Health benefits negotiations hit a wall

Matt Friedman's must-read briefing on the Garden State's important news of the day

Jan 20, 2023 View in browser   By Daniel Han Good Friday morning!  Or maybe not if you're a local public sector worker or local government on the State Health Benefits Program. The state-run health insurance program for public-sector workers was hit with a roughly 20 percent premium increase, which became effective on Jan. 1 of this year. Even as the increases became effective, negotiations were ongoing with the governor's office and legislative officials working toward a deal with public sector unions to mitigate the premium hikes for local government workers (The Murphy administration in the fall struck a deal with state workers to limit their premium increase to 3 percent). However, according to three people familiar with the matter, those negotiations hit an impasse as of last week. One person familiar with the negotiations said that the talks aren't "dead," but there seemed to be consensus that there's no solution in sight. Other words used to describe the situation included "fell apart," "collapse" and "standstill." Suffice to say, barring any last-minute surprises, local governments and public sector workers are stuck paying the increased rates this year. RETURN OF THE MATT: It has been an honor Playbooking for the past week, but our in-house funnyman Matt Friedman will be back authoring this newsletter Monday. DAYS SINCE MURPHY REFUSED TO SAY WHETHER HIS WIFE'S NON-PROFIT SHOULD DISCLOSE DONORS: 349 TIPS? FEEDBACK? FAN MAIL? Email me at Dhan@politico.com or message me on Twitter @Danieljhan_. Hate mail still goes to mfriedman@politico.com. WHERE'S MURPHY? — No public schedule. First Lady Tammy Murphy holding a maternal health event at 12:30 p.m. in North Brunswick. HAPPY BIRTHDAY: Cape May County Democrats' JOHN AMENHAUSER, Saturday (1/21) for state Sen. NILSA CRUZ-PEREZ Burlington County Clerk JOANNE SCHWARTZ , Sunday (1/22) for Assembly Clerk Dana Burley, Choose New Jersey's Brady O'Connor, Hunterdon Dem Chair Arlene Quinones Perez, Former U.S. Rep. Jim Saxton   STEP INSIDE THE WEST WING: What's really happening in West Wing offices? Find out who's up, who's down, and who really has the president's ear in our West Wing Playbook newsletter, the insider's guide to the Biden White House and Cabinet. For buzzy nuggets and details that you won't find anywhere else, subscribe today.     WHAT TRENTON MADE PORT AUTHORITY — "Governor to name Helmy, Kelley, Bollwage to Port Authority," by The New Jersey Globe's David Wildstein: "Gov. Phil Murphy will nominate two of his top staffers, George Helmy and Joe Kelley, and Elizabeth Mayor Christian Bollwage, to serve as commissioners of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, the New Jersey Globe has learned. Helmy is Murphy's chief of staff and Kelly is his deputy chief of staff for economic growth issues. Both will remain in the governor's office. Kevin O'Toole, a former Republican state senator who was named to the Port Authority by Gov. Chris Christie in 2017, will remain as chairman. Helmy and Kelly have developed a strong relationship with O'Toole and will support him for the chairmanship, the New Jersey Globe has confirmed." MURPHY COMMENTS ON PENDING LEGISLATION — Murphy announces support for 3 bills that would increase colleges' financial accountability, by POLITICO's Carly Sitrin: Gov. Phil Murphy on Thursday threw his support behind a three-bill package aimed at heightening fiscal accountability measures for New Jersey's colleges and universities. "The last thing our students or our faculty need" is to have their decision to attend or teach at a particular college "turned on its head by their chosen institution's potential fiscal insolvency or some other disruption," Murphy said at an event in Union Township. "Our public colleges and universities shouldn't just be held to the highest levels of accountability and transparency by their students and faculty," Murphy said. "They must be held to these standards by us in government and they must be held to these standards by all residents who invest in these institutions through their tax dollars." GOP HOT FOR GAS STOVES — "Gas stove culture war spreads to N.J. as top Republicans heat up the debate," by NJ Advance Media's Brent Johnson: "[A] pair of Republican state lawmakers say they will preemptively introduce a proposed law that would prevent any ban on gas stoves from being implemented in New Jersey. State Senate Minority Leader Steven Oroho, R-Sussex, and state Sen. Joe Pennachio, R-Morris, announced the impending bill Wednesday. Oroho, the top-ranking Republican in Trenton, said 'we can't let" Biden and New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy, both Democrats, 'ban affordable energy sources while New Jersey families are struggling with soaring prices and inflation.' 