MURPHY says he won’t sign school funding bill without his tax hikes — SWEENEY and COUGHLIN: Stuck in the early …

By Matt Friedman (mfriedman@politico.com; @mattfriedmannj)

You know what might look bad when you’re considering asking public workers to make more pension sacrifices? Write a bill to get your friends a better pension deal and rush it through the Legislature.

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According to NJ Advance Media, a draft document from the tax working group Senate President Stephen Sweeney put together recommends further cuts to public workers’ pensions and health benefits, and moving new workers into 401k-style accounts.

Sweeney hasn’t endorsed this idea. But this comes less than a year after the Legislature passed a bill with lightning speed — signed by Gov. Christie as one of his last acts in office — that got former Camden Mayor Dana Redd back into the first tier of the pension system just as an obscure university board hired her for a $275,000 a year job without even interviewing any other applicants, allowing her to vastly improve her future pension.

And today, the Assembly is set to vote on a bill that appears expressly written so Assemblyman Ralph Caputo (D-Essex) and state Sen. James Beach (D-Camden) can improve the pensions they’re already receiving without having to retire.

The pension system is in trouble, and there’s plenty of room for argument about what should be done about it. But your argument for cuts gets a bit diminished when the public workers’ unions can credibly accuse you of juicing the system for a few politically-connected people while telling everyone else they need to make sacrifices.

As far as the latest bill, its sponsor, John McKeon (D-Essex), insists there’s nothing sneaky about its timing and that it’s merely meant to clean up the last pension bill — the one that benefited Redd. And yet McKeon, who says “leadership” asked him to introduce the bill, won’t say who in leadership asked him. If this is being done in good faith, why didn’t the leader who asked McKeon to introduce it just do it himself? And why won’t McKeon specifically name the leader?

HAPPY BIRTHDAY — MacArthur staffer Jayson J. Schimmenti, Burlington County Young Dems Chair Stephen Steglik, NJHA’s Jon Chebra, NJ DOLWD’s Tennille McCoy

WHERE’S MURPHY? Delivering remarks at the New Jersey Citizen Action Annual Awards, 7:45 pm in West Orange.

QUOTE OF THE DAY: “All along, we’ve said we need real, sustainable solutions to our scheduling problems. The days of Trenton fixing its softball calendars with gimmicks and one-shots are over.” — Murphy spokesman Dan Bryan on the upcoming softball match between the gov’s office and the Assembly majority

** A message from KeepNJDocs.org: NJ is losing newly trained primary care physicians at a staggering rate. Over 60% of them are taking their state-supported medical training and leaving NJ, unable to tackle medical school debt if they remain in our unfriendly practice environment. Visit KeepNJDocs.org to learn what we can do to stop this. **

WHAT TRENTON MADE

BUDGET FIGHT — “Murphy says he won’t sign school funding bill without sustainable revenue,” by POLITICO’s Linh Tat: “Gov. Phil Murphy doubled down Wednesday on his insistence the Legislature send him a budget with sustainable revenue for the state, declaring he won’t agree to a new school funding plan without the guarantee of an ongoing source of income. Murphy’s threat to not sign a landmark school funding bill top lawmakers are pushing adds fuel to the already tense budget negotiations between the first-term Democratic governor and members of his own party. Both houses of the Legislature are expected to vote on the bill on Thursday. ‘Until we have an agreement on sound and sustainable revenues, we cannot have an agreement on school funding,’ Murphy said during a news conference at the state Department of Education, where he and Education Commissioner Lamont Repollet spoke of the critical need to invest in preschool and K-12 classrooms.” Read the report

—“State releases revised school aid figures based on latest funding proposal” Read the report

—“N.J. school funding reform could mean higher property taxes for some” Read the report

—“Top Democrat Sweeney: ‘I didn’t enlist’ Christie in budget talks” Read the report

—“Top Assembly Democrat rips Phil Murphy for ‘campaigning’ instead of ‘governing’” Read the report

SWEENEY, COUGHLIN TRADING PAULA ADBUL CASSETTES FOR THEIR WALKMEN — “New Jersey shutdown: Why Democratic fears of backlash from sales tax increase are wrong,” by The Record’s Charles Stile: “Democrats — particularly those in the Assembly who are top of the ballot running for re-election next year — are still haunted by the fallout from Gov. Jim Florio’s $2.8 billion package of tax hikes in 1990 …. But they haven’t read the full history. And if they did, they would realize that the idea of igniting a backlash is remote, at best. Here’s why: Florio pushed through a one-cent increase in the sales tax in early 1990 … But Florio also raised taxes on goods in a slackening economy with rising unemployment. Murphy’s sales tax is comparatively modest — representing only 3/8th of a cent — and comes during a booming economy with the unemployment rate of 4.4 percent, down from nearly 10 percent during Gov. Chris Christie’s tenure. That same year, Florio pushed through a historic ban on assault weapons which turned the gun right’s groups into a determined foe. The National Rifle Association and other gun groups would eventually team up with “Hands Across New Jersey,” a loose-knit anti-tax group — a precursor to the Tea Party movement that emerged 30 years later. Protesters vented daily on a new Trenton-area radio station. The New Jersey Education Association, the state’s powerful teacher’s union, was also furious with a Florio proposal to calculate the cost of pensions in local school district aid allocations. Murphy has angered the gun lobby by enacting new his gun control measures. But Murphy’s actions are seen not as provocative as the assault weapons ban. And the NJEA remains one of Murphy’s closest allies.” Read the report

