New Jersey Policy Perspective

Today, Governor Sherrill signed into law S731/A796, which creates a new utility rate structure for data centers, requires them to bring their own new clean energy, and requires them to pay for necessary grid upgrades. In response, NJPP releases the following statement: Alex Ambrose, Senior Policy Analyst, New Jersey Policy Perspective: “Today, lawmakers delivered on their promise of more affordable energy for all New Jerseyans.

The Senate and Assembly budget committees voted last night to advance A5324/S4533, which establishes the new Employer Health Care Contribution Assessment. This new revenue raiser, intended to support Medicaid in the face of significant federal cuts, charges corporations with more than 50 employees enrolled in Medicaid a per-employee fee, which also applies to employees’ dependents who are enrolled in Medicaid. The fee is projected to generate $145 million in revenue in Fiscal Year 2027.

Last night, the Senate and Assembly budget committees approved more than $500 million in raids from the Global Warming Solutions Fund, funded by Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI), to be used for ratepayer relief. For more on RGGI and the state’s history of raiding funds for ratepayer relief, see New Jersey’s Clean Energy Funds: What They Are and Why They Matter.

New Jersey should never have been in the business of subsidizing data centers, which have increased utility rates and imposed costs on communities up and down the state. NJPP thanks the bill sponsors and legislative leadership for the proposal in A5165 to end the brief, costly Next New Jersey AI tax credit. But this change comes too late for the $250 million already lost to this program, sending taxpayer dollars to subsidize the industry causing cost increases and straining state infrastructure.

Every senior in New Jersey deserves to grow old in their own home, with the stability and dignity that comes with it. And when the state spends public dollars to make that possible, those dollars should reach the people who need help the most, not the households that need it least. Stay NJ, the state’s newest property tax rebate program, was not built that way.

Lawmakers, and even Governor Sherrill, have been denied access to Delaney Hall, the immigration detention facility in Newark run by the GEO Group. That should concern every elected official in this state. No private company holding a 15-year federal contract worth roughly $1 billion should be able to block public oversight or avoid basic accountability. When elected officials are turned away from a facility operating in our own state, something is very wrong.

A fair corporate tax system tracks corporate profits: when business booms, companies pay more; when business slumps, they pay less. Companies generating more profits should pay more in taxes to reflect their relative wealth. The “net-operating-loss” (NOL) deduction originated from this principle of tax equity. It allows companies to reduce their taxable profits by offsetting them with losses from earlier years.

On May 19, the New Jersey State Treasurer reported revenues slightly above projections, revising budget forecasts for the upcoming fiscal year and increasing the state’s projected cash reserves. A structural deficit of more than $1 billion remains, signaling a continued gap between the investments the state has promised and the revenue available to fund them. In response, New Jersey Policy Perspective (NJPP) releases the following statement.

New Jersey’s Alternative Business Calculation (ABC) has drifted from its original purpose: closing a gap in the tax code for individuals with business income.

Adopting a wealth proceeds tax based on federal law could raise more than $1.1 billion to help balance New Jersey’s state budget, while affecting only a small share of the state’s wealthiest households. New Jersey policymakers could direct those funds toward education, health care, and other investments families need.