'We certainly don't need Democrats in our kitchens dictating how we cook our dinner,' Oroho added." MURPHY STILL ALIVE — "NJ riders with disabilities lament Access Link's delays, lost drivers. NJ Transit promises change," by Gothamist's Karen Yi: "NJ Transit has six months to start improving its Access Link public ride service for people with disabilities, after the U.S. attorney's office found a pattern of late trips and excessively long rides. Gothamist found a similar trend in a review of more than five years of ridership data provided by NJ Transit, and in interviews with longtime passengers. Gothamist additionally joined a rider with a brain injury for four trips last summer. One time, the driver arrived four hours after the appointment window. During another time, the driver got lost." LAWSUIT — "Judge allows Blueprint bias case to proceed," by NJ Biz's Matthew Fazelpoor: '"I've had some very, very high profile, very important cases in my career,' Michael Bowe, litigation chair and attorney at Brown Rudnick LLP, told NJBIZ. 'This is as important as any.' The case Bowe is referring to is the 2020 lawsuit filed by Blueprint, a Newark-based capital asset manager founded in 2015 by Jacob Walthour and Carrie Pickett. In that 363-paragraph complaint, Walthour alleged that Blueprint was exploited and discriminated against by an 'old boy's network' of government officials and Wall Street firms. Blueprint claims its pension plan ideas were 'usurped' by the state's Division of Investment (DOI) and steered instead to BlackRock and Owl Rock. "The lawsuit was filed against those entities as well as leaders and officials, including Gov. Phil Murphy, Chief of Staff George Helmy, Attorney General Matthew Platkin and others. On Dec. 23, 2022, U.S. District Judge Julien Xavier Neals in Newark issued a 102-page decision in response to the defendants' request to dismiss the suit. While he did dismiss the individual claims against Murphy in addition to several against the state and individuals in their official capacities, he also allow several of the civil counts to proceed, including, most notably, the claim of racketeering against the DOI." '23 RACES — "Latham Tiver enters race for 8th district Senate seat as the front runner," by The New Jersey Globe's David Wildstein: "Latham Tiver, a labor leader and former Burlington County freeholder, has emerged as the favorite for the GOP nomination for an open State Senate in the 8th legislative district where freshman Republican Jean Stanfield is not seeking re-election. Tiver is a business representative for the International Union of Operating Engineers Local 825, one of the state's most politically influential unions." — "The DeCroce Comeback," by InsiderNJ's Fred Snowflack: "BettyLou DeCroce's comeback has officially begun. The former state assemblywoman announced Thursday that she's in the race for the Republican nomination for the LD-26 seat she held for nine years. This was not unexpected. In fact, many observers assumed DeCroce would run again soon after she lost a primary two years ago." — NJ Globe: "Committee approves pair of bills requiring prepaid postage for mail-in ballots, applications" — NJ Globe: "Roger Chugh, former McGreevey administration official, dies at 68" — NJ Monitor: "Assembly panel advances bill making 'sextortion' a crime" — NJ Globe: "Zwicker says process to determine Jaffer's successor is underway" — OP-ED: "New Jersey residents desperately need better access to health care. Here's a solution." — NJ Spotlight News:"NJ issues consumer alert over crisis pregnancy centers" — Insider NJ: "Making (more) Room for Cannabis Companies (that exploit us)"   DOWNLOAD THE POLITICO MOBILE APP: Stay up to speed with the newly updated POLITICO mobile app, featuring timely political news, insights and analysis from the best journalists in the business. The sleek and navigable design offers a convenient way to access POLITICO's scoops and groundbreaking reporting. Don't miss out on the app you can rely on for the news you need, reimagined. DOWNLOAD FOR iOS– DOWNLOAD FOR ANDROID.     