—”Bracken seeks state economic master plan going forward to avoid recurrence of present conditions” Read the report

HEALTH CARE — “New Jersey lawmakers considering 3 bills that could cost hospitals millions,” by POLITICO’s Dan Goldberg and Katherine Landergan: “The bills, all three of which could move in the next week, are being debated as New Jersey’s second government shutdown in as many years looms, and as leading lawmakers intensify their feud with Gov. Phil Murphy. ill from state Sen. Paul Sarlo (D-Bergen), which is expected to save the state $29 million and be included in a budget from the Legislature that Murphy has vowed to veto, would reduce payments to hospitals that treat Medicaid fee-for-service patients who use the emergency room for “low acuity” events. The bill, NJ S 2657 (18R), would cut payments to $140 per visit, down from an average of $630 hospitals typically receive, said Tom Hester, a spokesman for state Department of Health. The specific conditions to which these reduced payments would apply would be defined by the state human services commissioner at a later date. The $36.5 billion budget lawmakers are expected to pass on Thursday assumes the entire $29 million savings in the next fiscal year” Read the report

GUN FEES — Several gun control advocacy groups are holding a press conference this morning on the Legislature blocking the increase on a host of gun fees, which have remained the same since the 1960s. Expect them to compare the current $50 fee for the initial application for a retail firearms seller license to something like the $440 athletic trainer fee, according to a document they’re circulating.

CHRISTIE DECLINED TO COMMENT BECAUSE HE WAS IN QUIET CAR — “Murphy to undo contentious Christie makeover of mental health, addiction services,” by NJ Spotlight’s Lilo Stainton: “Just eight months after a controversial government reorganization of an array of mental health and addiction services, oversight of those programs will return to the Department of Human Services, under a plan the Murphy administration is expected to unveil today. Gov. Phil Murphy will call for much of the work of the Division of Mental Health and Addiction Services to be shifted from the Department of Health back to the DHS, which ran these programs for nearly a decade, according to several people briefed on the pending announcement. However, the DOH will retain control of the state’s four psychiatric hospitals, which care for some 1,300 severely mentally-ill residents; the department has already launched several efforts to improve operations and outcomes at these facilities. But the DHS will again manage all community-based mental health and addiction programs, and other services, they said … Former Gov. Chris Christie confounded many mental health and addiction providers, lawmakers and community members when he announced his plan to move the entire division from Human Services to Health a year ago” Read the report

IT’S IN THE BAG — “Lawmakers look to divert funds before state has money in hand,” by NJ Spotlight’s Tom Johnson: “The Legislature is poised today to impose a 5-cent fee on single-use carry-out bags, but the money may not end up in a lead abatement program as originally intended. In the Democratic-controlled Legislature’s proposed budget for the next fiscal year, language has been inserted to divert $23 million in funds raised by the fee. Instead of reducing exposure to lead, it appears the money will go to the general fund.” Read the report

—“Funding to protect joint base now at stake in state budget fight” Read the report

R.I.P. — “Former Assemblyman Kevin Ryan of Essex County has died” Read the report

—“Will legal sports betting increase problem gambling in New Jersey?” Read the interview

—Assemblyman Bucco: “Where’s the outrage, New Jerseyans?” Read the op-ed

—“Teary owner of new Ocean Resort said he invested in former Revel without ever visiting Atlantic City” Read the report

—“Barclay resigns from Assembly after arrest on assault charges” Read the report

—“New Jersey stuck between small business and affordable housing in minimum wage debate” Read the report

THE TRUMP ERA

SALT — “Defending the SALT workarounds,” by POLITICO’s Aaron Lorenzo: “State officials defending some workarounds to the new cap on the state and local tax deduction think they have a powerful ally: precedent. The IRS is expected to soon decide the fate of new state charitable funds that residents can contribute to in lieu of taxes, which allows them a federal deduction as a way of getting around the $10,000 cap on the SALT write-off included in the recent tax overhaul, H.R. 1 (115). Governors and legislators in those states note that many others have set up charitable funds that haven’t been swatted down by the revenue agency. They’re quite comparable to the new laws being proposed and enacted by states on the SALT deduction, said David Pope, partner at Baker McKenzie. “And I think it’s going to be difficult to draw a hard line between the two when trying to carve out a regulation that disallows one but not the other,” Pope said. Nearly two-thirds of states have, at one time or another, set up charities to fund things like education, economic development and child care.” Read the report

