On March 29, Chamber of Commerce Southern New Jersey's (CCSNJ) Manager of Government Affairs, Hilary Chebra, testified before the Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee on the Governor's proposed $48.9 billion FY2023 Budget that is now under consideration by the Legislature and must be finalized by the June 30 deadline.

In her testimony, Ms. Chebra again asked legislators to utilize the federal American Rescue Plan Act funds to fully or partially replenish Unemployment Insurance (UI) funds to help alleviate an Unemployment Insurance (UI) tax increase of $1 billion over the next three years that employers face due to forced closures and layoffs as a result of the pandemic.

Ms. Chebra urged legislators to consider initiatives to make fundamental and structural changes to the state’s property tax system. She noted that the proposed ANCHOR program provides some immediate relief to homeowners and renters, the program also does not address the underlying causes of the state’s highest in the nation property taxes. Ms. Chebra advocated for encouraging the creation of K-12 regional and countywide school districts, the consolidation of which will assist in alleviating the high property tax burden.

The Assembly and Senate Budget Committees will now hear from the various departments heads on their departments' budgets.

To view the CCSNJ's testimony click here. CCSNJ's testimony begins at the 5:40 mark.

To read the CCSNJ full written testimony on the Governor's proposed FY2023 State Budget, click here.