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This week, Governor Phil Murphy announced the appointment of Barry Moscowitz as Acting Director and Chief Administrative Law Judge of the Office of Administrative Law. Moscowitz, who has served as an Administrative Law Judge since 2006, will preside over the office and report directly to the Governor.
Additionally, in partnership with New York’s Governor Kathy Hochul, Governor Murphy announced that the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, in collaboration with Amtrak and NJ TRANSIT, will begin the first steps towards the Penn Station Reconstruction effort recently outlined in the Penn Station Master Plan study that was announced in the fall. The Penn Reconstruction initiative will ultimately modernize the concourse experience for passengers with while also revitalizing the surrounding neighborhood to prioritize the public realm and social services, invest in affordable housing, increase transit access and shared streets, and create a pedestrian-friendly streetscape.
This week in the legislature, several Senate and Assembly Committees met and deliberated the passing of critical legislation concerning issues of election reform, expanding accessibility within the State's healthcare system, and improving state-wide infrastructure and energy networks to fulfill New Jersey's clean energy goals.
Under the Murphy administration’s latest projections, the state is now on course to end the current fiscal year with a surplus of $10.7 billion. The size of the budget reserves are expected grow to $11.9 billion by the end of the 2023 fiscal year, when the state is projected to spend just under $50 billion, according to budget documents. As budget negotiations continue, the question of how the State will spend the surplus persists, especially considering current economic conditions.
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