State Sen. Michael Testa is among those taking issue with so-called Christmas tree items or pork projects in the state budget. Legislators, almost all Democrats, added hundreds of millions of dollars to the budget for special projects to benefit their districts. In an unusual move, Testa (R-Cumberland) introduced three bills that seek to reallocate funds from this year’s budget. One bill (S-3397) would shift almost $27 million given to specific groups such as the Newark Museum, Camden County Historical Society and Lambert Castle into an arts, cultural and historic organizations fund to be given out as grants.
This year more than $500 million in state tax money went to these projects and another $600 million came from federal coronavirus relief funds that Gov. Phil Murphy divvied up in consultation with legislative leaders. NJ Spotlight News found that between fiscal years 2018 and 2022, just 5 cents of every $1 went to Republican-controlled districts.
Although the money goes to charitable causes, it’s how the money is decided upon and distributed that’s a problem for some. Lawmakers request that money be added to the budget in so-called resolutions that, in turn, are voted upon together by the full chambers as part of the budget. Yet the resolutions must first be approved by the majority party, most recently being the Democrats.
“I really think we have to take a long, hard look at how our money is spent. Look at how our budget continues to grow exponentially each year. We cannot continue down this road, it is not fiscally responsible,” said Testa.
