Gov. Murphy signs $50.6 billion budget with property tax relief

The giveback to taxpayers reflects Democrats’ desire to address what they and others call an “affordability crisis” in the state.

Associated Press

June 30, 2022

New Jersey Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy (seated) signs the $50.6 billion fiscal year 2023 budget, Thursday, June 30, 2022, in Cranford, N.J. The bill sets aside $2 billion for property tax relief and carries a nearly $7 billion surplus into the new year. Flanking the governor from left to right are state Treasurer Elizabeth Muoio, Assembly member Eliana Pintor Marin, state Senate Majority Leader Teresa Ruiz, Senate President Nicholas Scutari, Assembly Speaker Craig Coughlin and state Sen. Paul Sarlo. (AP photo/Mike Catalini), (

New Jersey Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy signed a record $50.6 billion budget that pours $2 billion into property tax relief for homeowners and renters and lifts spending 9% over last year.

Murphy signed the spending plan Thursday in Cranford, a suburb with neatly kept yards and handsome single-family homes, just hours ahead of a constitutional deadline to enact a balanced budget.

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The giveback to taxpayers reflects Democrats’ desire to address what they and others call an “affordability crisis” in the state, whose property taxes top most states’ and where typically low gas prices are teetering toward $5 a gallon.

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