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Tonight on NJ Spotlight News, the big beautiful bill clears the U.S. Senate but faces an uphill battle in the House as we break down New Jersey's largest ever budget in state history.

The big question this forces state policy makers to confront is, do we use these state resources to continue benefits at the same level in New Jersey, even if the federal government is not going to be a partner in funding those benefits?

Plus, the White House wants the state's interim U.S. Attorney Alina Haba to serve a full four-year term, putting her nomination in play in the Senate.

Also, Save Our Farm, a land dispute over a farm in Cranberry, has drawn the support of the Trump administration.

Well, we're arguing, first of all, this would be a bad place for housing.

They're talking about rezoning a small acre plot here in the middle of Warehouse District, which is all zoned light industry, office buildings.

So, it's just a bad place for people to be put.

And open for business, the Boardwalk in Seaside Heights is officially ready for fun this holiday week with the attorney general's stamp of approval on its games.

NJ Spotlight News begins right now.

♪♪♪ From NJ PBS Studios, this is NJ Spotlight News with Brianna Vannosi.

Good evening and thanks for joining us on this Tuesday night.

I'm Brianna Vannosi.

We begin with a few of today's top stories.

First, Governor Murphy signed the last budget of his term in office, putting pen to paper just before the midnight deadline Monday on a record-breaking $58.8 billion state spending plan, which he says will bring more affordability and opportunity for families in New Jersey.

It includes close to $7 billion in the budget reserve, which may need to be tapped as federal lawmakers look to slash funding for social safety net programs like Medicaid.

The U.S. Senate cleared the president's big, beautiful bill earlier today, and the House is expected to vote on it Wednesday.

The state budget puts in full payments to the public worker pension system, the school funding formula, and property tax relief programs, but it also relies on several new taxes to pay for it.

Those will hit smokers, gamblers, and people selling high-value properties.

And it also includes hundreds of millions in new spending, add-ons that were tacked on in the final hours of negotiations that have drawn criticism from folks on both sides of the aisle.

As part of our Under the Dome series, our budget and finance writer John Reitmeyer joined me earlier to shed more light on what it all means.

All right, John, thanks for coming in.

I know you've had several long days, long nights.

A lot has been made about just how big this budget is and also what's been added in that wasn't necessarily in the governor's budget proposal and also some items that were.

Can you bring us up to speed on these add-ons?

Sure.

So the governor's proposal actually got bigger in mid-May.

It was overlooked at the time, but when the revenue forecasts were updated, there was also some new spending added by the executive branch.

How much?

And so that moved the budget from about $58 billion to over $58.3 billion.

Now we get to the end of June, and the budget grows to $58.8 billion after lawmakers make their additions.

And so there's sort of two different categories.

We have the spending that gets caught up to between February and May, and then we get all the new spending that comes at the end of June from lawmakers.

And it's lawmakers who have the task of writing this annual spending bill.

So they're adding hundreds of millions of dollars to fund their priorities, which range from restoring some of the cuts Murphy had proposed to more parochial items in communities like parks and community centers, money that goes out outside of the typical funding formulas or more stringent rules that we typically see when these communities or groups have to apply to government and have some sort of a grant program with a scoring system.

This way, lawmakers can just do an end run around those types of rules and get the money right out.

State taxpayers pay for it, but typically they are for parochial interests.

So the way you score it, it's about another $420 million that lawmakers added on, on top of that mid-May change that had about $300 million.

All of this is to say we heard from a number of Republicans yesterday who were quite upset both with the process that has been the process for many years, but also just how big this is, the biggest spending bill ever in state history.

Yeah.

So only things got added.

Right.

And it creates a bigger gap.

So New Jersey for the last few years has been spending more on an annual basis than it's taking in in revenues.

And the gap in this new budget is now about one and a half billion.

So that's a concern that we heard raised.

Also a concern is a lot of this new spending came within a matter of days with little time to understand the justification for it.

