NJ Spotlight News has this afternoon’s live stream of Governor Phil Murphy’s 2025 State of the State Address starting at 3 p.m.

Some context via veteran Statehouse reporter John Reitmeyer of NJ Spotlight News:

“More than $3.5 billion was earmarked for direct property-tax relief programs in the current state budget enacted by Murphy and lawmakers last June.

“And in recent months, many residents have been receiving property-tax relief benefits through the state-funded Anchor program that range from $450 to $1,750 per eligible recipient, depending on age, income and residency.

“The distribution of Anchor benefits and other state-funded property-tax relief comes as New Jersey’s notoriously high property-tax bills were averaging a record, more than $9,800 statewide, according to data released last year by the state Department of Community Affairs.

“To be sure, the Anchor program includes benefits for income-eligible tenants, a recognition of the burden rising property taxes place on tenants who help fund their landlords’ local levies via monthly rent payments.

“Yet Anchor benefits for eligible renters who are not senior citizens have remained flat — at $450 — for the last several years, even as the latest inflation data from the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics indicates shelter prices, including the cost of residential rent, remain high and are still on the rise.

“Moreover, as Murphy and fellow Democrats who control the Legislature prepare to roll out a new relief program for senior homeowners that’s been dubbed Stay NJ, the current design of that program would prohibit renters from receiving any benefits at all while some homeowners could eventually collect as much as $6,500 annually.”