Lawmakers Set Public Hearings For New Jersey's 2022 Budget
TRENTON, N.J. (AP) - New Jersey lawmakers have scheduled public hearings on Gov. Phil Murphy's $44.8 billion spending plan. The four hearings will be conducted remotely because of the COVID-19 outbreak. They were canceled last year because of the virus.
The Democrat-led Assembly and Senate budget committees typically hold the meetings in March every year to give members of the public a chance to comment in hours-long hearings on the spending plan.
To register this year to speak, the public will have to go to the Legislature's website by 3 p.m. the day before the hearing.
The first is set for March 10, with the others scheduled for March 16, 22 and 23. They all begin at 9:30 a.m.
Lawmakers announced the hearings Tuesday.
Murphy's budget calls for boosting the state's public pension payment, aid to schools and tax credits and rebates for residents, among other spending.
The current fiscal year ends June 30. Lawmakers and the Democratic governor must enact a balanced budget by the deadline under the state constitution.
After the public hearings, Murphy's Cabinet will go before lawmakers to explain their funding requests. Typically, the Legislature passes a spending plan in June, with the governor acting on it before the deadline.
If no budget is agreed to, governors typically order a shutdown of state government.
Copyright 2021 The Associated Press.
