| | | | |  | | By Jonathan Custodio | Presented by NextEra Energy Transmission | Gov. Phil Murphy, Senate President Nick Scutari and Assembly Speaker Craig Coughlin today announced the expansion of the Affordable New Jersey Communities for Homeowners and Renters Property Tax program. Approximately $2 billion in property tax relief will be distributed in rebates to two million households, the trio announced. Under the program, the amount of rebates a household receives will be based on its income: $1,500 for homeowners making up to $150,000; $1,000 for those earning between $150,000 and $250,000; $450 for renters making up to $150,000. The announcement arrives on the heels of a budget windfall the Office of Legislative Services estimated would be $6.9 billion higher than anticipated and pushes forward the program Murphy introduced in March as part of his budget proposal. A hot-button issue among New Jerseyans, the state has the highest property tax rates in the nation, according to a ranking for U.S. News and World Report. The average property tax bill for 2021 was approximately $9,300, though a 2 percent cap enacted by former Gov. Chris Christie and a Democrat-controlled Legislature in 2011 has prevented steeper hikes. Murphy said he, Scutari, Coughlin, and their respective caucuses and colleagues are in lockstep that the focus isn't on one-time relief. "Their focus and mine is squarely on making ANCHOR a lasting program that will deliver real relief to middle-class and working families not just this year, but next year, and for the years beyond," Murphy said. | | | | A message from NextEra Energy Transmission: NextEra Energy is the world's largest generator of clean, renewable energy from the wind and sun. We have unrivaled experience completing complex, large-scale energy projects, doing them on time and on budget while putting customers first, prioritizing the environment, and working with local communities to create jobs and limit disruptions. It's what we do and what we'll do for New Jersey. That's because NextEra Energy Transmission is committed to empowering a greener New Jersey. | | |
HAPPY WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON — Hi there, I'm Jonathan Custodio, your Playbook PM author. We're adding New Jersey political trivia to this newsletter and will shout out one person who correctly answers the question in the following day's edition.
Today's shout-out goes to Beth Schroeder Buonsante for correctly answering that John Bennett and Richard Codey were the two former State Senators to become co-Senate Presidents in 2002. Today's question: Who is the second longest-serving Senate President? Send answers and tips to jcustodio@politico.com. We're here with the latest from Trenton and elsewhere as New Jersey moves ahead in the budget process and the Legislature conducts hearings on Gov. Phil Murphy's spending plan. |  | WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW TODAY | |
NEW POLICY CHIEF — Dennis Zeveloff, Murphy's deputy chief policy adviser, will become chief policy adviser next month, replacing Zakiya Smith Ellis, who is leaving the administration to join an education consulting firm. Zeveloff will start in the position July 1, according to an administration source.
Before being named deputy chief policy adviser, Zeveloff had served as director of budget and outcomes for the administration since 2019. Prior to that, he was a policy adviser to the governor on budget and economic development issues, a policy coordinator for the Murphy transition team and a policy adviser for Murphy during his first gubernatorial campaign. Zeveloff, who was raised in Bergen County, received his Bachelor of Arts degree from Dartmouth College and his Juris Doctor and Master of Business Administration degrees from Yale University. Zeveloff is sticking with the front office at a time when several top Murphy aides have left. — Carly Sitrin COVID NUMBERS — New Jersey reported 2,494 confirmed positive Covid-19 tests and 17 deaths from the virus on Wednesday. The state's seven-day average was down 20 percent from a week ago and 36 percent from a month ago. | | ON THE BEATS | |
FIRST IN PLAYBOOK — A coalition of labor unions and advocacy organizations will host a rally and press conference on Thursday at 10 a.m. at the Statehouse Annex in Trenton, presenting a letter and proposal to fund hazard pay for essential workers by tapping into the remaining $3 billion available in federal aid via the American Rescue Plan Act.
