The business community is sounding off, after fighting for a year to avoid an unemployment insurance tax increase and seeing their efforts fall short as legislators nixed a budget bill to offset the tax hike. Now business leaders are pressing lawmakers to deliver relief elsewhere, even as the first payments come due.
Legislators said talks were ongoing. “I think the Governor’s office felt they had worked out all the budgetary items with the Senate and Assembly leadership, and this was not something that was agreed to,” said state Sen. Vin Gopal (D-Monmouth). “So they did not want to see funding outside the budget. But I had some good conversations with the Governor’s chief of staff, George Helmy, and I’m hoping we can reach an agreement in September.”
