Governor Murphy’s Re-Election Year Budget Has Me Missing Chris Christie

Governor Phil Murphy

I miss Chris Christie! There, I said it!

It’s true that I’ve had my fair share of disagreements with former Governor Chris Christie. I won’t rehash those disagreements here, but I will say this: Chris Christie was a better governor than Phil Murphy.

It’s Governor Murphy’s re-election year budget that has me missing Christie. Murphy had no problem raising taxes and/or fees in his first three budgets, but now, up for re-election, he has introduced a budget with no tax increases.

No tax increases sounds good…until you look at the numbers.

Looking at the numbers I think Regina Egea of Garden State Initiative explained it best. According to The Center Square:

Garden State Initiative (GSI) President Regina M. Egea echoed that sentiment, saying incorporating “billions in borrowing and federally funded one-time infusions of cash as the basis for a budget bodes poorly for all New Jerseyans in the very near future.”

“As has been reported elsewhere that the state is suddenly flush with cash, New Jersey residents should ask themselves: ‘When was the last time you remember taxes actually going down?’” Egea said in a statement. “Unless there’s more borrowing or further federal bailouts, get ready New Jersey, you just got stuck with the bill. Make no mistake, your taxes just went up.”

Basically, Murphy’s re-election year no tax increase budget is nothing but smoke and mirrors. Spending is going up again!

Phil Murphy has forced me to agree with Chris Christie!

Elections do have consequences!

And, thanks to all those people who sat on their butts and did not vote in 2017 because Kim Guadagno wasn’t conservative enough, we are all going to be screwed with a big tax increase next year because of this re-election year budget.

Remember that time state Senator Michael Testa said, “Governor Murphy’s giving the taxpayers a middle finger.”?

Testa was right, and soon we’re all going to know it!

Your Kid Can Drink Beer And Smoke Pot And The Cops Can’t Tell You

Once upon a time a long time ago as a teenager the cops brought me home to my mom drunk. They didn’t bring me home as a way for me to avoid punishment, they knew my mom’s punishment would be worse than anything law enforcement would do. Punish me she did! And, she waited until the next morning while I was suffering one of the earliest hangovers I can remember to deliver my well-deserved ass-beating.

Thanks to the New Jersey Legislature passing a marijuana cleanup bill and Governor Phil Murphy signing everything that needed to be signed no kid will ever be delivered an ass-beating for being brought home by the cops drunk (or high) again.

16-year-olds are now safe to hide in the shadows next to the liquor store and wait until they see some random dude they think looks cool enough that they can talk him into going in the store and buy them beer or hard liquor and even buy a joint from the guy.

The new law is clear: your kid has to get caught with weed, hash or booze TWICE before the cops can notify a parent.

State Senator Michael Testa was right when he said in a press release yesterday:

“Parents are hauled down to the police station if they let their 8-year-old walk to the park alone, but Democrats apparently think they shouldn’t even be notified if the same child is caught by police smoking pot or drinking alcohol,” said Testa (R-1). “It’s absolute insanity to say that parents don’t have a right to know.”

Testa hit the nail on the head referring to the new law as “absolute insanity” and to make matters worse, cops can’t do their jobs when it comes to underaged drug use and drinking. From the New Jersey State PBA Facebook Page:

The State Legislature this morning passed legislation to formally legalize the use of marijuana in accordance with the Constitutional Amendment that passed in November. Unfortunately, the legislation was amended with language that contains severe penalties on law enforcement officers who attempt to use the odor or possession of marijuana AND alcoholic beverages as a reason to stop and search minors to enforce the law. We are urging every member of law enforcement to avoid approaching people with marijuana until a proper legal analysis and direction can be developed once this law is signed by the Governor.

All the cops can do the first time your kid is caught with weed or drinking is write them a warning. They cannot tell the parents until the kid is caught a second time. It’s ridiculous.

Here’s a little more of what the State PBA had to say:

The legislation is treacherous to you because it creates a penalty of 3rd Degree Deprivation of Civil Rights if an officer uses the odor or possession of marijuana or alcoholic beverages as the reason for initiating an investigatory stop of a person. The new law states a law enforcement officer can not use the odor of marijuana or alcohol as reasonable articulable suspicion to initiate an investigatory stop. The new law states a minor CAN NOT consent to be searched and that a law enforcement officer no longer has probable cause to search a minor for illegally using marijuana or alcohol. And if an officer violates a minor’s rights by using pot or alcohol as the reason for a search then the officer will be charged with deprivation of civil rights.