Under the proposal, $100 million would be allotted for eligible workers on a first-come, first-served basis. Full-timers would get $1,000 and part-timers would get $500. Those who received prioritization during the vaccine rollout by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention or were not restricted or discouraged to work under a 2020 executive order from Murphy, worked at least 500 hours of in-person work when vaccines became widely available, and whose incomes are below 100 percent of the state's average annual wage for all occupations, would be eligible for the funds. "Essential workers have been working day one, in the pandemic," said Kevin Brown, New Jersey state director of 32BJ SEIU. "They have not received any kind of compensation from their employers in recognition of that, and we think that the government should step in and say 'You know what? We appreciate you. We appreciate what you've done for our community.' And most of these workers are Black and brown workers." Organizations that have signed onto the letter include AFL-CIO, 32BJ SEIU, Make the Road, New Jersey Policy Perspective, Health Professionals and Allied Employees, New Jersey Alliance for Immigrant Justice, New Jersey Working Families Party and NJ Work Environment Council. HEALTH CARE — One of University Hospital's top executives is getting some local support to be named the next CEO of New Jersey's only public hospital. In separate letters to the Newark hospital's board of directors and Murphy's office, dozens of local and state elected officials, community leaders, academics, health care professionals and residents voiced their support for Dr. Chris Pernell, University's chief strategic integration & health equity officer. "Throughout her career, Dr. Pernell has been a champion for health justice, health promotion, and disease prevention and is recognized nationally as a public health expert of the highest credentials," read the letters, copies of which were obtained by POLITICO. "She has used her medical expertise to not only treat patients, but to lead initiatives that tackle the social determinants of health." Among those who signed the letters were Rep. Donald Payne Jr. (D-N.J.), who represents most of Newark, former Gov. Jim McGreevey, Assemblymember Shanique Speight (D-Essex), Montclair Mayor and New Jersey Education Association President Sean Spiller, Irvington Mayor Tony Vauss and Essex County Board of Commissioners President Commissioner Wayne L. Richardson. The hospital's board of directors will choose the next president and CEO and is conducting a "thorough, nationwide search," board Chair Tanya Freeman said in a statement. The effort was spearheaded by "Be Ready NJ," a group whose mission is to boost Black women "who are elected to seats of power," according to its website. — Daniel Han | | | | A message from NextEra Energy Transmission:   | | | | | Around New Jersey | |
MURPHY MAY FACE DEMOCRATIC ROADBLOCKS TO ABORTION BILLS — New Jersey Monitor staff: "Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy's renewed push to increase abortion access in New Jersey faces a roadblock that may surprise casual observers of our nation's abortion politics.
His own party. After legislative losses last November that thinned the Democratic majority in the Legislature to its narrowest in years, Murphy has to wrangle a caucus that is less full-throated on abortion rights than the one he had in the last legislative session, making it more difficult for him to follow through on his pledge to sign a slew of new abortion bills into law." ANDOVER SAYS TOWNSHIP WILL SUFFER IF WOODLAND IS SHUT — New Jersey Herald's Bruce A. Scruton: "Andover leaders worry if the beleaguered Woodland Behavioral and Nursing Center is shut down, the township will lose its largest taxpayer, an essential source of funding for its schools and municipal services. Days after the state suspended the nursing home's license and federal regulators said they would no longer pay for Medicaid recipients to live there, legislators representing Sussex County sent a letter to Gov. Murphy asking for help. The letter, sent by Rep. Josh Gottheimer and signed by 24th District's Sen. Steve Oroho and assemblymen Hal Wirths and Parker Space, seeks financial aid for the township if the facility, previously called Andover Subacute and Rehabilitation, is shut down." VAX APPROVAL NEARS FOR YOUNG CHILDREN — NJ Spotlight News' Lilo H. Stainton: "After months of delays, federal officials seem poised to approve COVID-19 vaccinations for a population that has lacked any immunization options to date: children 6 months to 5 years old. A panel of vaccine experts is scheduled to review data Wednesday on products by Pfizer and Moderna that drugmakers say are safe and lower the risk of infection, hospitalization and death in young children. On Tuesday the group agreed the benefits outweigh the risks of administering the Moderna shots to children ages 6 to 17 years; Pfizer doses were approved last year for children 5 and up. The Food and Drug Administration must still sign off on the advisory committee's decisions and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will need to designate how these vaccinations are rolled out to the public." | | Odds and ends | | — Fanwood doesn't allow dogs in its parks. Some residents are baring their teeth. — Toms River is bringing back a summer curfew for young people 17 and under. — Spotted lanternflies are coming back. — Passaic County employees will get a paid holiday off for Juneteenth. — County colleges and vo-techs will get $60 million in state funds to improve their course offerings. | | | | A message from NextEra Energy Transmission: NextEra Energy didn't become the world's largest generator of wind and solar power overnight. We've been building and operating large-scale energy projects across North America for decades and powering New Jersey for nearly a quarter-century. Our first solar farm in the Garden State was built in West Deptford. Yet, our contributions have gone far deeper—from counseling local businesses on how to reach clean energy goals and operating battery storage facilities to providing dozens of solar sites on buildings from Cape May to High Point and working to help New Jersey reach its offshore wind goals. We know how to get big, complex projects done on time and on budget. We power homes, neighborhoods, and entire cities, all while putting customers first, prioritizing the environment, and working with local communities to create jobs and limit disruptions. NextEra Energy Transmission is committed to empowering a greener New Jersey. | | | | | | | Subscribe to the POLITICO Playbook family Playbook | Playbook PM | California Playbook | California Playbook PM | Florida Playbook | Illinois Playbook | Massachusetts Playbook | New Jersey Playbook | New York Playbook | New York Playbook PM View all our political and policy newsletters | | Follow us | | | | |
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