| | | | |  | | By Lawrence Ukenye | Good Thursday morning! On Tuesday, Gov. Phil Murphy signed a bill that would modify how the New Jersey Schools Development Authority funds construction projects by allowing charter and renaissance schools to use low-interest loans. To say the SDA has struggled funding construction projects is an understatement. The authority previously said in court filings that it needed $5 billion to renovate or replace aging buildings and a study from the New Jersey Public Charter Schools Association found that $1 billion was needed for charter schools to be “safe and secure.” Despite the authority’s challenges, the Murphy administration has offered several lifelines that have financed construction projects, including an emergency $450 million last September. However, the short-term funding patches are far from what some education advocates say is necessary to renovate aging, overcrowded schools — many of which also lack proper heating and cooling systems. I spoke with Theresa Luhm, attorney and managing director of the Education Law Center — the advocacy group that has pursued litigation against the SDA for more than a decade — and the organization maintains the state must do more to meet the needs of its more than $7 billion portfolio of unfunded projects. “No money is currently available to fund any of these projects, and there is no timeline indicating when any additional projects might advance to construction,” Luhm said in a statement. Read more: Murphy signs bill to retool SDA TIPS? FEEDBACK? Email me at lukenye@politico.com QUOTE OF THE DAY: “I can remember four or five students in particular that literally broke down crying because they couldn’t handle it. The only word I could use is 'withdrawal.' It seemed like it was that emotional. It was that tough at first,” McManus Middle School principal Michael Walters said of students being forced to surrender their phones. HAPPY BIRTHDAY — Bergen County deputy chief of staff Derek Sands, gay rights advocate Corey Bernstein. WHERE’S MURPHY? — In New York City to participate in a discussion hosted by the Municipal Analysts' Group of New York on "New Jersey's Fiscal Turnaround" at noon.
| | | | JOIN 1/31 FOR A TALK ON THE RACE TO SOLVE ALZHEIMER’S: Breakthrough drugs and treatments are giving new hope for slowing neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s disease and ALS. But if that progress slows, the societal and economic cost to the U.S. could be high. Join POLITICO, alongside lawmakers, official and experts, on Jan. 31 to discuss a path forward for better collaboration among health systems, industry and government. REGISTER HERE. | | | | | |  | WHAT TRENTON MADE | | LOOKING BACK ON LAME DUCK — "NJ’s lame-duck rush is traditional. How problematic is it?" by NJ Spotlight News' Colleen O'Dea: "The recently completed lame-duck session of the New Jersey Legislature was the most productive part of the last legislative term, while also being one of the least transparent times for passing bills. As with the last lame-duck session two years ago, legislators introduced hundreds of new bills in the weeks after the November election and end of the 220th Legislature’s term in January. And these newly introduced bills passed in greater numbers during the last seven weeks of the session than others did during the first 22 months of the legislative term. Lawmakers took at least some action on more than 1,000 bills, many during committee hearings and full floor votes that stretched for several hours, some well into the night. Some bills were introduced, amended and placed for a hearing before the public had a chance to see them or know they were being heard. Committee chairs at times limited the amount of time people could speak. Some bills were pulled from consideration at the last minute, after members of the public had spent hours waiting to testify." PAY BUMP — "Murphy signs pay raises for lawmakers, next governor and judges" by POLITICO's Katherine Dailey: Gov. Phil Murphy signed a bill on Tuesday increasing pay for a number of state positions, including lawmakers, judges and the next governor. The bill, NJ A5910/S4266, ups the pay for many elected and appointed state officials and their staff members, some as soon as this year. Proportionally, state lawmakers will see the biggest hike, going from $49,000 per year to $82,000 per year starting in 2026. Judges will see their cost of living increases extended, and those pay hikes are set to be reevaluated annually based on changes in consumer prices. Whoever is elected to the governor’s office in 2025 will see a pay hike as well — the governor and lieutenant governor salaries will each increase from $175,000 to $210,000 at the start of 2026. Gubernatorial cabinet members, excluding Lt. Gov. Tahesha Way, will get the same pay raise this year. TOOTHLESS TRANSIT BOARD — "Legislators tried to give NJ Transit board more teeth. But it seems largely defanged" by Northjersey.com's Colleen Wilson: "The NJ Transit that Gov. Phil Murphy inherited in 2018 had experienced a deadly train crash a few years earlier. Meanwhile, a depleted roster of locomotive engineers had caused an unprecedented number of trains to be canceled. The clock was ticking on a federally mandated safety braking system. And customers had grown more frustrated after facing two fare hikes of 22% and 9% during the prior administration — even as performance declined. Yet key players who enacted a law five years ago to reform the agency and provide more oversight have widely divergent opinions about how successful it has been. The primary author of the NJ Transit Reform Law of 2018, Loretta Weinberg, didn’t give a glowing review."
