Members of the Senate budget committee spent Tuesday listening to more testimony on Gov. Phil Murphy’s proposed budget for the next fiscal year. Advocacy groups lobbied for more funding for health care and education. Several environmental groups lobbied for more clean-energy investments and money for other programs that benefit the environment. The New Jersey Business & Industry Association urged lawmakers to consider what it called pro-growth investments, including workforce development programs at county colleges.
New Jersey’s unemployment rate rose at the start of the new year, according to new federal data released by the state labor department. January’s jobless rate was 7.9%, up from 7.7% in December. Only 900 jobs were added to the state’s economy in January.
State Attorney General Gurbir Grewal is disappointed with the bankruptcy plan filed by opioid maker Purdue Pharma, saying it falls short of the accountability that families and survivors deserve. Purdue, the maker of Oxycontin, is proposing a $10 billion plan to settle thousands of lawsuits and emerge from bankruptcy protection. The Sackler family, which owns the company, would contribute about $4 billion of their own money. New Jersey is among nearly two dozen other states saying the bankruptcy plan isn’t good enough. Grewal says the plan should be amended to provide more money to states.
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