Capitol Comments

Assemblyman Alex Sauickie

Many of us enjoy streaming TV series, sometimes “binge-watching” them out of curiosity about the plot twists and drama to come next. Well, my review of this season’s state budget saga is in: it had its twists and turns, no doubt entertaining to some observers but too few participants, and the finale was not very good at all.

As regular readers know, it started out with a proposal for devastating state aid cuts for many schools in the Ocean-Monmouth region, particularly for Jackson. One of the few positive plot twists was the successful legislative revolt in this election year, which eliminated two-thirds of the proposed cuts. As your representative, I was an active participant in that effort.

Then, in late May, Speaker Coughlin surprised most observers – and many of us participants – by announcing his proposed “StayNJ” plan to give seniors over age 65 a property tax relief check of up to $10,000. This came three months after the budget process began, and about a month before it was set to end with the constitutional deadline of June 30.