So we had months of scrutiny of the governor's proposed budget going back to his late February budget address.

And then we have just a few days to try and wrap our minds around hundreds of new line items spanning hundreds of millions of dollars in new spending.

These could all be very worthy purposes.

Some of them could not be.

The difference is that the governor's was was held up to several months of scrutiny.

What the legislature adds at the last minute kind of just gets sped through whether there's scrutiny or not.

Right.

Although the argument that the budget chair, Paul Sarlow, made yesterday was, well, this is all after taking the input of, you know, hours and hours of testimony and public hearings.

This is directly what the taxpayers told us they want.

Right.

And some of the testimony reversing cuts.

That's absolutely the case.

I don't remember people coming in advocating for some of the specific parochial projects that we saw funded in the final version of the budget.

Yeah.

Right.

Seven and a half million maybe for capital projects for for little fairy schools, as an example.

Cranford community pool is another.

Let me just ask you, because as we sit here, the United States Senate has advanced the president's big, beautiful bill.

We're expecting a vote in the assembly, in the assembly, in the House.

All this is to say that these cuts that we've been anticipating are likely coming to New Jersey.

How does this budget account for that?

And what does it say about Governor Murphy's sort of spending legacy?

It accounts for it in a sense because they made a big effort to protect the state surplus, which is money that you have on the sidelines when you have an unexpected expenditure need or a big drop off in revenue.

The big question this forces state policymakers to confront is, do we use these state resources to continue benefits at the same level in New Jersey, even if the federal government is not going to be a partner in funding those benefits in the way it has been in the past?

Or do we say to people in New Jersey, sorry, we have to protect some of these resources and benefits are just going to change?

And that could mean things like more crowded urgent cares, more crowded emergency rooms, because a lot of people who've been receiving health benefits in a certain way may no longer.

So that's a really big question that state policymakers now have to confront.

As for the governor, I mean, I think his legacy, he hasn't been afraid to spend.

He hasn't been afraid to tax.

At the same time, he has worked to buttress the surplus.

He has prioritized full funding of the state's pension obligation, which goes all the way back to a report Murphy wrote well before he was governor in 2005 on state employee benefits that said the number one priority was no more pension funding holidays.

Yeah, that was Dick Cody's panel there.

John Reitmeyer, you can read all of John's budget reporting on our website, NJ spotlight news dot org.

John, thanks for coming in.

You're welcome.

Meanwhile, watchdog groups are calling out a last minute change in the budget that they say is a handout to nursing home operators.

The language rolls back reform efforts led by Governor Murphy's own human services commissioner by blocking the state from being able to steer elderly and disabled people away from nursing homes with bad track records, which would prevent the facility from receiving state Medicaid funding.

Laurie Brewer is among the most vocal critics of the changes.

She's New Jersey's long term care ombudsman.

And she joins me now.

Laurie, thanks for your time.

Maybe this is too simplistic of a question, but how from your view do these changes affect the quality of care and safety for these nursing home residents?

Well, I think this administration has a really good record of putting additional quality requirements on nursing homes since covid.

And it's something we can be really proud of.

So I really credit the governor with vetoing efforts by the state legislature inexplicably.

And I assume it's backed by the nursing home industry to really dilute the effectiveness of the state's quality incentive program, which gives nursing homes additional funding if they if they have good staffing, if they have very few bed sores, if they have high vaccination rates, things like that.

And the governor vetoed the legislature's effort to really to kill that program, essentially.

And so I think that's really a good thing.

Other efforts.

The legislature also apparently insisted on keeping a provision that would not allow Medicaid managed care organizations to steer nursing home residents away from rehabs and nursing homes that have very, very, very low ratings.

I've personally supported that as the state long term care ombudsman.

I think that resident needs residents should know if they're in a long term care facility that is very poorly rated and that managed care organizations really should kind of either more closely monitor their residents in those facilities or or should have the ability to steer people away from them.

