A Republican lawmaker is offering his colleagues a legislative do-over several months after they added dozens of hand-picked spending items to the state budget at the last minute and with little public oversight.
A package of bills introduced earlier this week by Sen. Michael Testa (R-Cumberland) calls for more than $675 million in state and federal funding to become available for redistribution, this time using a competitive grant process.
Reopening the appropriations process for this purpose well after a budget has been adopted is unusual and it’s unclear whether the funding flagged by Testa is even available for redistribution at this point in the fiscal year.
But Testa suggested doing so would ensure the funding is distributed in a more “transparent” and “merit-based” manner compared to the more arbitrary method used by Gov. Phil Murphy and majority Democratic lawmakers in late June as they rushed a new spending bill to the finish line in Trenton.
Testa, who serves on the Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee, said the bills he’s sponsoring would also mean more projects across all of New Jersey would get serious consideration for such funding. He also suggested the current budgeting process is tilted too heavily toward those with connections to Murphy and majority Democratic lawmakers.
‘Blatant favoritism’
“This is blatant favoritism based on how influential the recipients are and not on any fair or balanced process which governors of both parties traditionally advocate,” Testa said.
“The (bills) I have introduced are designed to bring the procedure out in the open so everybody can have a fair shot at the money, regardless of politics or geographic preferences,” he said.
It’s unclear how seriously Testa’s proposals will be taken by majority Democrats in the Assembly and Senate, who yield considerable influence when it comes to drafting the state’s annual budget.
A spokesman for the Senate Majority Office declined comment Tuesday and Cecilia Williams, a spokeswoman for the Assembly majority office, said “no bills have been introduced for the Assembly to consider.”
In recent years, legislative leaders have pushed back strongly against accusations that the appropriations process has become too opaque, including by saying their spending additions are informed by a lengthy series of public hearings.
‘This is blatant favoritism based on how influential the recipients are and not on any fair or balanced process which governors of both parties traditionally advocate.’ — Sen. Michael Testa (R-Cumberland)
An analysis published earlier this year by NJ Spotlight News indicated Democrats added some $2 billion in new spending to the state’s $50.7 billion annual budget in late June after a monthslong series of public hearings on the budget had already concluded.
Where the lion’s share goes
Moreover, a previous NJ Spotlight News analysis of spending approved using the same process over the last five years indicated roughly 95 cents out of every $1 allocated at the last minute by lawmakers had gone to legislative districts that are controlled by Democrats.
Meanwhile, another $2 billion-plus in spending backed by federal COVID-19 pandemic aid was divvied up this year by lawmakers following 11th-hour budget negotiations with Murphy, a second-term Democrat, which played out behind closed doors. During budget hearings earlier this year Testa also flagged millions of dollars in additional spending on local and regional projects that Murphy included in his own budget draft, even before negotiations with legislative leaders began in earnest.
‘The (bills) I have introduced are designed to bring the procedure out in the open so everybody can have a fair shot at the money, regardless of politics or geographic preferences.’ — Sen. Michael Testa
A portion of that spending is among the appropriations Testa has flagged for a second look in a package of three bills introduced in the Senate on Monday.
One measure would redirect some $350 million in state and federal funding that was set aside in the latest annual budget to fund hand-picked projects such as local parks improvements and road resurfacings. Under Testa’s bill, those funds would instead be used to underwrite a competitive grant process open to local governments throughout the state.
Another piece of legislation would redirect $300 million in federal funding allocated to Rutgers University for capital projects through the latest annual budget.
Under that bill, those dollars would be used to establish a higher education grant program where awards would be made through a competitive process instead of being assigned arbitrarily by lawmakers to just one institution. The bill also calls for distributing the funds “equally among the northern, central, and southern regions of the State, to the maximum extent possible.”
Looking for oversight
A third measure calls for redirecting more than $25 million in state and federal funding that was set aside for grants to hand-picked arts and cultural institutions to instead pay for a new competitive grant program for such projects that would be overseen by the Department of State.
To be sure, adding new spending to a governor’s proposed budget in the final days before it wins approval from lawmakers and is sent back to the governor is a time-honored tradition in Trenton. It also gives lawmakers who are granted the authority to draft the annual spending bill in the state Constitution a direct way to ensure their own priorities receive attention.
‘Taxpayers, and those without direct connections to the front office in Trenton, have had to settle for stockings full of coal.’ — Sen. Michael Testa
Legislative rules generally require lawmakers to submit written budget resolutions to indicate who is requesting the added spending, including for pet projects known as “Christmas tree items” in the State House.
But this year, as in other recent years, the budget resolutions — which also offer lawmakers the opportunity to disclose any personal connections to fund recipients — were not released by legislative leaders before the final budget votes were cast in both houses.
And while several months have passed since the latest annual budget was adopted by Murphy and fellow Democrats who control the Legislature, Testa suggested the holiday season is an appropriate time to undo some of the “Christmas-tree” spending that occurred in late June.
“Santa Murphy has established a new standard in gifting, handing out multi-million-dollar packages to friends, mostly in North Jersey, like candy canes,” Testa said. “Taxpayers, and those without direct connections to the front office in Trenton, have had to settle for stockings full of coal.”