BIDEN TIME CROSSING THE RIVER — "NJ Democrat [Gottheimer] joins NY Republicans in congressional effort to sink NYC's congestion pricing," by Gothamist's Stephen Nessen: "New Jersey Rep. Josh Gottheimer announced legislation Thursday designed to punish New York for its plan to toll drivers who enter Manhattan below 60th Street. The bill, called the Anti-Congestion Tax Act, would nix billions in funding for the cash-strapped MTA and sink some of the agency's biggest construction projects. The proposal has the support of two New York Republican House members: Staten Island and South Brooklyn Rep. Nicole Malliotakis and Rockland County Rep. Mike Lawler." — "N.J. native turned diplomat becomes U.S. ambassador to Mali," by NJ Advance Media's Vashti Harris: "Rachna Sachdeva Korhonen, of Flemington, was sworn-in as U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of Mali amongst family, friends, and colleagues at the Harry S. Truman building in Washington D.C. on Tuesday, Jan. 9. Originally born in India, Korhonen came to the United States when she was only 12 with her family and had dreams of becoming an astronaut while growing up in Flemington Borough, Korhonen's mother Meena Sachdeva told NJ Advance." — Steinberg: "The Debt Ceiling Crisis: Will Congressman Tom Kean, Jr. Honor or Betray the Congressman Robert Kean Legacy on Social Security?" — Mulshine: "Joe Biden gets burned on gas stoves" — NJ Advance Media: "Menendez, victims' families laud passage of Fairness for 9/11 Families Act" LOCAL MONMOUTH — State should recertify voting machines and software updates annually, Monmouth election officials say," by The Globe's David Wildstein: "Election officials in Monmouth County has asked the state Division of Elections to recertify election machines and software updates annually to avoid a repeat of the failures of the 2022 general election when a human error caused by Election Systems & Software (ES&S), the county's voting machine error, resulted in the double counting of votes in some towns. A joint statement issued by County Clerk Christine Hanlon, Superintendent of Elections Chris Siciliano and the members of the Board of Elections urged the state to require recertification of election systems – including election machines and software – both annually and whenever there is a modification to the election software.'" WAYNE MAYOR: FULL-TIME POSITION IS THE MAYOR WAYNE DESERVES, BUT NOT THE ONE IT NEEDS — "[Wayne] mayor pulls request for switch that would have earned him $140K," by NJ Advance Media's Richard Cowen: "The Wayne township council on Wednesday voted unanimously to withdraw a controversial ordinance to make part-time mayor Chris Vergano a full-time employee and raise his salary more than 600% to $140,000. The ordinance was up for adoption on Wednesday night, but died a quick death after Vergano requested that it be withdrawn from the agenda. 'It was his decision,' Council President Franco Mazzei told the governing body before opening up for the floor for discussion. Vergano did not attend the meeting." — NJ Advance Media: "Will Jersey City get next payroll right? Some city employees already seeing issues" — South Jersey Times Editorial Board: "Kafka is sworn in at N.J. municipal court" — The Star-Ledger Editorial Board: "As test scores plummet, Newark rehires schools chief in secret" — Hudson County View: "Hoboken council approves 1st reading of controversial rent control changes despite opposition" EVERYTHING ELSE NEW JERSEY FUGITIVE FLEEING TO ASIA IS UNHEARD OF — "Fugitive $100 million New Jersey deli defendant Peter Coker Jr. arrested in Thailand," by CNBC's Dan Mangan:  "A fugitive facing federal criminal stock-manipulation charges in the United States in connection with a small New Jersey deli whose parent company was once preposterously valued at $100 million has been arrested by authorities in a resort area of Thailand. Peter Coker Jr., who last was known to be living in Hong Kong, his father and another man are charged in the case involving the deli owner, Hometown International, and a related shell company, E-Waste" — HPAE Local 5094: "Rutgers prioritizes union-busting and gaslighting public health care workers" — The Asbury Park Press: "NJ COVID deaths, hospitalizations lower than last year, but cases likely going unreported" — Hudson County View: "Appellate court: NJ DOH cell phones aren't admissible in Meadowlands hospital case" — ROI-NJ: "HMH CEO Garrett signs Zero Health Gaps Pledge in Davos"   Follow us on Twitter Matt Friedman @mattfriedmannj   Subscribe to the POLITICO Playbook family Playbook  |  Playbook PM  |  California Playbook  |  Florida Playbook  |  Illinois Playbook  |  Massachusetts Playbook  |  New Jersey Playbook  |  New York Playbook  |  Ottawa Playbook  |  Brussels Playbook  |  London Playbook View all our political and policy newsletters Follow us

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