Jersey jackpot: Treasurer raises revenue outlook over $5 billion
Published: June 9, 2021
New Jersey State Treasurer Elizabeth Maher-Muoio speaks during Governor Phil Murphy’s Friday, May 22, 2020, press conference at War Memorial in Trenton, NJ. (Pool photo by Thomas P. Costello/Gannett)
TRENTON – State revenues are now expected to surge to all-time highs, far exceeding any previous forecasts, staking the state government to an unprecedented surplus topping $10 billion to close out the current fiscal year this month.
Both the Department of the Treasury and nonpartisan Office of Legislative Services agree there will be a deluge of tax collections, though the details aren’t exactly identical. Compared to its February report, the Treasury is raising its forecast by $4 billion for this year and $1.1 billion for next year.
June 3, 2021
2:26 pm
State lawmakers are considering piling on hundreds of millions of dollars in this year’s upcoming pension contributions, beyond what Gov. Phil Murphy is proposing, according to several lawmakers and a report by Politico New Jersey.
Gov. Phil Murphy’s budget calls for $44.8 billion to cover state expenses between July 1 and June 30, 2022. Baked into that is $6.4 billion toward the state’s pension bill–which would mark the first time in decades that the state is fully funding its pension obligation.
But with the state flush with cash, lawmakers and state leaders are looking at how they could spend billions of dollars in surplus money. None of the $6.4 billion from the White House could go toward the state’s pension bill, but that leaves a $6.3 billion closing balance of funds that the state could use.
New Jersey’s revenue forecasts continue to improve. That makes it even more ironic that Gov. Phil Murphy is still proud of the strong demand from bond-market investors when he set out to pile on the state’s debt last year. Murphy has said that investor confidence was a sign that New Jersey is fin