New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy and legislative leaders have once again hashed out a budget behind closed doors just in time to avert a government shutdown — leaving little time for lawmakers to review more than $56 billion in spending.The state will be investing more than expected in a program slated to give senior homeowners as much as $6,500 in property tax relief per year starting in 2026.: a 2.
“We will see it for about 20 minutes before the vote will happen,” he said. “This is no way to run a railroad. Nobody that votes on this bill today is going to know what’s in it. And very few people who vote … it out of the full session on Friday going to know what’s in it. The process is a mess.” He said governments should be responsive to public feedback, “but there's not really a chance to provide public feedback on this once the proposal is out. And that's just a loss for the state."The budget adds $220 million to the $100 million that the state set aside in 2023-24 to shore up the eventual implementation of Stay NJ, which would allow homeowners older than 65 to halve their property taxes, up to $6,500, starting in 2026.
Progressive groups, including New Jersey Policy Perspective, have criticized the senior tax credit program as regressive because it doesn’t include any benefits for non-property owners. The think thank also argues that under the— which were enshrined in legislation introduced with the budget — New Jersey's wealthiest seniors would receive the biggest benefits from Stay NJ.
“This will cause companies to go back to a budget they already struck and to money they’ve already committed elsewhere, and perhaps spent, to find that 2.5% to pay back to the state, after the fact," said Michele Siekerka, head of the New Jersey Business and Industry Association, in testimony to lawmakers. "This causes many of these companies to have to restate their financial statements.