Topic Category: General

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No Data

Exciting news: The Star-Ledger Editorial Board came out in support of keeping the corporate business tax surcharge in place, saying there is no evidence or data to show that it’s hurting the state’s economy. The editorial highlights how this is a tax on profits made in New Jersey, not just on companies headquartered here, undercutting the argument that this is about making the state competitive. NJPP’s Peter Chen is also quoted in the editorial: “The idea that there has been some sort of corporate flight from the scene is just not borne out by the facts.” [NJ.com / Editorial Board]

Possibility

Earlier this week, Senate President Nick Scutari (D-Union) said he’s considering keeping the corporate business tax surcharge, calling it a “possibility.” The comments were in response to a question from a reporter on how the state would pay for a new senior tax credit proposal (more on that below). “It’s good news that lawmakers are reconsidering cutting the corporate tax rate, especially given looming revenue shortfalls in the coming months,” NJPP’s Peter Chen told Politico. “But those funds should go towards the investments that make New Jersey a great place to live and do business, investments that have long been underfunded like New Jersey Transit and public schools.” [Politico / Daniel Han]

Seniors

Assembly Speaker Craig Coughlin (D-Middlesex) unveiled a new senior tax credit proposal this week — and Governor Murphy has already said he’s opposed to it and would even shut the state down over it. Why? The proposal, while well-intentioned, would target benefits to the wealthiest seniors in the state and leave many low-income seniors with nothing. Here’s how it works: The bill would create a new program, StayNJ, that would provide seniors with a tax credit worth 50 percent of their property tax bill, with credits capped at $10,000. NJPP’s Peter Chen did a quick analysis of the bill and found four major issues: there’s no income limit on eligibility, more expansive homes get higher credits, renters are excluded entirely, and, because the credit isn’t targeted, it would come at an enormous cost to the state just as revenue collections are coming in lower than expected. [NJ.com / Derek Hall]

Zero

NJ Transit’s transition to zero-emission electric buses is facing a major obstacle: zero dedicated funds for the chronically underfunded transit agency. While the state has cobbled together funds from the federal government and the Volkswagen emissions settlement to pilot some electric buses in Camden, the state has little to no funding to upgrade existing garages so they can store and charge new electric buses (that the state will also have to purchase). The transition to electric buses “requires sustainable and dependable funding,” said Mark Tuozzolo, NJ Transit’s acting senior director of capital planning. Needless to say, this is just one of many examples of the types of public infrastructure projects that could be funded if the state didn’t give the wealthiest corporations or homeowners a big tax cut. [NorthJersey.com / Colleen Wilson]

ICYMI

NJPP’s first-ever Budget & Brews happy hour is this upcoming Thursday in Trenton! Join your favorite policy wonks and special guest Pat Garofalo, author of The Billionaire Boondoggle, for a night of hot takes and cold drinks. Tickets are free, registration is required. [NJPP / Budget & Brews]

TikToks of NJPP

We are the … 4 percent? A new poll by Rutgers finds that only 4 percent of New Jersey residents know about the state budget (it also shows that keeping the corporate business tax surcharge is more popular than the governor). In a new TikTok about the poll, NJPP’s Erica Boland steps out from behind the camera to break down why the budget is important — and what’s at stake. [NJPP]

Have a fact or figure for us? Tweet it to @NJPolicy. 

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$2.2 Billion

New Jersey’s revenue collections will take a $2.2 billion hit through the end of the next fiscal year, according to new estimates by the State Treasurer released earlier this week. The lower forecast includes $1.2 billion less for the current fiscal year that ends June 30, and $1 billion less in the upcoming year. This will make it harder for lawmakers to balance the budget, maintain a healthy surplus, and continue investments in education, infrastructure, and so much more. While the Treasurer delivered the bad news to lawmakers, workers and advocates from For The Many NJ rolled out a 500-plus foot tarp outside the State House to symbolize profits made by big corporations that would benefit from the proposed $1 billion corporate tax cut. [NJ.com / Derek Hall]

Win-Win

In an op-ed that ran earlier this week, Jersey City Mayor Steven Fulop came out in full support of keeping the Corporate Business Tax surcharge, saying it’s not nice to have but necessary to fund investments in public infrastructure and programs we all rely on. Mayor Fulop points out that big, multi-national corporations would benefit from the proposed corporate tax cut, not Mom-and-Pop shops, and that businesses are doing fine with the tax in place: “The CBT has been a win-win as corporate citizenship should be a two-way street — if you are making enormous profits from doing business in our state, you should be helping to pay for the schools, buses, and houses that those residents need.” [NJ.com / Steven Fulop]

