Sarlo: Murphy Budget ‘a good starting point’

Senate Budget Committee Chairman Paul Sarlo shared the optimism for Gov. Phil Murphy’s budget held by Senate President Steve Sweeney and Senate Majority Leader Loretta Weinberg.

“From the briefing that I’ve received, it’s a good starting point, and I think both sides can take credit because everybody listened to each other to avoid some of the pitfalls we faced last year,” Sarlo said.

Weinberg, Sweeney and others have praised the budget for an estimated $897 million in savings coming mainly from reductions to employee health benefits reached as part of a deal with the Communications Workers of America.

But, Murphy’s plan also includes a new proposal for a Millionaire’s tax that promises to be a sticking point for budget negotiations moving forward.

A similar measure was the source of much conflict between Murphy, Sweeney and Assembly Speaker Craig Coughlin during negotiations last June. Those negotiations ended with a new tax bracket for those making more than $5 million per year, but this time, Murphy is seeking to create a new bracket for those making between $1 million and $5 million.

Both Sweeney and Coughlin have said on more than one occasion that they would oppose new taxes in the upcoming year’s budget, and Sweeney reiterated his opposition for the measure early Tuesday afternoon.

Though, Sarlo didn’t think the new millionaire’s tax proposal deserved all that much attention.

“You guys can’t get focused on that small portion. It’s 440 million in a $30 billion budget,” he said, adding that he wasn’t sure it would once again cause a spat between the state’s top Democrats.

“We’ll find out.”