Assembly Budget Committee unanimously clears StayNJ bill

The Assembly Budget Committee unanimously released the StayNJ senior property tax program today, one day after its Senate counterpart did the same thing. The bill is set for full chamber votes this Friday, where it is likely to be met with little or no opposition.

The program was originally proposed by Assembly Speaker Craig Coughlin (D-Woodbridge) in late May, and he was quickly joined in his efforts by Senate President Nick Scutari (D-Linden). But Gov. Phil Murphy objected to several key aspects of their proposal, forcing the three state leaders to engage in negotiations to avoid the possibility of a state government shutdown.

Under the compromise they eventually reached, New Jersey residents over 65 making less than $500,000 a year will receive tax credits worth 50% of their property tax bill, with payments beginning in 2026 and capped at $6,500. There will also be an immediate $250 boost to the state’s existing ANCHOR program for senior homeowners and renters.

Several of those components, including the income cap and the additional ANCHOR payments, were added at the insistence of Murphy, who was worried about the initial proposal providing excessive benefits to wealthy homeowners. So too was a provision stating that the state’s full pension payments will take precedence over the program if there’s not enough money for both.

Just like they did in the Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee yesterday, Republican legislators criticized the bill in Assembly committee today, saying that delaying the start of payments until 2026 is unwise.

“I’d like to take the opportunity to applaud the Speaker for thinking like a Republican in introducing the bill,” Assemblyman Brian Rumpf (R-Little Egg Harbor) said. “[But] the delay in the bill raises some suspicion that perhaps the good intentions … may not be able to be carried out. We’d sincerely appreciate the bill being enacted more quickly.”

Assemblyman Raj Mukherji (D-Jersey City) also spelled out some of his concerns about the bill from a progressive direction, saying that the income cap may be too high and that renters should get more relief. Mukherji’s criticisms echoed those of progressive groups as well as his colleague Assemblywoman Sadaf Jaffer (D-Montgomery), who has repeatedly said the bill is regressive and won’t help those most in need.

But every member of the committee, both Republican and Democrat, voted for the bill anyways.

As for the state budget, which was scheduled for a vote yesterday before being pushed off until today, things remain in limbo. The Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee has adjourned and will reconvene at 8 p.m. for a budget vote, though as yesterday’s proceedings showed, there’s no guarantee the bill will actually be ready on schedule.