$700 Million

New York recently expanded its film tax credit program, raising individual incentive amounts and increasing the overall program to $700 million a year. Lawmakers across the river are now considering expanding New Jersey’s tax credit program to compete, the latest move in a race to the bottom where Hollywood studios win and the rest of us lose. Study after study shows that film tax credits do not generate the jobs and economic growth they promise — but they do come at a real cost to the state. “In order to keep up you have to give away more and more,” said NJPP’s Peter Chen. [NorthJersey.com / Daniel Munoz]

$10 Million

Legislation to fund community crisis response teams advanced through the Assembly Public Safety Committee earlier this week. The bill would allocate $10 million to fund teams trained to defuse mental health crises and connect residents to the care they need. The bill — sponsored by Assemblymembers Spearman (D-Camden), Sumter (D-Passaic), and Reynolds-Jackson (D-Mercer) — was introduced in March after Paterson police shot and killed Najee Seabrooks while he was experiencing a mental health crisis. Bre Azañedo of Black Lives Matter-Paterson testified in support of the bill, highlighting the very real dangers of armed police responding to emergencies they are not equipped to respond to. ​​“It has been proven time and time again that when Black and brown people call the police, we are putting ourselves at risk,” Azañedo said. [NJ Monitor / Dana DiFilippo]

ICYMI

NJPP’s Alex Ambrose joined Chat Box with David Cruz to break down why congestion pricing is a good thing — and how we will all benefit from less air pollution and less traffic. Alex also made an important point that a *very* small percentage of commuters who drive into downtown Manhattan will pay the congestion tax, and that the best thing New Jersey can do to respond is to invest in NJ Transit. The clip starts at 8:53. [NJ Spotlight News / David Cruz]

TikToks of NJPP

In a new TikTok, Alex Ambrose takes us on a tour of a new electric bus garage and charging station in Camden. Click the link for a recap of Alex’s trip, from her morning coffee to a tour of the garage to a ride on a new electric bus! [NJPP]

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51,000

The construction of new affordable homes in New Jersey doubled after enforcement of the state’s Mount Laurel doctrine shifted to court settlements in 2015, according to a new report from Fair Share Housing Center. The report highlights New Jersey and its Mount Laurel doctrine — a legal framework stemming from a series of state Supreme Court decisions that mandate each town provide a “fair share” of affordable housing to combat segregation — as a national model for other states to follow. Between 2015 and 2022 alone, New Jersey built 22,000 affordable homes to house an estimated 51,000 residents. [NorthJersey.com / Ashley Balcerzak]

Newark

On Sunday, Newark Mayor Ras Baraka came out against a plan to cut New Jersey’s corporate tax rate, saying the state has pressing needs that could be funded with revenue from the Corporate Business Tax surcharge. “We need as many resources as we can get, and those who have should pay,” Mayor Baraka said at a rally organized by Make the Road NJ. “What’s ironic is that the governor knows this. At one point he agreed with this. And so we have to continue to get him to agree with it even on his way out the door.” [Politico / Matt Friedman]

NJ Transit

At a budget hearing earlier this week, state lawmakers said it’s unlikely that NJ Transit will get a dedicated source of funding in next year’s budget, even though the transit agency faces substantial budget shortfalls in coming years. Senator Pat Diegnan (D-Middlesex), chair of the Transportation Committee, said raising fairs would be “the worst solution” given the impact it would have on low-income residents. Advocates, lawmakers, and transit officials have floated other options, such as extending the Corporate Business Tax surcharge on the most profitable businesses. Like we always say, budgets are about priorities — so do lawmakers prioritize multinational corporations like Amazon and Walmart, or working families who rely on NJ Transit to get around? [NJ Monitor / Nikita Biryukov]

Jersey City

In an interview with Politico, Jersey City Mayor and newly announced gubernatorial candidate Steven Fulop came out in support of raising the state’s minimum wage higher than $15 an hour to help low-paid workers keep up with rising prices. This shouldn’t come as a surprise: Jersey City was the first municipality in New Jersey to raise its own minimum wage to $15 back in 2016, and the city raised the minimum pay for municipal workers to $20 last year. Here’s what NJPP’s Peter Chen had to say about the idea: “Aiming for $20, and maybe even above, is a reasonable push. But I think eliminating the exemptions is just as important because there are so many groups that are carved out and so many wages that are depressed.” [Politico / Dustin Racioppi]

