Republicans in the New Jersey Assembly say they’re willing to work with Democrat Governor Phil Murphy, but they have concerns about the fiscal impact of his proposals.
Murphy has a progressive agenda that includes paying more to fund pensions and full funding for the school funding formula, universal pre-kindergarten programs, free county college tuition, and fixing New Jersey Transit.
Assembly Minority Leader Jon Bramnick says some of those proposals are good ideas, but believes they would cost 5-to-7 billion dollars.
“The taxpayers of New Jersey need to know where the money is coming from. How many new taxes, how many new fees, who is going to pay, how much are they going pay, and can we afford to do these programs?”
Republican Assemblywoman Nancy Munoz is also concerned about the costs.
“Under Chris Christie we had almost I would call it protection for our taxpayers, which was the veto pen, which is now no longer there. But we are here to work to help protect our taxpayers.”
Assembly Republican Conference Leader Anthony Bucco is encouraged Murphy promised to move forward on a bipartisan basis.
“There will be more that unites us than divides us. We are all interested in protecting the environment. We’re all looking for a better education for the students of New Jersey. And we certainly are all looking for a more affordable New Jersey.”
Bucco says there is more than can be done to control the government’s expenses.
He’s wondering if the Governor will propose new pension and health care reforms, a cap on sick and vacation time payouts, and legislation to encourage municipalities to share services.