[INSPRATIONAL MUSIC STING] - We're now joined by Audrey Lane, who's president of the Garden State Initiative.

Good to see you, Audrey.

- Good to see you.

Thanks for having me today.

- We've had your friend and colleague Regina Egea on many times talking about this initiative.

The website is up.

Tell everyone what the initiative is and why it's so significant in the state.

- So we're talking about njbudget.com, and this is significant because it really allows people in the press, people like you and residents, to take a look at how New Jersey's tax dollars are being allocated, specifically what's known as by some people the Christmas tree items.

These are the extra expenditures that happen a little bit outside of the normal budget process.

So we thought it was important to shed light on it.

There's been a lot of talk about this.

- So the Garden State Initiative, describe the organization and then connect it back to the website njbudget.com because it's part of your mission.

- Absolutely.

So we believe in strengthening New Jersey by providing policy initiatives that promote job growth and new investment and job creation, opportunity for all in New Jersey.

And we also believe hand in hand, in... in New Jersey, in transparency and good government, and that's what this was really about.

- If someone goes on njbudget.com- - Yes.

- All about transparency.

What will people see, and how can they trust that it's accurate?

- I'll start with trusting that it's accurate because that's incredibly important for all of us, and it was throughout the mission.

And we have all of our sources listed on the bottom.

So these are direct data and figures from government documents that are available to all.

All we did was combine them, collate them, and put them in an easy-to-use place for members of the press, like I said, or for the public to look at.

And what you'll see is the extra spending by years.

You can sort this by the entity that's receiving the funding, by the county that the money was allocated in, by the municipality, and also by legislative district.

- Audrey, along these lines, the organization Garden State Initiative, as Regina joined us in the past, so much of the conversation was about tax policy.

So there's gonna be a new governor in January of 2026.

What message do you and your organization want to send to who the next governor is as it relates to tax policy?

- So, listen, this year's budget's a monster, right?

It's $58 billion.

It's gone up 67% over the past eight years.

And the fact is we can't afford it.

As New Jerseyans, we can't afford to spend this much.

So we would urge the next administration to have a more fiscally responsible budget that does not include a structural deficit so that we're bringing in revenue that can cover our expenditures that really looks at the must-haves versus the nice-to-haves in our state because I think most of the people in the state are struggling with affordability right now.

And these are the kind of conversations that people are having in their home, and I think they're expecting the new administration to have these conversations as well.

- But Audrey, say someone comes in to be governor.

He or she comes in and say, "You know what?

Audrey Lane is right.

Garden State Initiative is right.

We need to be fiscally responsible.

So you know something?

We need to bring in more revenue.

I'm gonna raise taxes."

- So I'm glad you brought that up.

That does seem like- - Yeah, because... - That seems like an answer, but actually the converse is true.

As you raise taxes, often revenue goes down.

We put out a report two years ago, and it was written by Dr. Arthur Laffer, famous for the economic Laffer curve, exactly.

And it shows that as you raise taxes, actually revenue goes down.

- How?

Explain how that could happen.

Go ahead.

- Okay.

Because we lose growth.

So if you look at states like North Carolina, like Pennsylvania, that have lowered their corporate business tax rate, their revenues actually increase.

Listen, drive people to our website.

Look up our report on this- - Putting right now.

It put up right now- - By Dr. Arthur Laffer.

You will see the actual numbers where North Carolina intentionally stepped down their corporate tax rate, and their revenue went up.

North Carolina did this.

Pennsylvania's doing this.

Iowa did this.

Ohio did this.

There is a template for reducing the corporate business tax to increase revenue in our state, and I really hope the next governor does this.

- So wait a minute, I wanna be clear.

- Yes.

- You and your colleagues at the initiative are proposing that the next governor reduce the corporate business tax?

- 100% - Where is it, and where do you believe it needs to be?

- So we're actually an outlier.

We have the highest corporate business tax rate in the entire nation at 11.5%.

- Do we?

- This is true.

I'm so glad I'm on today.

- What's the percent?

- 11.5%.

- That's the highest in the nation?

- That's the highest in the nation.

At the highest rate, that is the highest in the nation.

I think it should be cut in half, but I think there's a really smart way to do it.

We look at what North Carolina did.

They stepped it down with guardrails to make sure that, you know, this doesn't send the state into a real problem.

We missed an opportunity with the influx of COVID federal funding that we received to do this with the surplus.

Now we've spent down our surplus a bit, but that doesn't mean it can't be done.

- Okay, let me ask you this in a time that we have.

Real quick, energy costs.

The Garden State Initiative's position on where we should be on energy policy, which has to do with affordability, go ahead.

- Yeah, this is something we've been talking about for a couple years, and we actually have a report coming out in the next month.

I wrote down the number here.

We did an analysis of the cost of energy for natural gas, solar, and offshore wind.

So at natural gas, and these are inputs specifically for New Jersey based on our energy system and the PJF, which is our- - Yep.

- Yes.

And so natural gas is $16 per megawatt hour.

Solar ranges from $70 to $180 per megawatt hour, depending on residential versus industrial.

Offshore wind is up to $260 per megawatt hour.

It's unaffordable.

It's not sustainable.

It's really not something that should be part of our portfolio.

- Audrey, we'll continue the conversation about affordability in the state, tax policy, energy policy, and also remind folks, njbudget.com.

Check it out.

It's information that the initiative says is important for people to know.

Audrey, thank you to you and your team.

We appreciate it.

- Thanks for your time.

- You got it.

I'm Steve Adubato.

Thanks for joining us.

We'll see you next time.

- [Narrator] State of Affairs with Steve Adubato is a production of the Caucus Educational Corporation.

Funding has been provided by Hackensack Meridian Health.

New Brunswick Development Corporation.

New Jersey’s Clean Energy program.

Congress Hall.

A Cape Resorts property.

Kean University.

Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey.

The Turrell Fund, a foundation serving children.

New Jersey Sharing Network.

And by The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.

Promotional support provided by Insider NJ.

And by BestofNJ.com.

Here at Kean University, everyone gets their chance to climb higher.

Michael came to Kean and found his passion for health care, and now he's a doctor.

After Tricia graduated, her graphic design work was featured in The New York Times.

Samantha is studying athletic training and finding her path to an internship with the New York Giants.

Real Students.

Real Stories.

Real Success.

Cougars Climb Higher.

Kean University.