| | | | YOUR GUIDE TO EMPIRE STATE POLITICS: From the newsroom that doesn’t sleep, POLITICO's New York Playbook is the ultimate guide for power players navigating the intricate landscape of Empire State politics. Stay ahead of the curve with the latest and most important stories from Albany, New York City and around the state, with in-depth, original reporting to stay ahead of policy trends and political developments. Subscribe now to keep up with the daily hustle and bustle of NY politics. | | | | | SMOKE RALLY — "Rally to end casino smoking targets Polistina office" by Atlantic City Press' Michelle Brunetti Post "Saying he still supports their efforts to end indoor smoking in Atlantic City casinos, state Sen. Vince Polistina invited activists to rally inside his office instead of outside in frigid temperatures Wednesday. Members of a local United Auto Workers union representing casino dealers and the group Casino Employees Against Smoking’s Effects were there to tell Polistina how disappointed they were that he is drafting a compromise bill rather than continuing to push for passage of a blanket smoking ban. “You want to build smoking rooms to be staffed by volunteers,” said Pete Naccarelli, a dealer of 27 years who works at Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa. “We are going to be ‘voluntold’ to go in.” — N.J. high court hears case that could lead to limit on non-disparagement agreements — Drivers must move over for disabled vehicles on N.J. highways under new law — More political players can have clout over N.J. weed as Murphy signs top Dem’s fast-tracked bill
| | LOCAL | | STATE OF THE RACE — "Jersey City mayoral race 2025: So far it’s a tale of two fund-raisers" by NJ Advance Media's Joshua Rosario: "Former Gov. Jim McGreevey has raised nearly $900,000 in his 2025 bid for Jersey City mayor, roughly 15 times the the fundraising effort of the only other announced candidate, Hudson County District 2 Commissioner Bill O’Dea. Since announcing in November, McGreevey raised $867,828 in the three months through the filing period that ended this week, mostly from outside of Jersey City, according to contribution and expenditure reports filed with the New Jersey Election Law Enforcement Commission. O’Dea’s mayoral campaign collected $59,254 over roughly that same span." HIGHER ED — "Rutgers lifts suspension of chapter of the Students for Justice in Palestine. Here's why" by Northjersey.com's Hannan Adley: "Rutgers University has lifted the suspension of the Students for Justice in Palestine chapter on its New Brunswick campus and imposed a one-year probation period following an investigation into alleged disruptive behavior. In a statement, Rutgers said the decision was made because "students were protesting in nonpublic forums, causing disruption to classes and University functioning, which are violations of University policy." Students for Justice in Palestine has said that their suspension was imposed "with no due process" and claimed the suspension was an act of "political posturing." "Rutgers, a university that prides itself on diversity, could have supported Palestinian students suffering during this time," a student organizer said. "Instead, our university has chosen to suppress our voices, experiences, and demands." — NJ DOH sent financial monitor notice about CarePoint’s 3 hospitals on Friday
| | EVERYTHING ELSE | | ENDORSEMENT PROBE — "College Democrats ask for inquiry on ‘interference’ in New Jersey Senate endorsement" by POLITICO's Daniel Han: The national Democratic Party’s affiliate overseeing hundreds of college chapters across the country is calling for an inquiry from the Democratic National Committee following a report that its New Jersey chapter was pressured to not endorse Rep. Andy Kim in the state's closely watched U.S. Senate Democratic primary between him and first lady Tammy Murphy. The statement from the College Democrats of America follows a New York Times report claiming a college student who did not work for Murphy — but was in contact with a consultant for Murphy’s campaign and who serves as a youth coordinator for the New Jersey Democratic State Committee — pressured the College Democrats of New Jersey to not endorse Kim. Kim, a third-term member of the House, is Murphy’s chief rival in the Democratic primary. “The allegations of intimidation and interference in the endorsement process are deeply troubling and must be thoroughly investigated,” College Democrats of America spokesperson Aidan DiMarco said in a statement to POLITICO. “We call on the Democratic National Committee to launch an immediate inquiry into what happened between the state party and the Murphy campaign and to take swift action to hold those responsible accountable for their actions.” LAWSUIT — "A New Jersey youth detention center had ‘culture of abuse,’ new lawsuit says" by AP's Mike Catalini "A New Jersey youth detention center let a “culture of abuse,” in which staff sexually abused boys, endure for decades, according to a lawsuit filed Wednesday in state Superior Court by 50 men who lived at the facility. The lawsuit alleges virtually unchecked sexual abuse of the boys housed at the New Jersey Training School in Monroe Township. “For decades, children detained in New Jersey juvenile detention facilities have suffered sexual abuse at the hands of guards, counselors, and other agents of the State, all while Defendant has had knowledge of, and turned a blind eye to, this culture of abuse,” the lawsuit says. ASSAULT ARRESTS — "Feds accuse 3 Passaic County jail guards of beating inmate over urine splash" by Paterson Press' Joe Malinconico: "The FBI arrested three Passaic County sheriff’s officers Wednesday, accusing them of beating a jail detainee in January 2021 as vengeance because the man splashed another guard with urine, officials said. Two of the officers — Jose Gonzalez, 45 and Donald Vinales, 38 — allegedly committed the assault while escorting the handcuffed man from the jail’s medical unit back to his cell, timing the attack while they entered a blind spot not covered by surveillance cameras, according to the United States Attorney’s Office. Gonzalez and Vinales are both sergeants. Three other officers were present for the alleged assault — which sent the detainee to the hospital — but the witness officers did nothing to stop the beating, federal authorities. One of the alleged witnesses, Lorenzo Bowden, 39, has also been charged." — New rule requiring kids to lock cell phones in pouches left some N.J. students in tears | | | | Follow us on Twitter | | | | Subscribe to the POLITICO Playbook family Playbook | Playbook PM | California Playbook | Florida Playbook | Illinois Playbook | Massachusetts Playbook | New Jersey Playbook | New York Playbook | Ottawa Playbook | Brussels Playbook | London Playbook View all our political and policy newsletters | | Follow us | | | | |
