A bill to allow Gov. Phil Murphy to borrow $9.9 billion from the federal government to make up for declining revenues is on the way to his desk.
The Senate and Assembly passed the bill mostly along party lines after spirited debates that questioned the constitutionality and the need for the money.
“This is not a plan, it’s the easy way out,” said Sen. Anthony Bucco, R-Boonton. “We’re not waiting to address this problem in a logical fashion, taking now-outdated projections based on difficult times and using that to justify massive borrowing to repair the budget.”
Assemblyman Jay Webber indicated a court challenge is imminent.
“We can’t pass this bill,” Webber said. “The constitution of the State of New Jersey does not allow you to do what you are trying to do. It doesn’t allow you to borrow to pay for operating expenses.”
Assemblywoman Eliana Pintor-Marin, who chairs the Assembly Budget Committee, said the attorney general assured her that bill was constitutional, but she said she had nothing in writing.
“It blows my mind that the majority is going to go forward with the plan to borrow $9.9 billion – with interest payments it will be much more – without having the attorney general put it in writing, the opinion he apparently shared with the majority but not the minority,” Webber said.
Assemblyman Hal Wirths, R-Sussex, said he thought the vote is not just illegal but is morally wrong.
“We all want to be in history books,” Wirths said. “Believe me, today you are going to be in history books as one of the worst votes taken in the state of New Jersey.”
Senate President Steve Sweeney, Assembly Speaker Craig Coughlin and the chairs of the Assembly and Senate budget committees will sit on a committee that will approve Murphy’s borrowing.
Assemblyman Jamel Holley introduced an amendment that would include African American and Latino members on the committee.
“I am going to support the application as you want to call it, the authorization as some what to call it, but I am very, very concerned and leery about the representation on the committee and ultimately will that reflect who we all are in this body,” Holley said.
The Assembly voted to table Holley’s amendment before voting on the bill.
“It is with a heavy heart that I see my name up there and a price tag of a potential $9.9 billion,” said Pintor-Marin before the vote. “This is not an easy bill. I don’t want to make history by having a bill that has $9.9 billion next to it. But I do want to make history in making sure that the state of New Jersey is not devastated, that our families everyday have a piece of bread and something to drink at the table. “
Murphy can borrow $2.7 million to cover any revenue shortfalls in the extended fiscal year 2020 budget that ends in September. The rest of the money can be borrowed during FY 2021 which ends on June 30, 2021.
Shortly after the bill passed, a joint statement from the state Republican Party and the minority caucuses in each chamber reiterated that they would file a lawsuit as soon as Murphy signs the bill.
“Governor Murphy and the Democrat legislators responsible for this scheme have piled on an added $10 billion in debt, untold billions in debt service, and an estimated half billion dollars in legal, accounting and professional fees,” a joint statement attributed to Republican Party Chairman Doug Steinhardt, Assembly Minority Leader Jon Bramnick and Senate Minority Leader Steve Oroho said. “With the doors to the Democrat controlled state house closed, New Jersey Republicans are taking their appeal for economic common sense to the court house.”
