Contact: Michelle Peal
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New Jersey LCV Hails Proposed NJ Transit, Electric Grid, and Urban Parks Funding in Murphy Budget
TRENTON – New Jersey League of Conservation Voters Executive Director, Ed Potosnak, has issued the following statement in response to Governor Murphy’s budget address:
Overall:
We applaud the Governor for putting forth the greenest budget in his tenure, with strong investments and more work to do and we look forward to working with Governor Murphy and the Legislature on a final spending plan that prioritizes investments in climate change, conservation and environmental protection as the budget process continues.
Clean Energy:
We are pleased that Governor Murphy is again positioning New Jersey as a clean energy leader by investing in modernization of our electric grid in his state budget. As we move toward a 100% clean energy future, these critical investments will improve service reliability and advance clean, renewable sources of energy like offshore wind. We also applaud the governor for his continued promotion of a Green Fund to leverage federal, state and private investments to boost clean energy projects and jobs in our state.
We are disappointed, however, at the governor’s continued proposed raids of the clean energy fund. This money, collected from businesses and working families’ energy bills, is supposed to fund energy cost saving projects, including insulating and weatherizing homes of low income families and incentivizing electric vehicles. Instead, each year, these funds are taken and diverted to fill unrelated budget holes – further burdening working families.
Transit:
Governor Murphy also made an important first step in preserving public transit service in our state by proposing a new, dedicated funding source for NJ Transit. However, more must still be done to head off an unwise proposed fare increase that threatens to drive cars back onto the roads and increase congestion even as the agency is trying to recover from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. A vibrant, electrified public transit system is critical to fight climate change and keep New Jersey economically competitive.
Parks, Equitable Access, and Open Space:
As we’ve learned in the past few years, access to safe, green open space is a necessity. We are pleased that Governor Murphy continues to make investments in expanding equitable access to outdoor recreation for all New Jerseyans by advancing plans for a new Capitol Park here in Trenton.