily bus, rail and light riders,” said Senator Weinberg (D-Bergen).

“Our concerns were heightened when the multi-year budget that NJ Transit provided to us in compliance with our NJ Transit reform legislation showed the agency would be facing a $131 million operating deficit by FY21. That’s why we were so insistent on the need to add $50 million to NJ Transit’s operating budget for the upcoming year,” the Senate Majority Leader    said.

“We are glad the Governor agreed with us, and I would like to thank him for meeting with me last month to discuss this critical funding need,” she said.

Senator Weinberg was the prime sponsor of S-630, the NJ Transit reform bill, and served as vice-chair of the Senate Legislative Oversight Committee that held 15 months of investigative hearings into the problems plaguing NJ Transit during the Christie Administration.