STATEMENT: Revenue Certification Reform is Long Overdue
For Immediate Release

Contact: Louis Di Paolo (NJPP): 201-417-5049 (cell) or dipaolo@njpp.org 

This afternoon the Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee held a hearing on SCR132, a constitutional amendment to overhaul New Jersey’s revenue certification process. SCR132 would take away the governor’s constitutional authority to certify revenues and create a joint legislative and executive branch panel to provide consensus revenue certification. New Jersey would become the 29th state in the nation to adopt this budget forecasting framework.

NEW JEREY POLICY PERSPECTIVE PRESIDENT GORDON MacINNES: 

“This change to the budgeting process is long overdue and will bring more clarity, collaboration, and credibility to the state’s revenue projections. Consensus forecasting follows best practices from across the country and ensures economic factors – not political ones – set the parameters of the budget debate.

For the state to fully realize the benefits of this reform, the legislature should also pursue multi-year budgeting practices to better prepare New Jersey for the future. These changes could lead to a healthier, more democratic budget debate, boost public trust, and produce better results for a state budget that has suffered from years of politically convenient decisions.

However, while consensus revenue forecasting is an important change to the constitution, it should not be made with the same swift action that defines the last-minute budget practices the state seeks to reform.”

Full testimony by NJPP President Gordon MacInnes: https://www.njpp.org/budget/njpp-testimony-revenue-certification-reform-is-long-overdue