A September budget? – Politico
Good Wednesday morning!
Normally New Jersey would be well into budget hearings by now. But matters of life and death have taken precedence.
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Obviously, nobody will be crowding into committee rooms to testify any time soon. And the sudden crash of the economy is only going to make things less predictable and choices more difficult.
So as I reported yesterday, Democratic legislative leaders were looking at whether it would be possible and practical to move the budget deadline past June 30th. Late last night, New Jersey Globe reported that a deal has been reached between the governor and Legislature to move the budget deadline to the end of September.
The coronavirus has forced us into a new, unfamiliar and lonely reality. Still, the prospect of an empty Statehouse in late June is hard to process.
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QUOTE OF THE DAY: “It’s like a movie, you don’t know who has been infected and you could get it any minute. I’m afraid I’m going to lose my life in this place.” — David De Leon, an immigration inmate at Essex County Jail
WHERE’S MURPHY? — In Trenton for a 1 p.m. coronavirus briefing. Media: Bloomberg TV at 11:30 a.m., WCBS 880 at 4:15 p.m., 1010 WINS at 5:15 p.m., CNN at 9 p.m., MSNBC at 9:30 p.m.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY — Hackensack Meridian’s Kenneth Esser, HACR’s Cid Wilson
CORONAVIRUS TRACKER — 2,196 newly-diagnosed cases yesterday in New Jersey for a total of 18,696. 267 people have died.
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MURPHY DID NOT GET A PERIOD OF FULL STOP — “How Phil Murphy went from cancer surgery to meeting the challenge of his political life during coronavirus crisis,” by NJ Advance Media’s Brent Johnson and Matt Arco: “On March 4, New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy was at a New York City hospital undergoing hours of surgery to remove a cancerous tumor on his kidney. The plan was for Murphy to spend the next few weeks recovering at home, laying low. But a worldwide health crisis changed that. Hours after Murphy’s surgery ended successfully, New Jersey announced its first likely case of the new coronavirus. In the weeks since, the low-key governor with modest poll numbers has become a daily presence in the lives of 9 million New Jerseyans as he faces the biggest challenge of his political career. With a series of actions, high-profile briefings, and media appearances, Murphy has aimed to protect, comfort, and reason with a state stricken with the nation’s second-most COVID-19 cases and more than 16 dozen deaths. Health and political experts say Murphy is doing what leaders are supposed to do during a crisis: inform the public consistently, show authority, and make decisions grounded in data and fact.”
—“Planning for the Unthinkable: What If COVID-19 patients overwhelm medical supplies?” by NJ Spotlight’s Lilo Stainton: “Hospitals around the nation are required to have some form of ethics committee or consultant group, but these entities typically help patients, their families and clinicians with end-of-life decisions specific to one individual, experts said. But with the COVID-19 pandemic … these providers must now wrestle with the potential need to ration some aspects of care, should efforts to slow its spread and ramp up hospital capacity not be enough. Ethical decisions allocating limited medical resources are highly complex and involve many variables — like age and underlying conditions — but experts said they generally center on survivability.”
—Murphy: Shortages of critical supplies persist as coronavirus death toll climb
—“N.J.’s hardest-hit county to get new coronavirus test with 5-minute results”
—“Murphy says NJ may put restrictions on out-of-state travelers to stop coronavirus spread”
—“Assemblywoman Jimenez tests positive for COVID-19, already recovering at home“
—DEP says all water utilities have agreed to suspend shut-offs
—“Groups urge Murphy to stop development hearings”
— “N.J. taxes are still due April 15. Is an extension coming?”
—“NJPP calls for tax hikes amid COVID crisis”
FINALLY SOME POSITIVE NEWS — “NJ Transit uses coronavirus downtime to make progress on safety system installation,” by The Record’s Colleen Wilson: “NJ Transit, which has seen its train schedules dramatically reduced because of the coronavirus lockdown, is taking advantage of the freed-up rail lines to do more testing of a federally-mandated safety system intended to prevent crashes. And that increased testing schedule of positive train control could help the agency meet a fast-approaching deadline to get the system up and running. After the mandate came out in 2008, NJ Transit lagged in building out PTC, which uses software, satellites and trackside sensors to monitor the movement of the train and apply braking to prevent a crash or derailment. For NJ Transit, the extra testing of the system is possible because trains that are normally carrying hundreds of thousands people a day are carrying a fraction of that with only 10% of ridership as people are working from home and avoiding non-essential travel.”