And it was all a voluntary program.

But that does remain in the pushback to that.

Andy Aronson, of course, the spokesperson for the long term care industry in the state, said, you know, the reform would have closed a lot of high performing nursing homes, he said, and then therefore displace hundreds, maybe more nursing home residents.

What's your response to that?

Well, that isn't true.

I mean, if they're high performing nursing homes, they would not be on this any willing quality provider list because they wouldn't be a willing quality provider.

Very quickly.

This, of course, all comes on the heels of several pretty scathing reports, both from media outlets, the state comptroller's office that essentially found these really low performing homes were still getting steered.

A lot of state money and that there was sort of a lack of oversight, really poor quality of care.

I'm wondering then how you take this.

It's been sort of dubbed the bed tax, essentially giving these facilities more money for admitting more patients, whether or not there's any staffing requirements tied to that.

Or is that something you're going to push for?

If it's any indication of how it's been done in the past, except for when the federal covid money came through, we've never really put any strings attached to any of the money that the state of New Jersey keeps giving to nursing homes.

I'm not opposed to nursing homes or long term care having more money, but I just wish that this additional funding would come with a requirement that long term care facilities, particularly these for profit facilities, fully provide visibility into where their funding is going.

The state comptroller has looked at this.

AARP in the last month has looked at this, looked at a number of facilities that are spending hundreds of millions of dollars in the system that are going to what are called related parties.

And these related parties are related to these for profit ownership groups.

And the state at this point does not have the tools to really look into where that funding is going.

Joe Vitale has a very strong bill, Senator Joe Vitale S. 1948, that I hope gets support because that would give the state the tools that it needs to really look at the finances of these for profit nursing homes.

All right, Lori Brewer, thank you for the context and the insight and for your time.

You're welcome.

Under the Dome is made possible in part by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, a private corporation funded by the American people.

Some other big headlines we're following tonight, including one we've been reporting on for months.

There may soon be more protections for students with disabilities.

The Senate on Monday voted unanimously to approve a bill requiring cameras and other safety features on school buses that transport kids with disabilities.

Now, if it becomes law, GPS trackers and interior cameras will need to be installed on those buses.

Drivers, aides and any other personnel on the bus will get more training and also be required to call 9-1-1 during a potential life threatening emergency.

That may sound like a standard procedure, but it wasn't the case for three families whose children died on school buses while being transported in recent years, including a six year old who died in 2023 after her wheelchair harness tightened around her neck during the ride.

And 19 year old Matthew Rossi, whose family lobbied for the extra protections.

Matthew had muscular dystrophy and autism and died after a bus ride home from school.

The bill now needs to pass in the Assembly and get Governor Murphy's signature to take effect.

And earlier today, the White House officially sent Alina Hoppe's name to the Senate to be nominated for the full four year term as U.S. Attorney of New Jersey.

President Trump tapped her in March to serve in an interim role, which depending on how you read the federal law, means her 120 day term either expires today or in a couple of weeks.

And she's shaken up the office since taking the position, launching an election integrity task force to enforce the president's election related executive orders and targeting the Democratic establishment here through a controversial arrest of Newark Mayor Raz Baraka outside an ICE detention center and charging Congresswoman Lamonica McIver with assaulting federal officers during that same scuffle.

Hoppe also claimed to have launched an investigation into Governor Murphy and Attorney General Matt Plotkin.

But her nomination needs to be confirmed by the Senate.

We reached out to Senators Cory Booker and Andy Kim today for comment, but they were unavailable.

Both, though, have said publicly in the past they would not support her for a full term.

An update tonight on a story we first reported in May.

What started as a local land fight over a central Jersey farm has caught the attention and involvement of the Trump administration, which is upping the pressure on Cranberry Township officials to stop them from using eminent domain to acquire a family farm.

As Ted Goldberg reports, the federal government has called its effort to protect the farm a national priority.