WEBBER: PAY NO ATTENTION TO THE FACT THAT I SAID NOTHING ON CHILD SEPARATION — “The GOP and Webber Seek to Saddle Sherrill with Menendez-Murphy,” by InsiderNJ’s Fred Snowflack: “Mikie Sherrill and Phil Murphy, one in the same. Mikie Sherrill and Bob Menendez, one in the same. It’s early in the game – more than four months away from the midterm election – but that’s the picture Republicans are trying to draw. Three press statements arrived Wednesday from various GOP sources, all of which linked Sherrill, the Democratic candidate for Congress in District 11, to Murphy or Menendez.” Read the report

—“New Jersey agency has federal contract to shelter migrant children” Read the report

—“A Clifton mother of three is deported to Albania, months after her husband’s removal” Read the report

LOCAL

BHAD NEWS — “Hoboken mayor censured for ‘unethical’ conduct by N.J. Supreme Court,” by The Jersey Journal’s Terrence T. McDonald: “Mayor Ravi Bhalla was censured by the New Jersey Supreme Court last week after a disciplinary board chided him for not setting aside over $6,000 for a former employee’s retirement account between 2008 and 2009. The June 13 action came six months after the board said the facts of the case ‘clearly and convincingly’ establish that Bhalla acted unethically and violated three rules of professional conduct. The board voted 4-3 to recommend censure instead of a three-month suspension of Bhalla’s law license.” Read the report

IT’S NOT RACIST BECAUSE HE SAYS HE’S NOT RACIST — “GOP candidates in NJ says diversity will turn state into Afghanistan,” by NJ 101.5’s Dan Alexander: “The U.S. House candidate who drew criticism for calling diversity ‘a bunch of crap’ is also critical of a new diversity initiative for state troopers and state and county prosecutors. Republican lawyer Seth Grossman said the initiative would serve to ‘make a mockery of the law and will put the public in great danger.’ … Grossman predicted that the ‘evil and un-American perversion of ‘diversity’ will create a situation like what currently exists in Afghanistan, Lebanon and Syria. ‘The greatness of America is overcoming diversity to create one united nation with single language, Constitution, and culture of liberty. That culture is based on the idea of ‘Love thy neighbor as thyself’ which is deeply rooted in the Jewish, Christian, Hindu, and Buddhist religions. America’s motto is ‘E pluribus unum,’ out of many come one, not diversity.’ ‘Before Governor Murphy completely screws up the State Police with his diversity quotas, why not try it on the Rutgers basketball team, and see if it helps them win more games,’ Grossman said Tuesday in a statement released to the press.” Read the report

A CALL TO THE COPS MIGHT HAVE BEEN IN ORDER — “Hamilton teacher who predicted arts fest shooting gets lawyer, shuts up,” by NJ 101.5’s Dan Alexander: “A Hamilton elementary school teacher who predicted a shooting 15 hours before police killed a gunman involved in a gunfight that injured 22 people at a late-night festival has lawyered up. Prosecutors said they had intended to speak to Danielle Grady on Tuesday before she retained an attorney and cancelled the meeting. Mercer County Prosecutor Angelo Onofri said Tuesday that Grady was in North Carolina when she posted the warning online. He did not say why she was out of state. The morning before the gangland shooting early Sunday at the Art All Night Festival, Grady posted on Facebook ‘Please, please DO NOT GO TO ART ALL NIGHT! THEY WILL BE SHOOTING IT UP!’” Read the report

—“Discussions about Trenton’s crime should include ideas to end poverty: L.A. Parker” Read the column

—“Art All Night: Trenton residents, artists say shooting overshadows healthy community” Read the report

ESSEX COUNTY COLLEGE CONTINUES IMPECCABLE ADMINISTRATION — “College cut one job. Now its whole police academy’s in jeopardy,” by NJ Advance Media’s Karen Yi: “The state agency that regulates police officer training has temporarily restricted course offerings at Essex County’s only public safety academy, raising concerns among the law enforcement community over the future of the academy. After a new class of 70 police recruits begins its six-month training in July, Essex County College’s Public Safety Academy will not be allowed to offer additional certified police courses, according to state officials. The New Jersey Police Training Commission limited the academy’s classes last week after the college slashed an administrative position without a viable plan to transition those duties to someone else, records show. The college must submit an acceptable plan by Wednesday or risk losing the academy’s certification” Read the report

