Governor Murphy signs fiscal year budget, legislature goes on summer recess.
On Friday, June 30th, both houses of the Legislature passed the state budget and a series of budget related legislation.
The budget bill appropriates $54,357,547,000 in State funds and $26,144,171,463 in federal funds for fiscal year 2023-2024. It includes $892 million in ARPA funds and $400 million in debt defeasance.
There was a package of Senior Citizen affordability bills that passed through the Legislature as part of the budget deal. The StayNJ Program appropriates $300 million and will be a property tax credit program for senior citizens to utilize. S3/A3 would revise the income eligibility for the Pharmaceutical Assistance to the Aged and Disabled (PAAD) Program, and the Senior Gold Prescription Discount (Senior Gold) Program.
The Legislature also passed S4023/A5644 which amends the Aspire Program that was enacted under the New Jersey Economic Recovery Act of 2020. This bill changes the limits on tax credit awards, eligibility requirement for commercial projects, requirements for residential projects, requirements for transformative projects, adds additional conditions of the incentive award, and makes various program changes. They also passed A5323/S3737 which modifies various provisions of the Corporation Business Tax Act, the Gross Income Tax Act, and the State Uniform Tax Procedure Law.
The Governor singed the fiscal year 2024 budget on Friday June 30th. This summer should be a relatively slow period for the New Jersey Legislature. All 120 members of the Senate and Assembly are up for re-election on Tuesday November 7th.
