Murphy renews tax incentive extension veto threat ahead of Assembly, Senate quorums

Gov. Phil Murphy said he still intends to veto a seven-month extension of troubled tax incentive programs administered by the Economic Development Authority absent changes Thursday.

“All options are on the table, but if it’s as-is, we will veto it, and our position hasn’t changed.” Murphy said.

Both chambers of the legislature have quorum calls scheduled for 4:30 p.m. Friday to push through a cleanup of a vote-by-mail bill passed last year.

Murphy’s administration recently issued an administrative ruling that blocked voters who requested mail-in ballots in 2017 and 2018 from receiving such ballots in perpetuity. The letter of the law, Murphy’s administration said, applied only to voters who requested such ballots in 2016 or before.

In New Jersey, a governor must take action on a bill within 45 days of its passing or it becomes law. The quorum call essentially forces Murphy to follow through on his veto threat or see the extension enacted.

The tax incentive extension bill isn’t the only one that falls in that category.

“We’re making decision in the next 24 hours on a whole set of stuff,” Murphy said.

Among the bills awaiting Murphy’s attention is an expungement bill that was originally part of legislative Democrats marijuana legalization package. Those efforts fell apart, but the medical marijuana expansion bill, which has already been signed into law, and the expungement bill made it to Murphy’s desk.

“It’s not just marijuana, it’s a broader expungement bill. The quorum and the sessions for tomorrow were just called within the past day or two,” Murphy said. “We’re working actively to hopefully find a good place on all the above.”