5 Percent

All but five percent of New Jersey police departments are violating a state attorney general directive to make it easier for residents to report police misconduct. According to a new report by the state Comptroller, most police departments fail to post complaint forms online, while others post them with warnings intended to discourage civilians from filing reports. In an interview with NJ Spotlight News, NJPP’s Marleina Ubel highlighted how these warnings act as a deterrent and should be removed: “These kinds of warnings are in direct violation of the internal affairs policies and procedures set by the Office of the Attorney General.” [NJ Spotlight News / Brenda Flanagan]

ICYMI

Join your favorite policy wonks in Trenton on June 1 for a budget-themed happy hour: Budget & Brews! Admission is free, but registration is required. Reserve a spot by clicking the link! [NJPP / Budget & Brews]

Pets of NJPP

The Pets of NJPP are now on TikTok! Earlier this week, Erica’s cat Beaker recorded a video for us to highlight how CEOs earn 351 times more than their average workers. [NJPP]

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Worst

New Jersey has some of the worst air quality in the nation, according to the latest State of the Air report by the American Lung Association. Bergen and Mercer Counties received ‘F’ ratings in the report, while Camden County’s ‘D’ rating is among the worst in the Philadelphia region. Exposure to air pollution and smog can cause asthma, heart disease, strokes, and cancer. As NJPP’s Alex Ambrose told The Star-Ledger, the biggest driver of air pollution in New Jersey is the transportation sector, underscoring the urgent need to promote mass transit and electric vehicles. More on both of those below. [NJ.com / Steven Rodas]

$1 Billion

NJ Transit is expecting a $1 billion budget shortfall by 2026, and all options are on the table to resolve it, according to state Transportation Commission Diane Gutierrez-Scaccetti. If that sounds bad, that’s because it is. “All options” includes fare increases and service cuts, which would result in longer and more expensive commutes, and more cars on the road. Two NJ Transit board members, Shanti Narra and Bob Gordon, have called on lawmakers to provide the agency with dedicated funding so the budget isn’t balanced on the backs of commuters. This echoes calls from transit and environmental advocates, who have been sounding the alarm on the need for consistent, dedicated funding for years. Oh, and note that the $1 billion shortfall is almost exactly the same size as the corporate tax cut lawmakers want to include in next year’s budget. [NorthJersey.com / Colleen Wilson]

$35 Million

Now for some electric vehicle news: The state’s electric vehicle incentive program, Charge Up New Jersey, was put on pause this week as the program has exhausted its $35 million budget for the year. This is a testament to the success of the program and increasing electric vehicle sales. Still, electric vehicles only made up eight percent of new car sales in 2022, a rate that must grow — and fast — for the state to meet its goal of 100 percent clean energy by 2035. [ROI-NJ / Linda Lendner]

2035

The Editorial Board at The Star-Ledger is calling on the Murphy administration to move faster and adopt the Advance Clean Cars II rules, which would require all new cars and light-duty truck sales to be zero-emission by 2035. Because the rule-making process can take months, the state risks missing another model year of implementation if the rules are not introduced by late Spring. Further delay would also make it less likely that New Jersey will meet its clean energy goals. “[W]hen it comes to doing our part in cooling the climate, time is a luxury we can no longer afford.” [The Star-Ledger / Editorial Board]

4.6 Million

Speaking of rules … On Monday, the state’s Environmental Justice Rules were finalized and adopted, creating some of the strongest safeguards in the nation against pollution for residents in “overburdened” communities. The rules require permits for pollution-generating facilities (e.g., power plants, incinerators, sewage treatment plants, landfills) to be denied if they disproportionately harm residents in overburdened communities. More than 340 municipalities — home to over 4.6 million people — are considered overburdened based on the number of low-income residents, people of color, and people for whom English is not their first language. The only open question is whether the new rules will apply to proposals and permits that predate its adoption. [NJ.com / Steven Rodas]

ICYMI

We’re looking for an Operations and Finance Manager — could that be you? Click the link for more information, and please share this with anyone you think may be interested. [NJPP / Career Opportunities]

Pets of NJPP

Sticking with the Earth Day theme, here’s a picture of a weird looking dog fox from NJPP’s environment and transit analyst, Alex Ambrose. The fox, while not a pet, frequently visits Alex’s backyard to soak up the afternoon sun. Woof?