CONVICT 19 — “As coronavirus spreads, will N.J. release more people from jails and prisons?” by NJ Advance Media’s S.P. Sullivan: “New Jersey corrections officials maintain not a single state prison inmate has tested positive for COVID-19. But they’ve only tested eight so far. The rapid spread of novel coronavirus in New Jersey has already prompted state authorities to take unprecedented action when the the state Supreme Court last week ordered the release of about 700 county jail inmates … State authorities are keeping quiet about what they’ll do next. U.S. Attorney General William Barr, among the most conservative law enforcement authorities in the country, directed the federal Bureau of Prisons to turn to home confinement among older inmates with underlying conditions in an effort to reduce the spread of COVID-19. New Jersey has not yet taken that step, though a spokeswoman for the Department of Corrections, which oversees the state’s prisons, said officials ‘are exploring all options that are in the best interest of public health.’”
MAYBE NOT A WINNING PR STRATEGY AT THIS MOMENT — “Holtec sues New Jersey Economic Development Authority over millions in tax credits,” by The Philadelphia Inquirer’s Catherine Dunn and Andrew Seidman: “Holtec International, the energy technology company that built a new facility in Camden after it was awarded $260 million in state tax credits in 2014, has filed a lawsuit against the New Jersey Economic Development Authority. The suit, filed in Mercer County Superior Court, accuses the state agency of violating its contract by failing to pay Holtec the $26 million in tax credits owed to the company in 2019 … Holtec came under scrutiny last year, when a task force created by Murphy questioned whether the company had misled state officials on its tax credit application.”
—“No one in N.J. will have their water shut off during coronavirus, state announces”
SALT IN THE WOUND — Murphy urges Pelosi to eliminate SALT cap through coronavirus relief package, by POLITICO’s Sam Sutton: New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy said Tuesday that he has urged Speaker Nancy Pelosi to push for an elimination of the cap on state and local tax deductions as part of any forthcoming stimulus package. “As we continue to think about a Main Street stimulus, Congress should undo the SALT deduction cap to help New Jersey’s middle class homeowners,” Murphy said during his daily coronavirus press briefing, adding that he specifically urged Pelosi over the course of two conversations on Monday to lift the cap.
IMMIGRATION — “Bob Menendez calls for release of non-violent ICE detainees as coronavirus spreads,” by the Record’s Monsy Alvarado: “New Jersey Sen. Robert Menendez joined a chorus of immigrant advocates and attorneys on Monday, calling for the release of federal immigration detainees as the threat of coronavirus spreads in detention centers and jails throughout the country. Menendez sent a letter to Chad Wolf, acting secretary for the Department of Homeland Security and Matthew Albence, acting director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, asking the agencies to release non-violent detainees who pose no public safety threat as well as seniors, pregnant detainees and those at high risk of getting severely sick from the outbreak.”
—“Trump and Murphy are saying nice things about each other during coronavirus crisis. Here’s why”
—“Booker will run off the line with Harrison in Atlantic, Ocean”
—“Progressive slates file in six South Jersey counties”
—“Congressman Chris Smith helps Hamilton girl stuck in Peru during pandemic get home”
BIG LOSS — “Daytop NJ says it will close residential youth-addiction program in Mendham,” by The Daily Record’s William Westhoven: “Daytop New Jersey announced it will close its celebrated specialty substance-use-disorder treatment program in Mendham, succumbing to a loss of revenue and the nonprofit’s need to keep its other rehabilitation programs operating in New Jersey. The 70-bed residential program in Mendham, which opened in 1992, will close on May 29, CEO Jim Curtin said … ‘In the face of the opioid epidemic, it is distressing and heartbreaking that we cannot say what will happen to children who need a specialty adolescent substance-use-disorder residential program,’ Curtin said. ‘But now have no place to go.’ … Daytop notified the State Department of Children and Families Children’s System of Care of the closure last week. It closed its other adolescent residential treatment center, in Pittsgrove, in December 2018. That closure was part of a cycle of similar closures in New Jersey due to changes in referral and funding policies that ‘effectively eliminated this level of care for youth requiring such services,’ Curtin said. Curtin blamed the funding shortfall on New Jersey’s 2014 shift of oversight of adolescent addiction treatment, from the Department of Human Services to the Department of Children and Families.”
