“Over the past eight years, we have proven that when we live by our Jersey values, our state government can serve the needs of working people, first and foremost, without compromising economic growth and prosperity,” said Governor Murphy. “We are the Administration that governed by the principle of ‘and’ — not ‘or.’ We were who we said we’d be — and we did what we said we’d do. And it is thanks to everything we have accomplished that, today, our state is brimming with opportunity for all. New Jersey is where the American Dream was born — and it is where the American Dream lives on. I have never been more optimistic about New Jersey’s future than I am today.”

In his address, the Governor emphasized several key promises on which his Administration has delivered:

Staying True to the Vision for a Stronger AND Fairer New Jersey

• Passed a law nearly doubling the minimum wage, while also building the most dynamic economy in the Northeast;
• Delivered more property tax relief than ever – $18 billion dollars, compared with almost $8 billion during the last Administration, including $2.4 billion through the most recent ANCHOR Property Tax Relief Program, which facilitated the slowest growth in property taxes in any Administration’s term on record;
• Restored fiscal responsibility, making the full payment into New Jersey's pension system five years in a row for the first time in a generation, and securing nine consecutive credit rating upgrades in just three years after a series of downgrades;
• Made millionaires and wealthy corporations pay their fair share in taxes while also growing the state’s population to record highs;
• Enacted landmark legislation that streamlined the process for ensuring every municipality meets their affordable housing obligations under the Fair Housing Act, accelerating construction of new affordable housing;
• Enrolled a record number of New Jerseyans in affordable health insurance plans, providing comprehensive health coverage to over 1.8 million New Jerseyans, including half of all kids, through NJ FamilyCare;
• Provided historic medical debt relief, totaling nearly $1.4 billion forgiven for over 828,000 New Jerseyans through six rounds of relief, with more planned;
• Increased public safety by establishing the Immigrant Trust Directive, a landmark statewide policy designed to strengthen trust between New Jersey’s law enforcement officers and the state’s diverse immigrant communities;
• Enacted three major packages of commonsense gun safety bills that made New Jersey’s gun laws among the strongest in the nation, including banning ghost guns and signing a “red flag” law;
• Enacted historic reforms to build a more compassionate criminal justice system while also strengthening public safety by bringing shootings down to record lows for three consecutive years, from 2023 to 2025;
• Created more good-paying jobs than New Jersey has ever seen, expanding rights for workers such as union rights and paid family leave, while also helping more new small businesses open their doors than ever before; and
• Preserved New Jersey’s reputation as the quintessential organized labor state by prioritizing enforcement, including through over 200 stop-work orders, and expanding worker protections.

Overcoming Challenges Together

• In the face of unprecedented attacks on American democracy, the Murphy Administration has vastly strengthened voting rights in New Jersey, expanding early in-person voting, establishing automatic voter registration, and helping a record number of eligible voters turning out to cast their ballots;
• Led New Jersey through a once-in-a-century pandemic and protected the safety of New Jerseyans of all colors, creeds, and cultures in the midst of armed conflicts across the globe;
• Defended New Jerseyans’ constitutional rights, taking action to codify the right to abortion months before the U.S. Supreme Court issued the Dobbs decision and committing to fully funding Planned Parenthood; and
• Maintained a balanced judiciary in New Jersey to restore public confidence in the rule of law.

 Preparing to Compete in the Economy of Tomorrow  

• Put New Jersey on track to free, universal pre-K by creating over 26,000 new seats, and invested more than $1 billion in expanding access to high-quality, affordable child care across New Jersey, including dedicating more than $140 million to improve child care infrastructure;
• Provided nearly $90 billion in K-12 school aid since taking office and repeatedly fully funded the school funding formula for the first time in history;
• Provided tuition-free community college for more than 50,800 New Jersey students, partial tuition payments for another 12,700 students, and initiated the Garden State Guarantee to provide a similar benefit for those in four-year colleges, which has served over 37,200 students;
• Launched Nurture NJ, a statewide initiative to make New Jersey the safest, most equitable state in the nation to deliver and raise a baby, signing over 70 pieces of maternal and infant health legislation, and establishing the New Jersey Maternal and Infant Health Innovation Authority to carry this legacy forward;
• Launched Family Connects NJ, the nation’s most robust universal nurse home visitation program, which is available in over half of counties and will continue to expand annually until it is available statewide;
• Secured a record amount of federal funding for the construction of the Gateway Tunnel Project, the most urgent and important infrastructure project in the country;
• Positioned New Jersey at the forefront of fighting climate change, including advancing the goal of running the state on 100% clean energy by 2035 and building robust infrastructure to support the transition to electric vehicles, surpassing 250,000 registrations;
• Created new sources of energy generation, surpassing 5,000 megawatts of installed solar capacity statewide, creating a permanent community solar program to advance clean energy affordability, and signing legislation that will put the State on track to achieve 10,000 megawatts of installed solar in the next four years;
• Cemented New Jersey’s reputation as the premier destination for entertainment, revitalizing the Film and Digital Media Tax Credit, with the sector generating more than $830 million in production spend in 2024 and $2 billion in planned studio and production investments, including Netflix, Paramount, and Lionsgate;
• Worked with regional leaders to secure the selection of New York New Jersey as host for the FIFA World Cup 26 Final, what is anticipated to be the most-watched sporting event in history;
• Revived New Jersey reputation as a global home of innovation, launching 12 Strategic Innovation Centers to bring together New Jersey’s brightest minds to pioneer breakthroughs in life sciences, fintech, aerospace technology, and beyond – including partnering with Microsoft, Princeton, and CoreWeave to launch the New Jersey AI Hub;
• Trained public sector workers to use secure AI platforms in partnership with the New Jersey Office of Innovation while also leading the nation in addressing the risks presented by AI as well as other emerging technologies; and
• Took action to respond to evolving threats to youth mental health and gaps in support, including signing into law a bell-to-bell ban on cellphones in K-12 schools.

For the Governor’s full address as prepared for delivery, click here.