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9,000

On Monday, more than 9,000 Rutgers University faculty and graduate student workers went on strike — the first in the university’s history — after working nearly a year without a contract. The strike is not only about better pay, benefits, job security, and housing but the “corporatization” of the university, as Charles Stile of The Record outlines here, where more of the workload is given to untenured, part-time staff and adjuncts. Governor Murphy suggested that additional state funding could help Rutgers meet the workers’ demands, but some lawmakers were quick to criticize that idea, even though Rutgers is the state’s flagship university and has been consistently underfunded over the last two decades. It’s worth noting that lawmakers never restored higher education funding after Governor Christie cut it to the bone a decade ago. Instead, lawmakers are prioritizing multiple corporate tax cuts that will cost the state more than $1 billion every single year. [NJ Monitor / Dana DiFilippo]

2

New Jersey received two credit rating upgrades this week, one from Fitch and another from Moody’s. These upgrades recognize New Jersey’s improving finances and lawmakers’ commitment to fully funding the state’s pension obligation and paying off debt. Make no mistake, this is a testament to the success of increasing taxes on millionaires and big corporations, as the state would not have the resources to fully fund the pension or pay off debt without these tax policies. If lawmakers move forward with new corporate tax cuts, they will undermine the biggest driver of revenue growth, risking the future health of the state’s finances, the pension fund, and so much more. [NJ Spotlight New / John Reitmeyer]

50

Starting this week, workers in New Jersey have new protections against mass layoffs. The new law, inspired by Toys R Us laying off roughly 2,000 workers in 2017 after they filed for bankruptcy, guarantees one week of severance pay for every year of service when a company with 100 or more employees lays off 50 or more workers. This is meant to not only support workers but stop corporations and hedge funds from exploiting bankruptcy laws to pad their profits at their workers’ expense. “The workers were left in the dark and cheated out of deserved compensation while the companies were pillaged for their resources. The law will help protect the rights of the workers from these abuses.” said bill sponsor Senator Joe Cryan (D-Union). [NorthJersey.com / Daniel Munoz]

10 Billion

Some clean energy news: A new proposal by the EPA would require a significant reduction in tailpipe emissions, a move projected to eliminate 10 billion tons of carbon dioxide emissions through 2055. While the rule is not prescriptive on how to reduce emissions, it should accelerate the transition to electric vehicles. New Jersey can help with this transition by adopting the Advanced Clean Cars II initiative, which would require all new cars sold in the state to be electric by 2035. The clean cars proposal is currently stalled, and environmental advocates are calling on the Murphy administration to implement it before the end of the year. [NJ Spotlight News / Tom Johnson]

59 Percent

New Jersey’s prison population is half of what it was ten years ago thanks to criminal justice reform — and crime hasn’t risen as a result. However, racial disparities remain as Black people make up 59 percent of the prison population despite accounting for only 15 percent of the state population. These disparities could get worse if new “tough-on-crime” bills are signed into law, perpetuating mass incarceration without getting to the root causes of crime. “It’s astounding,” said NJPP’s Marleina Ubel. “[I]t seems like we’re going to be moving backwards.” [NJ Monitor / Sophie Nieto-Muñoz]

ICYMI

NJPP is looking for a rockstar Finance and Operations Manager! Think you or someone you know has what it takes to make sure NJPP’s future growth is successfully and sustainably managed? Learn more by clicking the link..[NJPP / Career Opportunities]

Pets of NJPP

Matisse still thinks he’s a baby and that Erica’s footstool is just for him. But, as you can see by the catnip banana provided for scale, he is actually a pretty big boy. Meow!

Have a fact or figure for us? Tweet it to @NJPolicy. 