I think we do have some serious momentum on our side.

The federal government is now getting involved in the eminent domain dispute between Cranberry and the Henry Family Farm that's been family run for 175 years.

Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rawlins recently sent a letter to Cranberry warning them that because the farm contains prime farmland soil, it has certain protections, and that Cranberry must fill out a specific form before they plan to seize the land and build affordable housing.

She did say when I first talked to her that this is not a federal issue, it's a local issue, but she would be able to make some phone calls, talk to some people who might be able to help.

The letter says, quote, "Advancing this project without complying with federal farmland protection requirements could place your township in violation of federal law.

Depending on the outcome of our ongoing review, that could jeopardize the township's eligibility for future federal assistance."

The town's plan requires that they get the majority of their funding through federal dollars.

To get that, they have to go to the USDA, fill out a form saying that their decision was basically wrong, that this isn't the best use of farmland, it's actually to build housing.

I don't believe that the USDA is going to agree that their view is wrong.

Cranberry's leaders, who declined comment on the story, have argued that they need to take this land for affordable housing to fulfill their Mount Laurel obligations, and that there aren't many other options for land.

The Henry family, who has owned this land since before the Civil War, is suing to block the seizure.

We are challenging the taking as being arbitrary and capricious because there's other land available, including the 300 acres right across the street.

We're arguing, first of all, this would be a bad place for housing.

They're talking about rezoning a small acre plot here in the middle of Warehouse District, which is all zoned light industry office buildings.

So it's just a bad place for people to be put.

Henry and his lawyer went to a township meeting last Thursday, where the proposal was discussed.

I just want to reiterate what I said a few weeks ago.

This situation we're facing brings us no joy.

The plan is an insult to CHA and the citizens of Cranberry.

It is an insult to me personally.

You should be ashamed of yourself in the manner that it was developed.

After one member of the public spoke longer than allowed, the meeting ended.

Motion to adjourn.

Can I get a motion to adjourn?

I'll go to my left.

What?

You're going to blame one person and not let anybody else speak.

The case is now making national headlines, sparking local fundraisers for Henry's defense that have raised more than $130,000.

We're this divided country.

I think I found one issue everyone seems to be behind, which is stop the use of the power of the underdog to take these farms.

It's Field of Dreams 2.0 from a bringing people together point of view.

On the surface, I'm not wild about using eminent domain to solve your affordable housing obligation.

Governor Phil Murphy chimed in on his Ask Governor Murphy show last week, finding common ground with the Henry's and the Trump administration.

I'd like to have it both ways in this one.

Solve their affordable housing obligation without question in Cranberry, and not pulling the rug out from under a family-owned farm.

The project isn't dead if it loses federal funding, but former Cranberry Mayor Jay Taylor says it'd be difficult to pick up the price tag locally.

If it gets bonded out, we're going to have residents that are going to have to move from the community.

There's just no way they can afford the tax increases of several thousand dollars to bond for $32 million plus a $14.5 million interest, and then the land cost.

Henry says he's turned down plenty of other offers over the past 30 years.

Most of the developers for the most part have been persistent, but polite I would say, or at least not overly assertive.

Whereas the town can come in here and just say we're going to take your property if you don't agree to sell, and then we can maybe agree on a price.

Cranberry's plan would put 130 units of affordable housing here, replacing the cows and sheep that roam between the warehouses.

In Cranberry, I'm Ted Goldberg, NJ Spotlight News.

All right, well, it's a tough job, but someone's got to do it.

Attorney General Matt Plotkin earlier today made his annual safe summer trip to the Jersey Shore Boardwalk, making sure those arcade game claws are actually able to grab a prize and basketballs aren't overinflated.

That was a problem in the past.

It may not sound like a serious issue, but over the years, authorities have found dozens of violations with the games, carrying out these inspections so you actually have a shot at winning that big stuffed bear.

