TRENTON - The Senate Budget Committee and Assembly Budget Committees this evening passed along party lines the $60.75 Billion FY 2027 State Budget Bill.

"There are a lot of moving parts, including some language changes and changes to restorations," said state Senate Committee Budget Chairman Paul Sarlo, who cited the budget's unreserved balance of $6 billion.

"That's a surplus which will help us as we go through next year," the chairman said, noting national "geopolitical forces and the impact of HR-1."

"We have a very healthy surplus heading into next year, we have [a] reformatted Stay[NJ] program that really drives money to those seniors making $200K or less."

Republicans, naturally, disagreed.

"There's a lot I'm supportive of," said state Senator Steinhardt. "There's also a bunch of stuff I can't support. The failure to fully fund a bunch of our school districts. Many in my home [school] districts... are struggling."

Senator Mike Testa:

"Rural health improvements [not to exceed $12 million] are being funneled to a science center in Jersey City," he griped.

His vote - a "no."

Senator Declan O'Scanlon panned the process.

"The last-minute nature of this process," he complained. "It would not be difficult to have a little professionalism so we could all know what we're voting for."

The full houses will vote Tuesday on the budget.

More detail here from NJ Spotlight News:

A nearly $61 billion spending plan that increases funding for direct property tax relief and K-12 public school aid, while also temporarily expanding New Jersey’s child tax credit, is planned to clear the full Legislature in time for Wednesday’s start of a new fiscal year.

But to stay on track — and avoid a midweek government shutdown — members of the budget committees in the Assembly and Senate were called in for rare Sunday meetings, with agendas packed full of legislation.

Several measures needed to advance the fiscal year 2027 budget were also on the weekend to-do list.

Final action on the appropriations legislation drafted by majority Democrats is expected to take place in both full houses sometime on Tuesday. From there, the legislative spending bill and related legislation is expected to quickly garner Sherrill’s signature.

And more detail here from the New Jersey Monitor:

Alongside the budget, legislators approved a bill allowing up to $358.8 million in additional spending during the fiscal year that ends Wednesday, mostly to fund their individual priorities and for a loan program to spare Jersey City steep tax increases to close what city officials have described as a $255 million budget deficit.

Such bills, called supplementals, are typically passed alongside the budget and are sometimes approved at other times of the year, like the $128 million supplemental approved earlier this year.

They can be used to approve spending or tweak budgetary language outside of regular budget cycles, but lawmakers have not used them to approve spending for legislative add-ons in recent years, preferring to place those items, sometimes derisively called “pork” or “Christmas tree items,” within the budget itself.

The more than $200 million the supplemental sends to such priorities will join dozens of line items for individual legislators’ districts approved as part of the budget itself.

Among many others, this year’s legislative add-ons, both within and without the budget, include $2.2 million in operating aid to Linden, Senate President Nicholas Scutari’s hometown; $1 million for park improvements in Sayreville; and $5 million to a recreation center in Wood-Ridge, where Sarlo is mayor.

Other add-ons send money to the Special Olympics, Boys and Girls Clubs, and health centers. The additions are paid for, in part, by lower projected expenses for a range of Medicaid-related programs within the Department of Human Services. Those were down $266.8 million.

The supplemental also sets aside $135 million in transitional aid to localities. Language requires the state treasurer to disburse at least $110.4 million as loans to one or more municipalities.

Jersey City will receive a $105 million loan from the program on top of a $15 million grant for the city in the budget proper, Sarlo said. The city, New Jersey’s second largest, faced local tax increases of more than 20% to close its budget gap.

“Our city is an economic engine of this state. We contribute more in income tax and sales tax revenue to the Treasury’s coffers than any other municipality in this state,” said Sen. Raj Mukherji (D-Hudson), who represents Jersey City. “This is an unprecedented fiscal crisis, and if the state doesn’t support Jersey City, everyone’s going to feel the repercussions of that.”