On March 13, Gov. Murphy delivered first budget address to a joint session of the legislature, giving the state its first good idea of his priorities now that he is in office. From now until July 1, the legislature will be focused on passing a budget built on the foundation Murphy laid.

The Governor’s plan calls for $37.4 billion in State appropriations, a $2.7 billion increase over FY2018, which makes this the largest state budget in New Jersey history. The increase in spending is to be funded by economic growth and $1.7 billion in new tax revenue. Murphy recommends increasing the sales tax to 7%, implementing a millionaires’ tax, and legalizing the sale of recreational marijuana.

The judicial branch would get $10 million less than last year under the Governor’s plan. This will undoubtedly cause some handwringing and perhaps lead to increased filing fees as the courts struggle to pay for bail reform and the move to electronic filing.

Although there is already a lot of disagreement over Murphy’s proposed budget, there is a wide-spread, bi-partisan recognition that it’s time to make some changes that will rev up New Jersey’s economic engine, and foster a “stronger and fairer” economy. Some thoughtful tweaks to our legal system could improve our state’s legal reputation, and stimulate economic growth without raising taxes or increasing spending.

Additional Resources

FY2019 Budget in Brief from the Office of Management and Budget

Governor Murphy’s Press Release

Full Text of Governor Murphy’s Speech

Murphy Proposes ‘Fiscally and Morally’ Balanced Budget, with $1.7B in New Tax Revenue

Ryan Hutchins | Politico New Jersey

New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy on Tuesday proposed the largest state budget in history, saying he’ll deliver on his liberal agenda by raising $1.7 billion in new tax revenue, primarily by rolling back a small cut in the state sales tax, generating new revenue off the backs of millionaires and legalizing the sale of recreational marijuana.

Read more.

How Phil Murphy’s Budget Proves You Elected a Liberal Governor

Samantha Marcus | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com

You can call it the very model of a modern progressive budget. From tax hikes on New Jersey’s wealthiest to tax credits for the working poor and legalization of marijuana, Gov. Phil Murphy’s first state budget proposal leaves virtually no progressive stone unturned.

Read more.

Business Community has Concerns About Murphy Budget

Anjalee Khemlani | ROI

While some attendees walked away tight-lipped from the governor’s first budget address, others were optimistic that Gov. Phil Murphy has taken a step in the right direction for the state. The tax-heavy budget plan for fiscal year 2019 is a $2.7 billion increase from the previous year and includes some initiatives that could shock the economic system in the state.

Read more.

Gov. Murphy ran on a progressive, social-justice-orientated agenda, but as is the trend right now, offered few details on specific policy proposals. Until we hear Murphy’s budget address, and see his proposed budget, much of his agenda remains a mystery. However, we are getting some clues about what his legal policy plans are based on the Law & Justice report from his transition committee.

It will be either February 27 or March 13 when Gov. Murphy lays out his policy priorities for the coming year in his first budget address. The exact date is still unknown because state law requires the budget to be delivered to the Legislature on or before the fourth Tuesday in February, but lawmakers traditionally pass a bill relaxing that date during the first year of a new governor’s term. Until that time, any insight we have into the governor’s plans for the legal system comes from his transition committee’s report on law and justice.

The report, which was crafted by his 500+ member transition team, is one of 14 such reports, each focusing on a different issue area. Murphy is under no obligation to implement or even accept the recommendations in the reports, but they give a sense of what the administration aspires to.

The Law & Justice report focuses mostly on social justice and criminal justice reform, but it also talks a bit about the relationship between the governor and the judiciary. This is a touchy subject in the New Jersey legal community because former Gov. Christie bucked tradition and appointed new people to the state’s Supreme Court instead of re-appointing sitting justices. This caused a rift between Christie and Senate leaders that left one seat on the high court vacant for years, and overloaded the dockets of several lower courts who had to make do without a full complement of judges.

Things were smoothed over after Christie reappointed Chief Justice Rabner instead of naming someone new, but there is still tension in the air. And there probably will be until we see what happens when Justice Patterson’s initial appointment expires later this year. The report reflects this uncertainty in its fourth priority: “Restore the relationship of respect between the Governor and an independent judiciary.”

It specifically recommends that Murphy:

• Reaffirm the long-standing historical practices of prior New Jersey governors of re-nominating for tenure judges and justices appointed by predecessor governors as long as they are objectively deemed qualified.
• Reaffirm the long-standing historical practices of ensuring that no more than 4 members of the Supreme Court are of the same political party, and nominating judges to the Superior Court and other courts equally from the two major political parties.
• Reaffirm the Judicial Compact Procedures for the Relationship between the Governor and the New Jersey State Bar Association (commonly known as the “Hughes Compact”), under which the Bar Association has a nonpartisan role in reviewing judicial and prosecutorial candidates.
• Immediately upon taking office, develop a process for soliciting judicial candidates whose background and experience reflect the diversity of the communities that they will serve.
• Examine judicial salaries, which are necessary to attract qualified candidates.

We agree that judges should be qualified and have diverse backgrounds and pre-bench experiences. A fair legal system depends upon independent, capable judges at the trial, intermediate appellate, and Supreme Court levels.

While there is nothing wrong with renewing the Hughes Compact and encouraging the governor to consult with the New Jersey State Bar Association, we would remind the governor that it is not mandatory for lawyers in our state to join the NJSBA. There are a wide variety of legal organizations in our state that he can work with, including the New Jersey Civil Justice Institute.

Our organization is also available to advise policy makers about how to address the variety of other issues in the report, like equal pay for women. As NJCJI has repeatedly pointed out to policy makers, it is possible to advance many policy goals without creating new ways and reasons to sue businesses.

It is also of note that the last priority in the law and justice report is: “Participate in litigation to protect New Jersey’s residents from harmful national policies.” The report recommends the state join a laundry list of lawsuits other states have brought against the federal government. It goes on recommend that the Attorney General “[create] a Solicitor General position within the Department of Law and Public Safety to oversee the State’s litigation in federal and state courts of appeal and the U.S. Supreme Court and possibly to oversee affirmative litigation against the federal government.”

We will look for evidence of these priorities in Murphy’s budget, and in any legislation he champions. And we, along with the rest of the state’s legal community, will be watching to see what happens when Patterson’s term expires.