Raven Santana reports from Seaside Heights.

It's a summer staple at the Jersey Shore, but behind the fun and flashing lights of Boardwalk Games is a serious effort to keep things fair and safe.

We had a similar situation a couple years ago with, you may remember, the overinflated basketballs, and so we addressed it.

Today, Attorney General Matt Plotkin and the New Jersey Division of Consumer Affairs officially launched Safe Summer 2025.

The seasonal enforcement initiative is aimed at protecting families and promoting a secure welcoming environment at the shore.

The program includes summer-long inspections of amusement games, ensuring they haven't been altered or rigged to disadvantage players and that game operators are fully licensed and transparent with rules and prize disclosures.

What we're looking for is to make sure that the rules are followed, that people, when they play the games, they get the fair shot they're entitled to, they can have fun when they're buying fudge or when they're buying stuff at the stores.

The systems work.

We work with local law enforcement and local officials here in Ocean County and at the other shore points.

Last year, we did a lot of hard work.

We inspected 59 different stores at four different shore points.

We found no violations at at least two of the shore points and very few violations at the other two.

We were here last year as well.

We toured the Boardwalk where inspectors explained specifically what they are looking for when it comes to games and even food.

What are the three things you're looking for here?

Here we're making sure that the prizes are properly labeled, they have a license, and all of the prize categories are in the play fields.

That's the three main things for this game we're looking for and really most of the games on the Boardwalk.

We are out there and we are here to protect consumers and we do check package and labeling for compliance and make sure that people get what they're paying for.

After a chaotic Memorial Day weekend in Seaside Heights with dozens of arrests and four non-fatal stabbings, Seaside Heights Mayor Tony Voss says the borough is also cracking down.

In response, they've approved two new security measures, now in effect a 10 p.m. curfew for minors and a backpack man on the Boardwalk.

We're not going to bother grandma or mom or dad with their kids, but we're going to look at these kids and say, "We want to know what's in that backpack."

Yeah, you could bring food, but you're not going to bring any weapons.

You're not going to bring materials or alcohol because you're underage.

This gives us a little strength to search.

Local business owner Wayne Cimarelli says while he welcomes the new measures, he says the real Hail Mary pass this summer will be good weather and a steady flow of beachgoers.

We blame a lot of it, most of it, on the weather.

We're weather-driven.

But there definitely is an issue with cost of living today.

People seem to be not, definitely, they're shoppers.

So hopefully, what I do, I try to give them a good product and hopefully they'll respond.

The annual campaign also serves as a reminder to consumers if something seems off, whether it's unclear pricing, misleading prizes, or unfair gameplay, they should report it.

The Safe Summer 2025 campaign will continue through Labor Day.

For NJ Spotlight News, I'm Raven Santana.

And it's the first day on the job for the new Rutgers University president.

William Tate begins his five-year term today, taking the helm from outgoing President Jonathan Holloway.

Now, Tate led Louisiana State University for four years and had a long stint as a dean at Washington University prior to that.

He's starting the post, though, amid a pressure cooker situation between the White House and higher ed institutions.

Rutgers, like plenty of other universities around the country, is facing steep funding cuts from the federal government.

It's also being pressed by the Trump administration to cut DEI programs and has been fighting back against attempts to revoke the visas of several international students.

There's also plenty of challenges more locally, too, like hiring a new athletic director to oversee its massive sports program that has about a thousand athletes and help Rutgers find its footing in the Big Ten as a D1 school, not to mention navigating the school's powerful unions.

That's going to do it for us tonight, but a reminder, you can download our podcast wherever you listen and watch us anytime by subscribing to the NJ Spotlight News YouTube channel.

Plus, you can follow us on Instagram and Blue Sky to stay up to date on all the state's big headlines.

I'm Brianna Vanosi for the entire team at NJ Spotlight News.

Thank you for being with us.

Have a great night.

We'll see you right back here tomorrow.

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