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Whales

Opponents of clean energy have used every excuse in the book to stop offshore wind development. Their latest tactic? Falsely blaming recent whale deaths on offshore wind — despite no evidence to support those claims. In a new article breaking down the history of offshore wind development and its detractors, NJPP’s Alex Ambrose points out that correlation does not equal causation: “For decades, it’s been noted that when ice cream sales increase, so do shark attacks. But there is correlation and there is causation.” [NJ.com / Steven Rodas and Ted Sherman]

$4 Billion

New Jersey’s finances are improving, according to newly released state data, and that’s a direct result of the state paying off debt and making full pension payments under the Murphy administration. In 2022, for example, the state saw a $4 billion drop in total bonded debt following a big increase in the previous fiscal year. Make no mistake, these payments would not have been possible without revenue from policies like the millionaires’ tax and Corporate Business Tax surcharge. These gains are under threat, however, if lawmakers choose to cut taxes for the state’s biggest and wealthiest corporations. [NJ Spotlight News / John Reitmeyer]

Shortage

New Jersey still has a shortage of teachers — though the size and scope of the shortage remain unclear despite a recent law requiring annual reports on teacher staffing levels. An NJPP report released last year found that the number of teacher candidates has steadily declined since the Great Recession, reaching a 20-year-low in 2019, the latest year data was available. With lawmakers brainstorming ways to address the shortfall, NJPP’s Mark Weber warns not to overlook straightforward solutions like increased teacher pay. “You need to pay them competitive wages, and that starts with making sure school districts have enough resources to pay those wages, not in terms of competing against each other but competing against the broader labor market,” said Mark Weber. [NJ Monitor / Nikita Biryukov]

38 Percent

The “party line” on New Jersey’s primary ballots is a major barrier to women’s representation in the Legislature, writes Debbie Walsh, Director of the Rutgers Center for American Women and Politics. Only 38 percent of candidates on the party line in this year’s upcoming legislative races are women — and less than half of these candidates are running in a district where their party currently holds office. “When we New Jerseyans look at the stew of backrooms, horse-trading, and diner-booth deals that comprise the reality of our political system, shouldn’t we ask of ourselves — is there a better way?” [New Jersey Globe / Debbie Walsh]

2

In non-New Jersey news: On Thursday, Tennessee Republicans expelled two Black Democratic lawmakers from the General Assembly — Representatives Justin Jones and Justin Pearson — for their participation in a peaceful protest in support of gun law reform. Republicans in the Assembly also voted to expel Democratic Rep. Gloria Johnson, who is white, but fell one vote short. This unprecedented move stripped more than 200,000 residents of Tennessee of their elected representation. “What is happening here today is a farce of democracy,” said Rep. Jones on the Assembly floor. “What we see today is a lynch mob assembled to not lynch me, but our democratic process.” [The Tennessean / Melissa Brown]

ICYMI

NJPP is hiring! Are you an operations and finance extraordinaire? Is advancing racial, economic, and social justice in public policy through evidence-based research your jam? Do you want to work with the greatest staff in the state? (NJPP President Nicole Rodriguez’s words, not ours.) If you answered yes to the above, apply for our Operations and Finance Manager position by clicking the link. [NJPP / Career Opportunities]

Pets of NJPP

This is Phil, the coworking kitty of Erica’s sister, Alex. Phil loves playing fetch, trying to steal hair ties from your wrist, and saying hello to neighbors as they walk by the window. Meow!

Have a fact or figure for us? Tweet it to @NJPolicy. 

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$1 Billion

New Jersey is projected to collect $1 billion less revenue through the end of the next fiscal year than the Murphy administration is forecasting, according to the non-partisan Office of Legislative Services. These projections mirror those in other states showing strong revenue collections from the last few years were temporary, highlighting the need for states to be strengthening their tax bases — not cutting taxes for big, multinational corporations as Governor Murphy proposed in his budget. This $1 billion drop in revenue is also the same amount of revenue New Jersey would lose every year by cutting the corporate tax rate — go figure! [NJ Spotlight News / John Reitmeyer]

$10 Trillion

On the federal level, a new report finds that tax cuts for wealthy individuals and profitable corporations — not spending increases — are primarily responsible for federal debt. Since 2001, the Bush tax cuts and Trump tax cuts added $10 trillion to the federal debt, and without these tax cuts, revenues would be on track to keep pace with spending indefinitely. Remember this the next time business lobbyists (or the “think tanks” they fund) say that cutting taxes for corporations will lead to more tax revenue. [Center for American Progress / Bobby Kogan]

3

Earlier this week, lawmakers in both chambers passed legislation to increase caps on campaign donations, limit investigations of campaigns, and gut local pay-to-play ordinances — a bill ironically named the Election Transparency Act. In response to the bill’s passing, all three commissioners of the New Jersey Election Law Enforcement Commission (ELEC) resigned in protest, saying the legislation would take away the agency’s independence and remove its ability to enforce campaign finance laws. “If this bill passes, the biggest donors, the biggest business interests are going to have even more control over what is going on in our daily lives,” said Arati Kreibich, Director of Democracy Organizing at the New Jersey Working Families Alliance. [NJ Monitor / Nikita Biryukov]

