Trenton took on affordable housing

Apr 08, 2024

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Happy Monday morning!

A major set of affordable housing reforms cleared the Legislature and Gov. Phil Murphy’s desk last month.

It’s been a problem that the Legislature has been trying to solve for over two decades, when the Council on Affordable Housing (COAH) failed to issue a new set of municipal obligations for affordable housing units in 1999. Now, a bill that flew through the Legislature in just a matter of months has sparked optimism for lawmakers and advocates alike.

But the question is whether this quick overhaul will actually lead to more affordable housing getting built in a state where it’s desperately needed.

New Jersey has a deficit of over 200,000 units, according to the National Low Income Housing Coalition, and at the current rate of building, it’ll take around 80 years to fix that. And transparency is a consistent issue — there’s no centralized way to keep track of each town’s obligations and what they’ve actually built.

There’s hope that this bill will solve these problems: It officially abolishes COAH and codifies a consistent methodology for figuring out how much each town is expected to build. “It provides more certainty to everybody, including advocates, municipalities and developers, as to what the rules are,” Adam Gordon, executive director of the Fair Share Housing Center, told POLITICO.

But critics are unconvinced, and some think it will make the problem worse. Michael Edwards, a partner at the Surenian, Edwards, Buzak and Nolan law firm, which has represented towns in affordable housing lawsuits for many years, says the new law is “reckless” and was pushed through the Legislature far too quickly. He criticized the lack of financial analysis, and others have criticized potential environmental concerns, especially in the protected Highlands region of the state.

Both Assembly Speaker Craig Coughlin and Senate President Nick Scutari were sponsors of the bill, which helped to expedite the process of passage. So did the looming 2025 deadline for the next round of housing obligations to be issued, which will serve as the real test of this legislation.

Read more about it here.

TIPS? FEEDBACK? Email me at kdailey@politico.com.

QUOTE OF THE DAY: “A 4.8 magnitude earthquake hit west of Manhattan and has been felt throughout New York.” – N.Y. Gov. Kathy Hochul on X, formerly known as Twitter, who may have forgotten what state is west of Manhattan.

WHERE’S MURPHY? — No public schedule.

A message from Alibaba:

American businesses sold $66B worth of products in 2022 on Alibaba’s online marketplace. New Jersey-based companies such as Phyto-C partner with Alibaba to reach one billion consumers globally. The impact: U.S. sales on Alibaba supported over 10 thousand local jobs and contributed $1.3B to New Jersey's GDP in one year. Explore Alibaba’s local impact.

WHAT TRENTON MADE

THE LINE APPEALS CONTINUE — Middlesex County Democrats have weighed in on the lawsuit seeking to abolish the “county line” in June’s primary, and they’ve turned to a high-profile former Obama attorney to make their case.

In an amicus brief filed Saturday, the Middlesex County Democratic Organization argued that District Court Judge Zahid Quraishi’s order to use office block ballots in the Democratic primary should be reversed. Neal Katyal, a former acting solicitor general in the Obama administration and a frequent guest of cable news, said in the so-called friend of the court brief that New Jersey’s use of the county line “reduces voter confusion and makes voting more efficient by allowing primary voters to easily identify and quickly vote for all candidates belonging to a single political organization or affiliating with a single slogan.”

The county line ballot design lists party-backed candidates in a row or column, whereas block ballots group candidates by the office they are seeking.

Party endorsements also tells voters that the organization’s candidates have been vetted and are aligned with its values. This is particularly important in low-stakes elections, such as ones for county commissioners or clerks, Katyal wrote.

“Political organization endorsement — and, by extension, bracketing on the county line — allow for loyal party members with less time to dedicate to the primary process to know who aligns with their political values in a partisan primary election.”

— Dustin Racioppi

Access New York bill updates and Congressional activity in areas that matter to you, and use our exclusive insights to see what’s on the Albany agenda. Learn more.

BURLINGTON GOP WANTS THE LINE BACK — Burlington County Republicans sue to restore GOP county line for June primary, by POLITICO’s Daniel Han: The Burlington County Republican Committee is suing the county clerk to restore the GOP county line in this year's primary. Burlington County Clerk Joanne Schwartz, a Democrat, decided to use office block ballots for both major parties' primaries after a federal judge issued a preliminary injunction requiring the use of office block ballots for the June elections.

