Speaker Prieto addressed the media after midnight on the budget impasse, which has now resulted in a government shutdown.  He said he hasn’t had any conversations with the Governor in recent house – calling him ‘a guy that you can’t trust’ – but has spoken with Senate President Sweeney and members of legislative leadership.  He said the Governor and Majority Leader Greenwald had discussed an alternative option of putting the ‘newspaper notification’ bill back on the table (reported by Insider NJ here earlier in the evening) but that was a no-go with the caucus.  He doubled down on blaming the abstention votes for the budget impasse and said “members need to come back to vote” tomorrow morning: “the board stays open until members come and do the right thing” and reopen state government.

Watch the Speaker’s post-midnight presser below: