Gov. Phil Murphy went on the offensive Tuesday after the panel he convened to investigate the state’s tax break program released a report that took aim at the governor’s political opponent, Democratic power broker George Norcross.
Murphy’s outrage, however, hasn’t swayed the state legislature, which is moving ahead to extend the tax break program, even though Murphy has said he’ll veto it.
Murphy said he was “horrified” by the task force report, which he said indicated a “rigged system,” according to a report by The Record. The task force report indicates that Norcross and his associates allegedly helped write the tax break legislation and then benefited from the incentive program, according to the Record. The task force, however, never questioned Norcross or allowed him to testify.
Norcross is a staunch ally of Senate President Steve Sweeney. While a Democrat, like Murphy, the more moderate Sweeney has thwarted Murphy’s progressive agenda in a battle of wills that has consumed Trenton.
The task force, and the threat of legal action stemming from its investigation, is one of the few clubs Murphy has been able to wield against Norcross and Sweeney. Murphy convened the task force after state Comptroller’s Office issued a report critical of the tax incentive program. State Comptroller Philip Degnan was appointed by Republican Gov. Chris Christie.
Quote of the Day: “All options remain on the table,” — Gov. Phil Murphy, on the possibility he’ll veto a budget proposed by the Democratic legislature that doesn’t include his plan to raise the state millionaire’s taxes and other taxes.
Rape Probe of Murphy Administration Inspires 10 Proposed Laws
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NJ101.5 Read more
NJ Tax Breaks Fight: Here Are the Biggest Findings From Phil Murphy’s Task Force
New Jersey’s two major tax credit programs designed to encourage businesses to create jobs and to invest in the Garden State are under multiple investigations. And the programs are set to expire at the end of the month.
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George Norcross III, the Democratic power broker who has found himself at the center of a special governor’s task force looking into abuses of the state’s economic development program, wants his say before the Legislature.
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ROI-NJ Read more
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NJ.com Read more
Days Later, Jersey City Hasn’t Released Proof of Financial Improprieties at Job Training, Re-Entry Program
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Asbury Park Press Read more
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Parents of bullies beware: New Jersey lawmakers want to hold you accountable for the action of your children.
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A week after state lawmakers delayed a vote on expanding medical marijuana in New Jersey over fears that Gov. Phil Murphy would veto the bill, a new plan to grow the program has emerged and legislators are moving quickly.
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To Stem the Tide of Overdose Deaths, Pharmacies Across New Jersey Gave Out Free Doses of Naloxone
In the months after John Power’s son died of an opioid overdose, the customers at his pharmacy in Browns Mills began, as he describes it, to “open up.”
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Lawmakers in the Senate and Assembly advanced a bill Monday that clarifies how a new state law allowing sexual abuse victims to file civil lawsuits against those responsible will apply to public entities and public employees.
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Critics Demand Resignation of Hackensack School Trustee Who Said LGBT Education Is ‘Repugnant’
The school board trustee who made disparaging comments about the LGBT community in emails to the district’s acting superintendent was the focus of hours of attacks in front of nearly 200 people gathered for the school board’s June meeting on Monday night.
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CRDA Reimburses Sister Jean’s Kitchen $300,000 for Failed Church Renovation
The Casino Reinvestment Development Authority voted Tuesday to reimburse the nonprofit Friends of Jean Webster Inc. up to $300,000 for money it spent on a church later deemed unsuitable for its free meal program.
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Umbrella Wars Erupt in Ocean City as Frenchy’s French Fry Company Lays Claim to Beach Near Music Pier
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A robocall voiced last summer by Assemblywoman Serena DiMaso was “really sloppy work,” but it did not amount to an ethics violation, a state oversight committee found.
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Target of Recall Effort, Rockaway Twp. Councilman Resigns
Councilman Victor Palumbo, who last month said he would not step down in the face of a recall campaign, resigned on Tuesday, said acting Township Clerk Christina Clipperton.
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