Emily Parker

Open Letter to the NJ Legislature on Public Transit

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Originally published by Environment New Jersey

Photo by Adam E. Moreira

NJ Transportation Legislative Organizational Letter, Spring 2024

May 6, 2024

Dear Senate President Scutari, Assembly Speaker Coughlin, and Members of the NJ Legislature:

The undersigned 34 labor, social justice, transportation, environmental and community organizations write to urge you to: 1) halt the 15% NJ Transit (NJT) fare hike; 2) repurpose funds designated for the unneeded and unwanted expansion of the NJ Turnpike to replace the revenue that would be generated by the fare increase; 3) support and expand Gov. Murphy’s FY25 budget proposal for a corporate transit fee (CTF) to provide $800 million in dedicated funding for mass transit to avoid NJT’s upcoming fiscal cliff, which should include a full restoration of the Corporate Business Tax surcharge; and 4) end the raids on NJT’s capital budget and dedicate the Clean Energy Fund transfer to bus electrification to ensure that NJT can make desperately needed operational and infrastructure improvements.

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Statehouse Environment and Energy News

by Emily Parker 1 Comment
By Michael Skelly, Environmental Justice Task Force member
Following hours of impassioned testimony on Monday, March 11, New Jersey Senate Environment and Energy Chairman Bob Smith suddenly called a Thursday meeting of the Environment and Energy Committee. Advocates and the media were taken by surprise by the swift action.
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Three bills had made it onto the agenda as the result of a lengthy and arduous process of public meetings, study, and modifications that had stretched through the last two years and into 2024. At stake was whether the bills would be approved and released for further consideration to possibly become law or be defeated in committee.
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Activists and Union Members from NJIT Rally for Full Corporate Surcharge Outside State Budget Hearing

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From For The Many NJ

Community leaders point to budget cuts and drastic fare hikes as proof that New Jersey needs to tax corporations more, not less.

March 19, 2024

NEWARK – Outside the State Senate’s public budget hearing at the NJIT campus in Newark, union workers, students, activists, and community leaders from the For The Many NJ coalition rallied in support of bringing back the full Corporation Business Tax surcharge on corporations with over $1 million in profits.

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