New Jersey State Senate President Steve Sweeney
TRENTON, NJ—New Jersey State Senate President Steve Sweeney has proposed a plan to divert $500 million from three funding sources to bolster the finances of the embattled NJ TRANSIT agency.
On Friday, Sen. Sweeney proposed to tap a total of $500 million from the state Corporation Business Tax, the New Jersey Turnpike and the Clean Energy Fund for the NJ TRANSIT operating budget.
"The absence of consistent funding for NJ TRANSIT operations has undermined its ability to provide safe and reliable service," said Senator Sweeney. "Dedicated funding will help prevent the diversion of resources needed to improve basic services so the agency can bring an end to the breakdowns, delays and service failures that have plagued the system far too long."
The plan calls for the constitutional dedication of $300 million a year from the Corporation Business Tax; $125 million from the New Jersey Turnpike and $75 million from the Clean Energy Fund to NJ TRANSIT.
Sweeney's proposal also calls for an outright ban on capital-to-operating transfers from state funding sources like the gas tax and sales tax, and put a hard cap on similar transfers from federal funds.
The senator notes that most major transit agencies in the nation have a dedicated source of operating funding that covers 50% or more of its non-farebox costs, while NJ TRANSIT gets just 1.6% of its revenue from dedicated sources.
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John Jordan
John Jordan is a veteran journalist with 36 years of print and digital media experience.
