Gov. Murphy Vetoes 4 Bills That Could Have Impacted South Jersey

NEW JERSEY – Gov. Murphy has vetoed four bills that deal with the New Jersey economy and allow more governmental oversight over his executive authority (see list of bills below).

Murphy, who also signed three bills into law, vetoed legislation (A-4810/S-441) on Wednesday that lawmakers say was designed to reduce bureaucratic red tape, improve government efficiency and produce savings for taxpayers.

The vetoed legislation would have created a nine-member Government Efficiency and Regulatory Review Commission to evaluate all proposed and adopted regulations, rules and executive orders. The commission would have considered the impact of rules on the economy and determined if their benefits outweighed the burdens placed on business and government, lawmakers say.

The members of the commission, which would have represented both the executive and legislative branches of state government, would have focused on addressing the state’s economic viability and prosperity, according to the bill.

Sen. Steven Oroho, the Senate Republican Budget Officer, sponsored the legislation with Democratic Senate Budget & Appropriations Committee Chairman Paul Sarlo.

Murphy said he applauds the sponsors of the bill for seeking to eliminate "unnecessary and counterproductive rules and regulations."

Murphy noted that he's already directed all state entities to remove bottlenecks and identify and use the best, most innovative, and least burdensome tools and approaches to achieve their regulatory.

However, Murphy said, the legislation would establish a permanent commission, enshrined in law, that would exist "not only under my administration but also under future administrations."

"Under an administration ideologically opposed to regulation, this Commission could easily morph into a forum that seeks to undermine long-standing common-sense regulations that are designed to protect workplace safety, the environment, and public health," Murphy said.

He also said the commission’s mission would be "redundant" as agencies already review rules for their economic impact.

Oroho questioned why Murphy is "opposed to making government more efficient and affordable.”

“By vetoing this legislation, he’s essentially saying there’s no problem with excessive bureaucracy in New Jersey or government being too expensive," he said. "If he took the time to speak to actual taxpayers or anyone trying to do business in the state, he’d realize he’s dead wrong.”

New Jersey Business & Industry Association also released a statement, saying "it is disappointing as it is puzzling that Governor Murphy vetoed a bill that provided a practical opportunity to make state government more efficient and responsive to business in New Jersey.

“This bipartisan legislation arrived on his desk with near-unanimous support from the Legislature. The GEARR Commission would have been coordinated by his own chief innovation officer, with five of the nine commission members coming from his administration. And the governor, himself, has said he is committed to making government work more efficiently. Yet, this commonsense bill was still denied.

“In NJBIA’s 2021 Business Outlook Survey, 90 percent of business owners said New Jersey had not made progress easing regulatory burdens over the past year, while 63 percent said New Jersey was worse than other states when it comes to the cost of regulatory compliance. These were underscored by the hundreds of comments we received from respondents lamenting the regulatory challenges they face in New Jersey.

Murphy also conditionally vetoed A4004/S2410, which would have created the Coronavirus Disease Pandemic Task Force on Racial and Health Disparities.

Murphy returned the bill to the Legislature with recommendations to add additional members to the task force, including representation from the Division on Civil Rights and the Division of Consumer Affairs, both in the Department of Law and Public Safety.

“The COVID-19 pandemic has disproportionately affected our minority and vulnerable communities and we must explore ways to eliminate the existing disparities in health care,” said Murphy. “In order to address this complex public health challenge, we must bring together all of the relevant expertise and perspectives to the table in order to carry out our mission of reaching health care equity. These recommendations are made to further strengthen the bill and help us achieve meaningful reform. I thank the sponsors for supporting these revisions and look forward to signing this bill into law.”

Here are the bills Murphy signed into law on Wednesday:

• A-1070/S-2892 (Jasey, Benson/Pou, T. Kean) – Requires Secretary of Higher Education to develop guidance for institutions of higher education to identify cultural barriers in recruitment and retention of underrepresented students for science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) programs
• A-4461/S-2698 (Lampitt, Jasey, Quijano/Ruiz, Turner) – Requires State to enter into contract and coordinate with certain cooperative purchasing systems for procurement of COVID-19 related goods and services by school districts
• A-4788/S-3044 (Pintor Marin/Ruiz) – Requires transfer of certain escheated civil forfeiture funds from Unclaimed Personal Property Trust Fund to General Fund for appropriation to county prosecutors’ offices

Murphy conditionally vetoed the following bills, which would allow them to be revised:

• ACS for A-4803 and 4811/SCS for S-2991 and 3117 (Sumter, Karabinchak, DeCroce, Spearman, Zwicker/Greenstein, Oroho, Addiego, Pou) – CONDITIONAL - Concerns approval process for personal protective equipment and State stockpiles of personal protective equipment. Copy of Statement.
• A-1229/S-2161 (Schaer, Mosquera, Tucker, Lampitt, Vainieri Huttle, Quijano, Wimberly, Pintor Marin, Jasey/Turner, Singleton) – CONDITIONAL - Requires DCA to make information on homeless prevention programs and services available on its Internet website. Copy of Statement.
• A4004/S2410, which would have created the Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) Pandemic Task Force on Racial and Health Disparities.

Murphy absolute vetoed the following bill:

• A-4810/S-441 (Vainieri Huttle, Murphy/Oroho, Sarlo) – ABSOLUTE - Establishes Government Efficiency and Regulatory Review Commission. Copy of Statement.