Bond Buyer: New Jersey Borrowing Bill Faces Senate Obstavles After Assembly Approval

by Andrew Coen

A New Jersey proposal seeking authority to issue billions of general obligation bonds without voter approval easily cleared one legislative hurdle in the Democrat-led General Assembly late last week and now faces far tougher barriers in the state Senate, where the Dems hold a smaller majority, but are more fiscally conservative.

The Assembly in a 51-28 vote along party lines passed the “New Jersey COVID-19 Emergency Bond Act” that would grant Gov. Phil Murphy’s administration authority to sell least $5 billion of GO debt to combat virus-related revenue losses, and be repaid through sales and property tax revenues. The legislation would also enable the state to borrow up to $9 billion in short-term debt through the Federal Reserve Municipal Lending Facility geared toward helping governments withstand financial hits from the health crisis.

Read the full report here.