The ruling from the federal judge applied only to the Democratic primary and not the GOP primary, since the plaintiffs who sought the preliminary injunction, Rep. Andy Kim and House candidates Sarah Schoengood and Carolyn Rush, are not Republicans. The decision for the Burlington County Clerk to design ballots in an office block was done Thursday as Kim’s lawsuit against the county line continues. Also on Thursday, all county clerks withdrew their appeal of the preliminary injunction that mandates office block ballots in the June Democratic primary, although the appeal will continue with the Camden County Democratic Committee the only group still appealing it.

A message from Alibaba:

SMOKING IN CASINOS GOES TO COURT — Casino workers take Murphy to court to ban casino smoking, by POLITICO’s Daniel Han: Casino workers are suing Gov. Phil Murphy and state Health Commissioner Kaitlan Baston in an effort to ban smoking inside of Atlantic City’s casinos. The United Auto Workers union and a coalition of casino workers known as CEASE filed the lawsuit on Friday in State Superior Court in Mercer County. Legislation to ban smoking in casinos, S1493, has been proposed since 2006 but has never been approved by the full Legislature. The UAW represents around 3,000 Atlantic City casino workers. UAW President Shawn Fain, who played a key role in the 2023 strike at car manufacturing plants, noted how the state's 2006 Smoke-Free Air Act broadly banned indoor smoking but included a loophole allowing it in casinos.

A message from Alibaba:

New Jersey skin care company Phyto-C grew revenue 600% after launching on Alibaba's online marketplace, which reaches over one billion consumers in China. This small business is among thousands of American brands growing global sales on Alibaba. In New Jersey alone, U.S. sales on Alibaba added $1.3B to the state GDP while supporting over 10 thousand full-time jobs in 2022.

“As a small business, none of this would have been possible without Alibaba. From day one, Alibaba supported our entry into the Chinese market by providing data-driven consumer insights that helped shape our marketing strategy and proactive guidance on supply chain and logistical hurdles,” said Dr. Eddie Omar, CEO of Phyto-C.

Learn more.

BIDEN TIME

THE BUSINESSES LOOKING TO END DANIEL’S LAW — Companies line up to undercut key data privacy law, by POLITICO’s Alfred Ng: A pioneering law in New Jersey that protects the privacy of law enforcement officials could soon come under fire from a coalition of businesses that want to loosen up the new rules, according to an audio recording provided to POLITICO. The Association of National Advertisers hosted a conference call on Feb. 22 to discuss how the industry should respond to Daniel’s Law, a New Jersey data privacy regulation that three other states are also considering. The law allows law enforcement officials such as judges, police officers and prosecutors to request companies stop sharing information such as their home address and phone number. It also allows the officials to sue companies that don’t comply.

LOCAL

LOOK MA, I MADE IT — “High school graduation rate rose in NJ last year,” by NJ Spotlight News’s Colleen O’Dea: “New Jersey’s overall high school graduation rate ticked up last year, but the achievements of some groups of students continued to lag. More than 91% of the class of 2023 graduated within four years, the highest rate since the state implemented the current method of measuring graduation rates in 2011, and a slight increase over 2022. The data comes from the state Department of Education’s latest School Performance Reports, released Wednesday. The proportion of graduates also rose in nearly all of the racial, ethnic groups and other categories tracked by state education officials. Still, the graduation rate for white and Asian students was roughly 10 points higher than for Black or Hispanic seniors last year. Students for whom English is not a first language, those with disabilities and those of lower incomes also graduated at lower rates.”

AC ELECTION GETS TO STAND — "Judge lets Atlantic City election stand, but tells legislature to fix loophole that could lead to fraud," by the New Jersey Globe’s David Wildstein: "Superior Court Judge Michael Blee today denied a nearly year-long bid to invalidate the 2023 Democratic primary for city council in Atlantic City, confirming the re-election of LaToya Dunston and calling for legislative action to remedy flaws in the state’s election laws. Viana Bailey, who lost the primary by six votes, had alleged that votes were cast by people who didn’t live in the city’s second ward and objected to the role of now-indicted former City Council President Craig Calloway as the assister for voters who claimed their disability necessitated his help. “Although the court did not find sufficient evidence to overturn this election, the excessive use and irregularities of disability certificates in this primary election demonstrates a need for legislative action,” Blee wrote in his opinion. “It is clear to this court that the legislative intent of the disability certificate ballot of New Jersey is not being fulfilled."

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