On Wednesday June 28, the Assembly Budget Committee and Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee passed a $54.3 billion FY2024 state budget very late into the evening and just before the 12:00 a.m. deadline. Had the budget not been passed before midnight, it would have missed the procedural deadline to let the bill sit for one calendar day before being voted on by the full Assembly and Senate by the constitutional deadline of tomorrow, June 30.

The Committees did not take testimony on the budget during last night’s hearings, but the CCSNJ did submit written testimony which can be found here.

Importantly, as part of the budget agreement, the 2.5 percent Corporate Business Tax (CBT) surcharge will expire at the end of the year. By allowing the CBT surcharge to sunset, New Jersey’s CBT rate will decrease from 11.5 percent to 9 percent on January 1, 2024. Additionally, FY2024 state budget does not present new taxes. 

Several items were included in the FY2024 state budget that the CCSNJ supported including:

$50 million to the Main Street Recovery Fund, which goes directly to small businesses in need.

$20 million for the New Jersey Manufacturing Voucher Program (NJ MVP), which helps manufacturers replace outdated equipment.

$34 million to the Workforce Development Partnership Fund (WDPF), which supports in apprenticeships, pre-apprenticeships and on-the-job training programs.

An increase to the Child Tax Credit, so that families with young children can receive up to $1,000 per child to assist with childcare costs for working families.

In steps to address the long term fiscal health of the state, the budget includes the full $7.1 billion pension payment, and a $400 million deposit in the Debt Defeasance and Prevention Fund. Additionally, there is a healthy budget surplus of roughly $9 billion that can be tapped should the state be impacted by a recession, or another statewide emergency.

The budget passed out of the Assembly Budget Committee by a vote of 10-5 and the Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee by a vote of 9-4. The vote, which was along party lines, was not surprising as Republican Committee members in both Houses expressed concerns that the budget document was not made available for sufficient review time in advance of the vote. The full Assembly and Senate are scheduled to vote on the budget tomorrow, June 30.