Fireworks Fly in Trenton After Murphy Suspends Funds

Governor Phil Murphy set off his own July 4th fireworks in Trenton this week when his administration unveiled a list of 64 projects in the state budget that he is suspending - including projects his enemies hold dear.
Senate President Stephen Sweeney called the suspensions the “Murphy Freeze” and said it was “a shameless act of political retribution.”
Murphy has been openly frustrated towards the Democratically-led legislature for refusing to approve his proposal to create a millionaires tax to raise revenue. The Democratic governor signed a $38.7-billion state budget for 2020 into law on Sunday, but said without the millionaire's tax to generate more revenue, he needed to be careful with spending.

Last last week he said his decision to suspend some of the items in the budget was an act of fiscal responsibility - not politics. His budget office has been projecting an economic downturn and he said the Legislature sent him a budget based on revenue projections that won’t likely materialize.  
“I want to build a basketball hoop in every driveway in the state, but at the end of the day the buck stops with me,” he said Sunday at a rally he held after signing the budget. “I’ve got to certify these revenues. I’ve got to make sure that we are within our means.”

Three of the projects placed on hold would have benefited Cooper University Health Care system. George Norcross, chair of the board of this system,  is a well known South Jersey political power broker.  

One item put on hold would have given Cooper $15.4 million in funding to be used for cancer prevention. Thomas Rubino, spokesman for Cooper University Health Care Senior, called the holds “targeted” in a press release and questioned why Murphy chose that and other Cooper programs.
Murphy is in an ongoing political war with Sweeney and Norcross.  Murphy is trying to dismantle a tax incentive program that Sweeney helped create, that has also benefited Norcross’s companies in Camden. Murphy has called it rigged.
In all, 64 projects were suspended, totaling $235 million. They include $50,000 for a traffic study in Little Ferry, and $100 million in transitional aid to localities.