MORRIS GOP HOPES KAMIN DOES AS GOOD A JOB FOR THEM AS HE DID FOR MOB-CONNECTED AUTO AUCTIONS — “Kamin is new Morris GOP political director,” by New Jersey Globe’s David Wildstein: “More than thirty years after giving up the Morris County Republican chairmanship to take a seat in the New Jersey State Assembly, C. Richard Kamin is back. In anticipation of a tough general election campaign against an energized and emerging Democratic party, newly-elected Morris County GOP Chairman Ron DeFilippis has brought in the 73-year old Kamin as his new political director. DeFilippis had previously named State Sen. Joseph Pennacchio as his executive director.” Read the report (Headline context here).

IT’S BASICALLY MENSA OVER THERE —“Passaic Valley Water Commission doles out big raises to prevent ‘brain drain’,” by The Record’s Richard Cowen: “The Passaic Valley Water Commission doled out $147,433 on Wednesday in pay raises to a handful of agency employees, including $20,000 bumps to five department heads and a $12,000 promotion for the daughter of former Paterson mayor, Jose ‘Joey’ Torres. Jim Duprey, the commission business administrator, told the commission the increases are necessary to prevent a so-called ‘brain drain’ at the public utility, which is operated jointly by the cities of Paterson, Clifton and Passaic, and provides water to customers throughout North Jersey, including Lodi and North Arlington.” Read the report

R.I.P. —“Former City Hall worker Viola Disbrow, 82, served 9 mayors in Jersey City” Read the report

SCANDAL OF THE CENTURY — “Mayor Yaede spotted with ‘first dog’ at no-dogs-allowed park Read the report

—“‘OK’ symbol reportedly used by white supremacists spray-painted in Fair Lawn” Read the report

—“Proposed Mane USA Morris Plains fragrance plant nears planning board vote” Read the report

—“NJ high school surprises WWII veteran with diploma 73 years later” Read the report

—“Only black student in his class at Diocese of Trenton school was subjected to racism, suit says” Read the report

EVERYTHING ELSE

CARDINAL SIN — “Cardinal Theodore McCarrick alleged to have sexually abused minor 47 years ago,” by The Courier-News’ Paul C. Grzella: “Cardinal Theodore McCarrick, the retired archbishop of Washington, D.C, who also served as the Archbishop of Newark, N.J., and the founding Bishop of Metuchen, N.J., is alleged to have sexually abused a minor 47 years ago when he was a priest in the Archdiocese of New York, Roman Catholic church officials announced this morning. As a result of the allegations, called ‘credible and substantiated’ by church officials, the cardinal is stepping down from active ministry until a definite decision is made through the canonical process, according to a statement from the archdiocese of Washington.” Read the report

OPIOIDS — “NJ becoming the ‘Cemetery State’? Opioid deaths worse than expected,” by NJ 101.5’s David Mathau: “According to Terry Newmyer, the president of the Opioid Research Institute and publisher of OpioidWatch.org, the most recent data available from the federal government shows that for the 12 months that ended in November 2017, there was a rise in opioid overdose deaths of 13.2 percent in the United States. ‘But for New Jersey, it’s a little more serious,’ he said, saying it was up 33.3 percent, ‘which is an eye-popping number.’ He said some projections indicate total opioid overdose deaths in New Jersey could reach 3,000 by the end of the year.” Read the report

AARRGH! — No “Jeopardy!” contestants answered this clue correctly: “The son of a tavern owner, Francis Albert Sinatra was born in this New Jersey city in December 1915.” Their answers: Atlantic City, Trenton and Newark.

—“New Jersey teen freed from Egyptian jail” Read the report

—“Gateway tunnel right-of-way bill may move before New York’s legislative session ends” Read the report

CORRECTION: Apologies to Avalon R. Zoppo, an intern at The Philadelphia Inquirer, for sticking another reporter’s name on her story about Wildwood’s senior week yesterday.

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** A message from KeepNJDocs.org: New Jersey is an unfriendly place for primary care – newly minted primary care physicians are fleeing the state at a staggering rate. Significant administrative burdens, low compensation, an emphasis on higher cost specialty care, massive medical school debt and ineffective loan redemption programs make NJ a highly unfavorable practice environment.

While other states retain over 60% of primary care residents, NJ exports over 60% of our medical residents, who take with them millions of dollars invested in graduate medical education by the state.

Without a strong primary care physician workforce, NJ patients suffer. Research shows adding more primary care physicians decreases mortality.

NJ voters agree. Eighty-eight percent believe that primary care leads to healthier patients, higher quality health care and lower costs.

Help ensure we’re making smart investments in our primary care physician workforce. Visit KeepNJDocs.org to learn what we can do to keep primary care in NJ. **