Assembly Budget Committee Approves Three-Month State Budget Extension Bill

Legislation Sponsored by Pintor Marin & Burzichelli

(TRENTON) – The Assembly Budget Committee today approved legislation (A-3) to extend the State budget by three months and make Fiscal Year 2020 supplemental appropriations of $7.7 billion in State funds and $4.5 billion in federal funds. The bill’s sponsors, Assembly Budget Committee chair Eliana Pintor Marin (D-Essex) and vice chair, Assemblyman John Burzichelli (D-Gloucester, Cumberland, Salem) issued the following statements:

Pintor Marin: “We are in the midst of the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression. Difficult choices had to be made. This bill ensures a balanced budget for the State and it does that without tax increases. This budget includes over $4 billion in cuts, but does include some minimal spending restorations in important areas such as higher education. It also reallocates almost $4 million from statewide information technology projects to the Department of Labor for unemployment insurance processing modernization so that every eligible filer receives the benefits they so desperately need. This is a ‘bare bones’ budget because it has to be.”

Burzichelli: “We are showing bold leadership in a fiscal crisis. This budget is austere. It is also fair and responsible given the economic calamity caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. The State Treasurer indicated that State revenue is expected to decline by more than $10 billion for the 15-month period from April 2020 through June 2021. That is a staggering number and it is unprecedented. Difficult decisions had to be made. We made those decisions. We have produced a balanced budget without raising taxes.”