N.J. pensions could invest in the Turnpike and other public assets under new bill
Updated Apr 15, 2021;
Posted Apr 15, 2021
New Jersey Senate President Stephen Sweeney unveiled new legislation authorizing the public pension fund to invest in infrastructure.NJ Advance Media for NJ.com
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Senate President Stephen Sweeney on Thursday announced new legislation allowing New Jersey’s pension funds for public workers to directly invest in public infrastructure to shore up pensions while financing big-ticket improvements in the Garden State.
The proposal could expand the pension system’s investment portfolio beyond equities, bonds and alternatives to include infrastructure investments in water and sewer utilities, toll roads and other assets that will generate cash for the beleaguered pension funds.
Credit: (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)
File Photo: Newark Police
New Jersey is in the midst of providing two days of training for all police as part of a comprehensive approach that has two main goals: restore public trust in law enforcement and prevent the use of excessive force that has killed people and sparked protests across the country, the state’s attorney general told lawmakers Thursday.
“There is a crisis of confidence in policing,” Attorney General Gurbir Grewal said. “We recognize the need to bridge that divide and rebuild that trust with the public. We need that trust for public safety.”
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Garden State sees billions in extra cash; massive debt April 13, 2021
2:34 pm
New Jersey is buoyed by billions of dollars in extra cash and defying expectations of an economic meltdown from the pandemic. But with a monumentally larger credit card bill, massive pension liability and unfunded expenses on the horizon, the state is showing signs of dire financial straits in the near future.
Citing that, Wall Street rating agency Fitch Ratings said it would not change New Jersey’s credit rating from A-, nor would it be changing the outlook from negative.
“The weaker position is the legacy of decades of structural budget mismatches and escalating liabilities that had only partly been addressed by the time the coronavirus pandemic unfolded with the state as an initial epicenter,” Fitch analysts said on April 13. “Better-than-expected revenue performance has offset some of Fitch’s initial credit concerns, but risks remain, even with significant one-time federal aid coming
Now that a top oversight official for New Jersey’s prisons has announced his resignation – a day after a hearing where legislators were clearly unhappy with his work – inmates could see their conditions improve, lawmakers said.
Ombudsman Dan DiBenedetti plans to resign this summer from the position he has held since 2009. He would leave office a year after getting greater power to serve as a prison watchdog but, critics have said, not using that power.
New Jersey’s prisons have come under increased scrutiny, including its only prison for women where federal authorities have detailed assaults and sexual abuse. A violent assault on female inmates earlier this year is now the subject of criminal investigations.