225,000

New Jersey is short 225,000 affordable housing units, according to a new report by the National Low Income Housing Coalition. The report found that for every 100 extremely low-income renters in the state, there are only 31 affordable apartments available to them. This problem is exacerbated by skyrocketing rent prices, which have increased more than 20 percent in most counties since the start of the pandemic. “There’s been more investment than ever before to create the affordable homes our state needs,” said Staci Berger, president and CEO of the Housing and Community Development Network of New Jersey. “Now is not the time to take our foot off the gas pedal.” [NJ.com / Camille Furst]

ICYMI

In a new op-ed in The Star-Ledger, a Bergen County teacher highlights how the mass exodus of teachers — not ChatGPT and AI — is one of the biggest threats to public education. Citing an NJPP report on the state’s teacher shortage, Ahlam Yassin highlights how the number of teacher candidates graduating from New Jersey colleges is less than half of what it was a few years ago. [NJ.com / Ahlam Yassin]

Pets of NJPP

Sorry, no pet picture this week! Want your pet featured? Shoot me an email with a photo and some fun facts: dipaolo@njpp.org.

Have a fact or figure for us? Tweet it to @NJPolicy. 

Friday Facts and Figures is a weekly newsletter with data points, analysis, and commentary on the biggest policy debates in New Jersey and beyond.
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55 Percent

Paterson police disproportionately use force against Black people, according to a new analysis of statewide data by NJ Spotlight News. Between October 2020 and February of this year, 55 percent of reported use of force — including takedowns, kicks and punches, and use of pepper spray and firearms — involved a Black person, even though a mere 23 percent of city residents are Black. Since 2015, Paterson police have shot and killed more people than any other police force in the state other than Newark. In the wake of the tragic police killing of Najee Seabrooks, community groups and social justice advocates have called for a federal investigation of the Paterson police department. [NJ Spotlight News / Colleen O’Dea]

1

North Jersey is the most competitive rental market in the country, according to a new analysis released last week. The study found that the North Jersey region — including 145 municipalities across Bergen, Essex, Hudson, and Passaic Counties — has an occupancy rate of nearly 97 percent, with an estimated 72 percent of renters renewing their leases. Remember this the next time someone cites a random moving company as “proof” that people are fleeing the state. This isn’t all good news, however, as the lack of housing supply has driven up rent prices, stretching budgets thin. [NorthJersey.com / Daniel Munoz]

Working Moms

State lawmakers should prioritize policies that benefit working families, like expanding the Child Tax Credit, instead of giving a $1 billion tax cut to corporations like Amazon and Walmart, writes Mariela Silva, a member of Make the Road New Jersey and working mom who benefitted from the new state-level credit passed last year. While Governor Murphy’s budget proposal would double the existing credit for children under six, it does not expand eligibility to children up to 11 years old, as proposed earlier this year by Assemblywoman Verlina Reynolds-Jackson. Legislators can still choose to expand eligibility in their budget proposal, but that will be difficult if they also choose to blow a billion-dollar hole in the budget by cutting the corporate tax rate. [Insider NJ / Mariela Silva]

1,000

New Jersey has more than 1,000 miles of freight rail lines where trains carry hazardous and volatile materials past homes, schools, parks, and Main Streets across the state. Want to know what they’re carrying? Good luck — it’s a secret, and this lack of transparency leaves local governments, first responders, and residents unprepared for rail catastrophes like the recent derailment in East Palestine. And it’s not a matter of if a derailment will happen, but when: New Jersey has averaged four train accidents per month over the last four years. [NJ Monitor / Dana DiFilippo]

ICYMI

Earlier this week, lawmakers quietly introduced a bill that would radically transform New Jersey’s corporate business tax code and give another big tax cut to multi-national corporations. Specifically, the bill would open up new loopholes that will make it much easier for corporations to off-shore their profits to international tax havens. We’re working on an analysis breaking this all down, but in the meantime check out this thread for more info. [Twitter / Louis Di Paolo]

Pets of NJPP

Here’s a picture of my cat, Mau, trying to break into a box of treats. Could you imagine if cats had thumbs? Meow!

Have a fact or figure for us? Tweet it to @NJPolicy. 

