Assembly Minority Leader John DiMaio on NJ Budget: Cut Spending and Property Taxes

Welcome to the GSI Briefing podcast – hosted by Regina Egea of the Garden State Initiative. In this series, GSI traveled to the State House in Trenton for one-on-one interviews with legislators, business leaders, and members of the press to discuss Governor Murphy’s latest budget proposal and GSI’s recent report, New Jersey’s Fiscal Cliff Explained.  In this episode, Regina Egea speaks with NJ Assembly Minority Leader John DiMaio regarding Governor Murphy’s most recent state budget proposal. DiMaio notes that the proposed $54 billion budget should be revised to better serve the needs and interests of the people of New Jersey, specifically criticizing that the budget won’t address property taxes. DiMaio proposes solutions including revisiting tax brackets and cutting unnecessary spending, and highlights that the state should not increase spending, but look for fiscal efficiencies. With state revenue trending down and spending going up, DiMaio suggests cutting the $1.5 billion increase that was added in the final days of the last budget process.