Legislative budget committees will meet Friday night to approve next year’s state budget, setting up a final Monday vote in both chambers.
The Senate and Assembly Budget Committees will return at 8 p.m. on Friday to clear the still-to-be-released budget bill from committee. The budget deadline is July 1, so Gov. Phil Murphy has until Monday night at 11:59 p.m. to sign the budget or the state government shuts down.
Senate Budget Chair Paul Sarlo (D-Wood-Ridge) said the agreed-upon budget, including the top-line number and surplus, is largely similar to what the governor proposed earlier this year. Staffers at the Office of Legislative Services told legislators they needed a full workday to write the budget agreement into a bill, so committee leaders set an 8 p.m. meeting time to ensure the bill would be ready for review by the time legislators came back.
Once the budget is passed by committees, the bill must sit for 24 hours before it can be considered by the full chambers. That’s not expected to be an issue, though, as legislators don’t plan to come in over the weekend.
The Senate Budget Committee did not adjourn Thursday night — rather it went into recess, so senators could leave a vote Thursday in case they aren’t able to make it Friday night. The move essentially allows senators to vote in the Friday meeting without having to show up.
While no budget was voted on Thursday, the committees kept busy and approved a series of bills paired with the budget. The bills included higher tax rates for cigarettes and vapes, the establishment of a Department of Veterans Affairs, and an increase on some fees and taxes related to property transfers worth more than $2 million.
The Senate Budget Committee hearing started at about 2 p.m. and wrapped at about 8:15 p.m., with a handful of breaks strewn within.