SENATE BUDGET AND APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE

STATEMENT TO

SENATE, No. 4436

with committee amendments

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

DATED:  JUNE 28, 2026

      The Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee reports favorably and with committee amendments Senate Bill No. 4436.

      As amended, this bill requires the County of Hudson to return the unexpended balances of State appropriations provided to the county to support capital improvements at the Hudson County Correctional and Rehabilitation Center.  The annual State appropriations acts for State Fiscal Years 2023, 2024, and 2025 appropriated a total of $28.1 million from the Property Tax Relief Fund (PTRF) to Hudson County for this purpose.  The bill requires the unexpended balances to be returned to the State Treasurer by June 30, 2026 for deposit into the PTRF.

      The bill also authorizes a General Fund appropriation, not to exceed $28.1 million, to the County of Hudson for general operating aid.  The bill provides that the total amount appropriated to the County of Hudson for general operating aid cannot exceed the total amount of unexpended balances returned by the County of Hudson from the appropriations for Hudson County Jail (PTRF) in State Fiscal Years 2023, 2024, and 2025 and the appropriation for Hudson County Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation – Capital Renovations (PTRF) in State Fiscal Year 2025.

COMMITTEE AMENDMENTS:

      The committee amended the bill to require the County of Hudson to return the unexpended balance from the State Fiscal Year 2025 appropriation for Hudson County Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation – Capital Renovations (PTRF).

FISCAL IMPACT:

      This bill is not certified as requiring a fiscal note.

MINORITY STATEMENT

By Senators O’Scanlon, Testa, Steinhardt, and Amato

      The minority members of the Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee have called for the return of over $400 million of unexpended balances to be used towards the fair funding of schools, tax relief, the restoration of funding for critical social services providers, and other critical priorities, like restoring some cost of living adjustments for the oldest public sector retirees who have been impacted by a freeze for more than a decade.

      This bill finally acknowledges that there are considerable unexpended balances from prior years that could be distributed to fund the State’s most pressing needs.  The committee’s decision to advance legislation that reallocates certain unexpended balances of prior appropriations for special projects based on favoritism and without any fair or objective standards is an abdication of the Legislature’s responsibility to ensure that the State’s precious resources are dedicated in a wise and efficient manner.