This bill dangerously ties your hands. It establishes penalties of only warnings for illegal use by minors of marijuana or alcohol BUT it essentially prevents an officer from even approaching a person suspected of being a minor. Absent the commission of another crime or clear legal guidance officers are being forced to ask themselves if writing a warning is worth risking being accused and charged with a 3rd degree crime? The mere smell of marijuana and its use in your presence will no longer be grounds to search an individual.

Some are thinking I probably shouldn’t care about any of this. Well, I’m a grandfather now, so I do care. If I’m still alive in 15 years I don’t want my granddaughter thinking it’s okay to go out, buy some weed and walk down the street smoking a joint.

I can hear those same people saying, “It’s just pot.”

I’m not going to lie, I have smoked pot and I did more than just experiment. Experience tells me pot is a gateway drug. I know there is no way that in my younger ears I would have ever dropped acid or snorted a few lines of coke or popped black beauties if I had not smoked pot. It was the folks I got the pot from or smoked the weed with who introduced me to the coke, speed and acid.

But pot is legal! That’s a stupid argument because even in 15 years it will not be legal for my granddaughter to walk into a weed store and buy it. She will have to buy pot from the local dealer which has the potential to lead to experimenting with other drugs.

While I really don’t care what an adult does with weed the way legalization treats use by minors is wrong.

I worry about my nephews, both of whom are about to get their drivers licenses. I know my brother and sister keep a close eye on their kids but you can’t keep an eye on them 24-7. Hopefully, my nephews just say no.

PRESS RELEASE: Associated Builders and Contractors New Jersey Chapter Issues Statement On Passing Of Bill S-3414

The New Jersey Senate voted today to add even more costs to “public work projects.” Associated Builders and Contractors New Jersey (ABC NJ) issued a statement on the matter today. Their statement follows:

Today, the New Jersey Senate voted to pass Bill S-3414, which revises the “public work projects” definition to permit government-mandated project labor agreements on additional categories of jobs, by a vote of 29-6. Under the existing Project Labor Agreement Act, if a public works contract is for the construction, reconstruction, demolition, or renovation of buildings over $5 million, it is subject to a government-mandated Project Labor Agreement (PLA). S-3414 legislation will extend the PLA requirement to any public works contract exceeding $5 million.

A PLA is a project-specific collective bargaining agreement unique to the construction industry. Typically, PLAs force contractors to recognize unions as the representatives of their employees on a given project, discouraging merit shop contractors from bidding on taxpayer-funded construction activities. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (2019), only 17.8 % of New Jersey’s private construction workforce is represented by a union.

“The expansion of PLAs will directly and negatively impact our membership base which accounts for more than 450,000 workers in the state of New Jersey,” said Samantha DeAlmeida, Second Vice President and Government Affairs Liaison. “More pointedly, this legislation, that claims to promote diversity in public work projects, does just the opposite. It is exclusionary to 80% of the construction workforce, many of which are minority and female-owned businesses.”

“In fact, according to the National Black Chamber of Commerce, 98% of Black and Hispanic construction companies are non-union and this legislation will limit any possibility of these businesses competing on public projects,” DeAlmeida continued. “Furthermore, existing PLA-driven legislation has been in non-compliance since its inception. Elected officials decided to move forward with this legislation anyways even though we do not have a thorough understanding of the impact that this will have on our state.”

On July 25th, 2002, The Project Labor Agreement Act was signed into law. Section C:52:38 of the Act required an annual report be provided to the Governor and Legislature detailing the effectiveness of all PLAs entered pursuant to the act. Parameters of the required report were outlined including a requirement that the first report is prepared and submitted on December 31, 2003, and each year thereafter. Additionally, the Act requires that in the 2006 report an analysis should be included detailing the overall effectiveness of the Act. To date, the only study that has been conducted took place in 2010, based on data from 2008.

“We are at a point in time where job growth and workforce diversity should be the priority, not restricting who can bid on jobs,” said Sam Fiocchi, President of ABC-NJ. “We simply ask on behalf of our members, taxpayers in the State of New Jersey, and the entire construction workforce that the vast majority of the construction industry have an equitable opportunity to work on these public projects.”

“According to the State’s own study, enforcing PLAs on public school projects resulted in increased costs of 33%, and slowed project timelines by 6-8 weeks. This bill will simply cost taxpayers more, exclude the vast majority of construction workers from these jobs, and harm those it claims to help,” Fiocchi concluded.

About Associated Builders and Contractors: ABC is a national association representing 21,000 merit shop construction and construction-related firms in 69 Chapters across the United States. Our membership represents all specialties within the U.S. construction industry and is comprised primarily of firms that perform work in the industrial and commercial sectors of the industry. ABC NJ is the industry's liaison to federal, state, and local governments and the public at large. For more information, please visit our website atwww.abcnjc.org.