TRENTON, N.J. — New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy has signed a nearly $8 billion stopgap budget, whose deadline was extended to Sept. 30 because of the COVID-19 outbreak.
Murphy described the budget Tuesday as “bare bones” during a news conference in Trenton.
“In the most essential terms, this three-month plan can be described in two words: cuts and uncertainty,” Murphy said.
The three-month spending plan runs from Tuesday through Sept. 30, the new deadline Murphy and the Democrat-led Legislature enacted because of falling state revenues stemming from the outbreak.
Murphy says the spending plan amounts to a 5% across-the-board cut for non-salary operating costs, and a 10% cut in discretionary grants. He said that, overall, it cuts about $1.2 billion in previously authorized spending.
The budget has passed the State Assembly but not yet past the State Senate.
