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In an interview with on NJ101.5’s Morning Show with Eric Scott, NJBIA Chief Government Affairs Officer Chistopher Emigholz said while he anticipates there will be some pro-business movement in the final FY26 State Budget, improvement needs to be made both in the budget process and the expenditures of pork items.

As of Thursday morning, no legislator had seen a budget bill. The final budget must be agreed upon by the Legislature and Gov. Phil Murphy by Monday, June 30.

“We've seen some details on some of the taxes that Governor Murphy proposed back in February, and so we have a little more clarity there,” Emigholz told Scott. “But until we actually see the final bill and what passes committee, we don't know for sure.

“In terms of the spending that's in this budget bill and, unfortunately, the spending that gets added, we don't know that until the very last second. Sometimes you're working off a score sheet and don't actually have the language of the bill in front of you when these committees have to vote. And that's something that's disappointing.

“I think, to a lot of taxpayers and organizations in Trenton that are on either a right-leaning side and the left-leaning side are equally frustrated with that that lack of transparency.”

Emigholz said there are indications that around half of the Murphy’s proposed $1 billion taxes will not make it to the finish line, including a proposed sales tax expansion.

“We do not need (more taxes), but I also think some of the more onerous taxes, either have been moderated or gone away entirely,” he said.

Emigholz said he was optimistic and pleased that the final budget would include a trio of NJBIA-supported innovation and manufacturing bills.

But he also said he remains concerned about the possibility of extra pork items added to a budget that has grown nearly 67% since Murphy became governor in 2018, particularly as this is an election year for the Assembly.

Emigholz said such lower priority spending items have amounted to billions in extra spending.

“Think about those billions of dollars extra we have right now in our surplus, and our budget would be in a much healthier position if we kind of just all disciplined ourselves and make sure that that extra spending didn't happen,” he said.

To hear the full NJ101.5 interview, click here and scroll to the 49-minute mark.