TRENTON, N.J. — New Jersey Assembly Republicans say they will not submit budget resolutions this year, renewing calls for changes to the state budget process and greater transparency around last-minute spending additions.
Assemblywoman Aura Dunn, R-Morris, said the Republican conference is refusing to submit budget resolutions, which lawmakers often use to request funding for local projects and programs, in response to concerns about spending and public disclosure.
“And it happens to taxpayers every June,” Assemblywoman Aura Dunn (R-Morris), a former member of the Assembly Budget Committee, said. “Democrats add these so-called Christmas tree items, all this pork, at the eleventh hour through backroom deals, leaving the public and Republicans in the dark until well after the budget is passed and signed. It must stop.”
Dunn said the move follows Gov. Mikie Sherrill’s call for fiscal restraint, though she criticized the governor’s proposed $60.7 billion budget, which she said is $1.9 billion higher than the previous year’s spending plan.
“The governor rightly pointed out that we can’t afford this process anymore. It is not accountable. It is not efficient. And yes, New Jersey taxpayers deserve better,” Dunn said. “But we need real change backed by law, not simply winks and handshakes to try better.”
Dunn has reintroduced legislation that would require budget resolutions to be posted publicly by June 1, one month before the deadline for a state spending plan to be signed into law.
Under current legislative rules, lawmakers may file budget resolutions up to 14 calendar days before passage of the appropriations bill, and there is no required date for when those resolutions must be made public.
Dunn said budget documents have too often been released too late for meaningful review.
“I remember my own frustrations when I was a member of the budget committee, being handed a document of hundreds of pages just minutes before I was expected to vote on it,” Dunn shared. “And although I have nothing but respect for the budget committee chairwoman, we on the minority side got shrugged off when we complained, often and loudly, about the lack of transparency and timeliness. Multiply that by 9 million and that’s the apathy shown toward New Jersey residents. We’re all left out of the process.”
Dunn is also calling for a proposed constitutional amendment that would restrict politically connected funding allocations benefiting municipalities, school districts, nonprofits or other non-state agencies.
“There needs to be accountability on earmarks. Knowing who controls the purse strings shouldn’t be the criterion for receiving taxpayers’ hard-earned money,” Dunn said. “Instead, funds should be distributed judiciously, based on true need and merit.”
Dunn cited an NJ Spotlight News analysis that found more than 80% of legislatively sponsored spending in the current budget went to Democratic-controlled districts.
“Republicans have made the commitment to honor the governor’s call for fiscal restraint,” Dunn said. “Will she ultimately honor her own call?”
