TRENTON – Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee Chair Wayne Bryant announced today that the Senate will begin their hearings on the Fiscal Year 2006 Budget tomorrow with a series of three meetings.
At 10:00 a.m., the Committee will receive a briefing on the economic outlook of New Jersey for the upcoming year.
“There are indicators that the New Jersey economy has turned a corner and will see continued growth over the next year,” said Senate Majority Leader Bernard Kenny, D-Hudson. “Revenues for the past few months are coming in higher than expected and thousands of new jobs are being created each month. It is critical that we encourage this growth by keeping spending in this budget under control.”
The Budget and Appropriations Committee will then receive a budget overview from the Office of Legislative Services at 11:00 a.m. In the afternoon, the Committee will reconvene to hear testimony from State Treasurer John McCormac.
“Governor Codey laid out his vision for the budget during last month’s Budget Address,” said Senator Barbara Buono, D-Middlesex. “Now it is time for the Senate to discuss where the State’s spending priorities should be for the next year and see if that coincides with the Governor’s plan. One of the places that we will need to focus on is health care, as federal cuts to Medicare and Medicaid put a burden on the states to make up the difference.”
All three hearings will be held in Committee Room 4. Live audio of the hearings will be available through the State Legislature website at http://www.njleg.state.nj.us/.