The high cost of some prescription drugs was the subject of a meeting of the Assembly Health Committee Tuesday, as lawmakers considered legislation to make drugs more affordable. It’s a complicated issue and there was lengthy testimony on one bill that would require the industry to supply data on prescription drug pricing at each stage of the supply chain. There’s still some work to be done on that legislation and NJ Spotlight News’ health care writer Lilo H. Stainton says some consumer advocates believe it doesn’t go far enough. For more on what the experts are saying about prescription drug pricing, check out Lilo’s article here.
Republican leaders in the Assembly held a news conference Tuesday to press for tax relief in the new state budget. Assembly Minority Leader John DiMaio (R-Morris) and Assemblyman Hal Wirths (R-Sussex) are pushing for a few initiatives designed to save taxpayers money. These include an income tax cut for middle-class and lower-income residents and the indexing of certain state income tax brackets to inflation. They also want to return energy tax receipts to municipalities to lower property taxes and restore school funding cuts. The Republicans say that with inflation high and the state experiencing record revenues it’s time to return money to taxpayers.
Clean energy is good for the environment, but is it good for your wallet? It would be for New Jersey residents, according to a preliminary assessment of an ongoing study being prepared for the state. The report by the Brattle Group says there will be cost savings by 2030 from things like energy efficiency programs and electrifying the transportation sector. Some critics of the report said the review failed to include certain costs while clean-energy advocates were supportive of the findings. Meanwhile, the Board of Public Utilities on Monday approved more than $1 million in grants to buy electric vehicle chargers for apartments and other multi-unit dwellings around the state.