LAKEWOOD — “Coronavirus in Lakewood: Have residents been unfairly singled out as lawbreakers?” by The Asbury Park Press’ Mike Davis, Kean Mikle and Amanda Oglesby: “In the last two weeks, police in Lakewood have broken up five gatherings, including four weddings. Each report has engendered a cascade of recriminations … But the idea that Lakewood is some kind of hotbed of illegal activity? That’s a misconception, said New Jersey State Police Col. Patrick Callahan. ‘While there have been a few instances of group gatherings that were addressed by law enforcement, the vast majority of the community understands the importance of social distancing and are complying with the executive order,’ he said in a statement Friday … The reality is that illegal gatherings have been held — and broken up — across the state. On Sunday night alone, there were 70 incidents across New Jersey, Callahan said.”
CORONAVIRUS MADE JERSEY CITY ITS — “Jersey City alone has more coronavirus cases than 23 U.S. states,” by The Record’s Terrence T. McDonald: “In recent days, it also crossed a grimmer milestone: more positive coronavirus cases than any other New Jersey town. On Tuesday, its mayor, Steve Fulop, said the city has 820 confirmed cases, nearly three times the number of the next closest town, Teaneck, and half of Hudson County’s total cases…. Twenty-three states and Washington, D.C., have fewer coronavirus cases than Jersey City, which has a population of 265,000. New Jersey’s total number of cases is now 18,696.”
LINEAR THINKING — ”Hudson Democrats will have open presidential primary,” by New Jersey Globe’s David Wildstein: “Hudson County Democrats will hold an open primary for president, leaving Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders in a separate column on the June 2 ballot. ‘The Biden and Sanders camps accepted an open primary,’ Hudson Democratic county chair Amy DeGise told the New Jersey Globe. ‘We’re proud to support having an open primary. Democrats will reunite once the nomination is made. The move leaves a slate of nine progressive freeholder candidates without Sanders at the top of their ticket.’”
R.I.P. — “5 rabbis from Lakewood have died from coronavirus, joining growing toll of N.J. victims, reports say”
R.I.P. — “33-year-old firefighter, father of 2, dies from coronavirus”
R.I.P. — “Community mourns beloved Teaneck food pantry founder killed by coronavirus”
—“Muhlenberg will not reopen as hospital, mayor now says”
—“Somerset County freeholders, Business Partnership start work on economic recovery”
—“Ewing Mayor Bert Steinmann is 1st Mercer County mayor to come down with coronavirus”
—“Camden paper company responds to soaring demand brought on by COVID-19”
—“Ocean County closes its parks amid growing pandemic”
DOGS ARE GOOD — “Therapy dog visits children at home in Bergen to soothe coronavirus anxiety,” by The Record’s Kaitlyn Kanzler: “These are difficult, anxious times for families holed up with small children. Ladd is here to help. The service dog normally does his calming and comforting at the North Arlington’s Zentai Martial Arts studio. But these days, Allen DePeña, owner and operator of Zentai Martial Arts, has been taking him around to his younger students’ homes to deliver bags full of slime and coloring pages and crayons. ‘My idea was for him to go around to the kids and brighten up their days,’ DePeña said.”
—“Spirit Airlines suspends service at Newark airport over coronavirus. Atlantic City service reduced”
—“Gaming regulators push back reporting deadline for casinos due to COVID-19”
—“COVID-19 prompts colleges to rethink ways of attracting new students”
R.I.P. — “Philip W. Anderson, Nobel Prize-winning physicist with deep N.J. ties, dead at 96”
