In keeping with tradition, the minority party in this case, the Republicans, have the opportunity to respond to the governor's speech, offering their feedback.

In many cases, their pushback to the agenda laid out by the governor before delivering that official response.

Republican Senate Minority Leader Anthony Bucco took a moment to speak with Brianna to offer his take on the direction that Murphy intends to take the state.

Here is that conversation.

Good to see you, Senator.

Thanks for joining me.

Your thoughts, your takeaways.

What did you like?

What didn't you like?

Well, look, I think the governor did what the governor's supposed to do.

He painted a rosy picture of the state of New Jersey at this point.

But, you know, I say buyer beware, right?

Right now, our budget has gone up $20 billion, 60% increase.

Governor, talk about that.

This year, we're going to face a $4.5 billion structural deficit in the budget.

You don't have to go any further than the grocery store to see the price of just basic groceries pull up to the gas pump, see what the price of a gallon of gas.

Families are living paycheck to paycheck.

And one where families are becoming homeless.

You know, we have a real problem here with affordability.

In the state of New Jersey.

And while the governor talks about spending.

More money and initiating a lot of programs, that's all well and good.

But somehow we have to pay for.

Push back a little bit there, the structural deficit.

He is really more closely aligned to about two and a half billion dollars.

But the concerns are valid that the long term fiscal picture could lead us to that road.

But no, his office would say we've got a $6 billion surplus.

That's something that the previous administration couldn't achieve, but something that's enabled the state to have the credit downgrade change flipped.

I mean, what do you say to that?

Well, I think this administration must.

The unique opportunity with all the federal money that we received.

We could have done a lot.

Of things with that money, but we did.

We squandered.

We had two budgets ago, in the last 24 hours of the budget negotiations, over $1,000,000,000 added to the budget over and above what the governor wanted to spend just on individual pet projects.

That's $1,000,000,000 lost that could have went to help make it easier for families here in New Jersey.

That's a big problem.

And while the governor talks about a rosy picture, I think if you talk to the average person on the street, they're going to tell you it is getting tougher and tougher to live, work and raise your family here.

Yeah, I mean, I think one of the things that this administration has said over and over again is that some of the bigger picture items is longer term financial responsibilities do yield results, but it's tough for families to necessarily see right away.

Any initiatives that you'd get behind today?

I'm thinking about the zoning for affordable housing.

Of course, that could easily be the number one affordability crisis in New Jersey.

Is there legislation you could see getting.

Behind all the details?

Right.

We can't just allow rezoning of every municipality without making sure that they have the infrastructure, that they have the land, that there's jobs available for these folks to go to.

That mass transit is available if you're going to start telling municipalities how does on their properties, we better make sure that some good sound planning goes into them like we didn't do that with this last round of affordable housing.

Instead, we forced this affordable housing down.

And what it's doing is changing the character of our municipalities.

Many municipalities are facing thousands and thousands of new units to meet their obligations, and they can't because they don't have the infrastructure to support it.

Mayors came to the League of Municipalities and said, okay, you want me to build this housing?

I'm happy to build, but who's going to pay for the new well, I need to put in a couple of million dollars in order to provide water.

Who's going to pay for the new source and how do you solve it?

I mean, what proposals.

Do you back that.

Would make a dent in what is clearly a deficit that the state has been carrying for years in terms of just lack of units and inventory for low income folks here.

You have to work with the municipalities.

You have to look at the regional need and then figure out where the best spot to put that affordable housing is without some planning.

It's going to be a disaster.

And that's the part that we've missed from the very beginning.

There has never been sound planning behind these affordable housing numbers and where these units are going to be located.

If you want to do this and do it right, work with the people that are on the ground that are going to have to absorb this housing and figure out how much, where and how much work can be afforded within the particular regions.

That's a really.

Has to be done.

All right, Senator Bucco, we're going to leave it there.

Thanks very much for your thoughts.

Thank you.

Appreciate your.

Time.

Thank you.