Ahead of a midnight deadline, the Legislature on Monday passed a placeholder budget, mostly along party lines.
For one budget bill proposing a $4.4-billion temporary tax increase, the Assembly came in just one vote ahead of the 54 needed for approval.
Negotiations will continue through the rest of the month between the lawmakers and the governor’s administration. The two bodies have broad differences in approach, with the Legislature banking on passage of another federal stimulus package.
The Legislature plans to write and adopt more trailer bills to accompany the budget before the July 1 start of the fiscal year. More bills are likely to be crafted in August or September, after the delayed tax revenues arrive.
The two proposals are in alignment on many measures. For one, CDFA would receive $150 million “to backfill the loss of revenue from parks fees and the fuel tax as a result of COVID.” As parks closed and few people were on the roads during the stay-at-home order, CDFA lost valuable revenue streams.
