Murphy to Get Emergency Borrowing Authority, No Word Yet on How He Plans to Use It

New Jersey is about to have the ability to borrow up to $9.9 billion without asking voters for approval, but Gov. Phil Murphy is not saying exactly how he plans to spend the money.

The governor has been pressing lawmakers to endorse the emergency-borrowing legislation as part of his administration’s response to the coronavirus pandemic, and it is expected to land on his desk Thursday, following scheduled votes in the Assembly and Senate.

Murphy, a first-term Democrat, signaled during a media briefing on Wednesday that he will sign the borrowing bill, “pretty much as soon as it gets” to his desk.

But the governor declined to offer any specifics on how his administration plans to spend the money that would be raised by issuing new debt in response to the health crisis.