NJ officials warn about uncertain budget revenues
By: Katue Sobko
NorthJersey.com
USA Today Network - New Jersey
..... Projections for state government revenues haven't changed much in the two months since the state treasurer and nonpartisan Office of Legislative Services first testified before the Assembly Budget Committee as the Legislature considers Governor Phil Murphy's proposed budget.
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At a hearing Trenton on May 14, [2025] officials cautioned that while there is no drop in the expected revenues for the state moving forward, the amount of funding coming from the federal government is unclear.
..... Oscar Menndez, the revenue and economic policy analyst at the state Office of Legislative Services, said new forecasts estimate an additional $97 million in revenue for the two-year period beginning last July [2024] and ending in Jone 2026.
..... He said the uncertainly in the market that existed when the experts first testified in April [2025] "remains largely unresolved."
..... The state legislative budget and finance officer, Thomas Koenig, said that "given the high degree of uncertainly," building a budget based on "fairly modest' revenue projections would build some protection into it.
..... "we have a reserve that we can tap into for some kind of stimulus in the area of capital improvements," he said. "But we also have to be mindful that we are more limited in our margin to maneuver then the federal government is."
..... Koenig said a lot of the issues the state is facing are similar, because national trends are the same and there is an impact based on the decisions of the federal government in each state.
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State Treasurer Elizabeth Maher Muoio also said the state "continues to face massive budgetary uncertainty at the federal level."
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She said it is "critically important" to have a surplus to turn to in times of crisis, but it's hard to know what to prepare for in advance.
..... Muoio noted that the "Potentiality hits in terms of direct federal funding could be in the range of multiple billions of dollars."
..... The treasurer said things in Washington are still "in flux" but the potential hit in terms of Medicaid "could be disastrous for the state.
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She also said actions of the Trump administration when it comes to tariffs could have "real-life consequences," as the biggest importer to the state's ports China.
..... Katie Sobko covers the New Jersey Statehouse. email: sobko@northjersey.com