Friday Facts and Figures is a weekly newsletter with data points, analysis, and commentary on the biggest policy debates in New Jersey and beyond.
Sign up here.

911

On Thursday, the Office of the Attorney General released body camera footage from the police killing of Najee Seabrooks, a violence intervention specialist in Paterson who called 911 for help while experiencing a mental health emergency. The chilling video clips show heavily armed officers negotiating with Najee, trying to lure him outside of the bathroom he locked himself in, with their guns drawn and pointed at him. Minutes after officers told Najee that they weren’t going to shoot him, they opened fire and shot him dead. In response to the footage, advocates and policy experts across the state have called for an overhaul of how mental health crises are handled — highlighting how this tragedy is a symptom of a bigger, systemic policy failure. “What outcome should we expect when someone in crisis is met with police armed for war with their guns drawn?” said NJPP President Nicole Rodriguez. “Our system failed Najee, just as it continues to fail our Black and brown neighbors who put their lives in jeopardy when they call 911 for help.” [WHYY / Tennyson Donyea]

1,700

In an op-ed published Wednesday, Zellie Thomas of Black Lives Matter Paterson called on state lawmakers to divert mental health crisis calls away from police and toward trained mental health professionals. The evidence that the police killing of Najee isn’t an isolated incident? Since 2016, more than 1,700 people were killed by police while experiencing a mental health emergency, according to a Washington Post database. In successful alternative response programs across the country — including the Paterson Healing Collective that Najee was a member of — trained professionals and EMTs provide immediate assistance to people experiencing mental health crises and other non-emergency situations, significantly reducing the number of arrests and hospitalizations. By removing police from mental health crisis responses, New Jersey can save lives and connect people to the care and support they need. [NJ Monitor / Zellie Thomas]

Fees

There is one area where New Jersey is leading the way in criminal justice reform: Eliminating public defender fees. Governor Murphy’s new budget proposal includes funding for the Office of the Public Defender that would eliminate public defender fees and make sure the constitutional right to legal counsel is no longer behind a paywall. Currently, New Jersey residents can be charged thousands of dollars for a public defender — even if they establish they cannot afford an attorney — which can influence how they navigate the legal system. Fully funding public defenders comes at a minuscule cost (less than one one-hundredth of 1 percent of the state budget, to be exact!) while going a long way toward advancing equity in and out of the justice system. [Center on Budget and Policy Priorities / Mike Mitchell]

11.4 Percent

Grocery prices rose by 11.4 percent last year, the highest yearly percent change since 1974, according to new data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Companies are publicly blaming rising prices on inflation, wages, and supply chain issues — but their balance sheets say otherwise. “Corporate profits have hit their highest level ever, and corporate profit margins — how much they’re making on each unit that they’re selling — have hit the highest level in 70 years,” said Chris Becker, Senior Economist at the Groundwork Collaborative. It’s worth noting that these mega-corporations raking in record profits by price-gouging consumers are the same ones that would benefit from the $1 billion corporate tax cut in Governor Murphy’s proposed budget. [Vox / Whizy Kim]

Temporary

Most states, including New Jersey, collected way more tax revenue than expected over the last two years, but new fiscal data shows that this surge in revenue is likely temporary. Even so, lawmakers in many states, including New Jersey, are proposing large tax cuts that they may not be able to afford. If tax collections dip over the next year, states may have to use their reserves — if they have any — or cut public services and programs to balance their budgets. This is all the more reason for New Jersey to keep its Corporate Business Tax surcharge, and for lawmakers to build up a healthy surplus in next year’s budget. [Tax Policy Center / Lucy Dadayan]

ICYMI

Earlier today, the ACLU of New Jersey raised concerns with the Office of the Attorney General’s statement describing the body cam footage of Najee Seabrooks: “Using words like ‘lunge’ to describe Mr. Seabrooks’ last movements undermine the purpose of the [independent prosecutor] law by swaying the narrative, undercut the role of grand juries, and diminish the public confidence in the independence of the process,” said ACLU-NJ Legal Director Jeanne LoCicero. [ACLU of New Jersey]

Pets of NJPP

Meet Julie Borst’s 8-month-old Retriever-Hound mix, Rosie! She’s got lots of puppy curiosity and loves her new “big brother” Max. She’s still learning to walk on a leash and slowly adjusting to life in the suburbs after being fostered on a farm. She’s super sweet and loves a good belly rub and a cuddle. Woof!

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