Posts matching: reopen and business
Oroho: State Revenue Update Undercuts Murphy’s Borrowing Demands
Treasury Report Shows State’s Cash Receipts for 2020 Declined Just 0.6% from 2019
Senator Steven Oroho (R-24) said a State revenue update provided by the Treasury Department yesterday doesn’t support Governor Murphy’s claims that New Jersey is facing a massive budget shortfall that would require $10 billion of borrowing as the governor has repeatedly suggested.
Sen. Steven Oroho said a State revenue update doesn’t support Gov. Murphy’s claims that New Jersey is facing a massive budget shortfall that would require $10 billion of borrowing. (Pixabay)
“Treasury’s revenue update clearly demonstrates that the massive $10 billion budget hole predicted by the administration has failed to materialize,” said Oroho, the Senate Republican Budget Officer. “When compared to the original $38 billion budget for 2020, the $200 million decline in revenues from 2019 is little more than a rounding error. The realized revenue data provided by Treasury doesn’t support the governor’s continued insistence that New Jersey needs to borrow billions.”
Bucco: Restaurants Will Close Permanently Without Some Reopening of Indoor Dining or Direct State Support
Senator Anthony M. Bucco warned that restaurants across New Jersey that have suffered steep economic losses since March will soon go out of business permanently if they are not allowed to reopen their dining rooms or provided direct financial support from the State’s share of billions in unspent CARES Act funding.
Sen. Anthony Bucco warned that restaurants across New Jersey that have suffered steep economic losses since March will soon go out of business permanently if they are not allowed to reopen their dining rooms or provided direct financial support from the State’s share of billions in unspent CARES Act funding. (SenateNJ.com)
“Four months after Governor Murphy ordered New Jersey restaurants to close their doors, many are on the verge of going out of business permanently, if they haven’t already,” said Bucco (R-25). “Limited outdoor dining and pick-up and delivery orders have only replaced a fraction of the revenues that many local eateries were generating before the crisis. Unless the governor allows restaurants to resume some measure of indoor dining immediately or provides direct financial relief, many will close forever. That would be a tremendous and unnecessary loss to communities across New Jersey.”
Bucco noted that New Jersey received nearly $2.4 billion in CARES Act money from the federal government in March to support the needs of small businesses, non-profits, and local governments impacted by COVID-19. More than $2.1 billion of those federal funds remains unspent.
LD1 Team Says Murphy Should Reopen Wildlife Areas for Fishing, Hunting
Says Administration Has Restricted Access and Furloughed Workers Paid from Fees on Sportsmen Licenses
Senator Michael Testa and Assemblymen Erik Simonsen and Antwan McClellan urged the Governor to reopen Wildlife Management Areas across New Jersey and find more productive opportunities to save money for the cash-strapped state.
Senator Testa and Assemblymen Simonsen and McClellan are calling on the Governor to reopen Wildlife Management Areas across New Jersey and find more productive opportunities to save money for the cash-strapped state. (SenateNJ.com)
“The Governor made a big deal out of furloughing some workers and shutting down wildlife areas, but there’s no savings there. The workers are paid from funds collected for fees on hunting and fishing licenses and the federal excise tax on hunting weapons and ammo,” said Testa (R-1). “We have all seen enough of Murphy’s spending habits to know he doesn’t have to look very hard to find significant savings for New Jersey, but this plan hurts residents, especially in coastal communities, and fails to save money.”
Oroho, Space, and Wirths Call for Wildlife Management Areas to Fully Open
LD-24 Legislators Say furloughing Fish & Wildlife Employees Will Not Save NJ Money
Senator Steve Oroho and Assemblymen Parker Space and Hal Wirths announced today they wrote to Governor Murphy asking him to stop the furlough of Division of Fish and Wildlife (DFW) employees and fully reopen Wildlife Management Areas (WMAs). (Click here for PDF)
Emphasizing that fishing and hunting license fees pay the salaries of Bureau of Lands Management maintenance employees furloughed by Governor Murphy, Senator Oroho and Assemblymen Space and Wirths are calling for the reopening of Wildlife Management Areas. (SenateNJ.com)
“This move by the administration is not saving any money,” stated Oroho, the Senate Republican Budget Officer and Co-Chairman of the NJ Angling, Hunting and Conservation Caucus. “The employees being furloughed are being paid from the New Jersey Hunters and Anglers Fund, not from regular state coffers.”
Bucco Presses Murphy for Plan to Address Long Lines & Hazards at Randolph MVC
Says Similar Scenes Occurring at NJMVC Agencies Across NJ
Senator Anthony M. Bucco (R-25) sent a letter (click here for PDF) to Governor Phil Murphy today calling for a plan to help Randolph Twp. and other New Jersey communities that have been overwhelmed by a crush of people who are seeking to conduct business at newly reopened New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission (MVC) agencies.
People queued up at 3 a.m. this morning outside the Randolph MVC to try to gain service today after many failed to get through long lines yesterday. (SenateNJ.com)
Bucco noted that he made a request more than two months ago of MVC Chief Sue Fulton asking for an overview of the Commission’s plan to avoid the chaos that’s new occurring at MVC agencies across New Jersey. He never received a response.
Senator Bucco Resolves Over 1,000 Unemployment Cases for Constituents – and Counting
Senator Anthony M. Bucco announced that his office has now assisted 1,034 constituents with unemployment claims, and counting, since the pandemic’s start on March 15th.
Senator Bucco is reminding residents not to give up if they are having problems getting unemployment, and said his office has assisted more than 1,000 people who are now receiving benefits. (Flickr)
“In this unprecedented and historic time, I’ve made it a priority to do everything that I can to help the taxpayers, families and seniors of my district survive financially from this horrific virus,” said Bucco (R-25). “I’ve heard so many frightening cases from every corner of the district – people struggling to make ends meet, choosing between groceries and their rent, waking up every morning to stress over when they’ll get a paycheck again. Countless news stories have documented the outdated and overrun unemployment claims system in Trenton that has made this process a nightmare for those looking to claim the benefits they’ve earned. The stories can be truly heartbreaking, and demonstrated in some cases the urgent need to get these claims resolved as quickly as possible.”
Oroho: It’s Time to Safely Reopen All New Jersey Businesses
Highlights Importance of Opening Gyms for Physical and Mental Health
Senator Steven Oroho is calling for the safe reopening of all businesses throughout the Garden State echoing a plea made by the New Jersey Business and Industry Association, the largest statewide employer association.
Sen. Steven Oroho is calling for the safe reopening of all businesses throughout the Garden State echoing a plea made by NJBIA. (Pixabay)
“The objective of the shutdown was to reduce the number of COVID-19 cases and prevent our hospitals from becoming overwhelmed, which we have accomplished,” said Oroho. “It’s now time for the governor to allow all New Jersey businesses to reopen. Frankly, if a business can comply with appropriate safety protocols that align with CDC guidelines, it makes no sense to deny them the ability to reopen. The call to action made by the New Jersey Business and Industry Association is entirely reasonable and deserves the governor’s support.”
Senate Republicans Call for Murphy to Improve Support for Struggling Businesses
The fifteen members of the Senate Republican caucus sent the following letter (click here for PDF) to Governor Phil Murphy calling for more support for small businesses that are struggling to survive under the continued restrictions of his executive orders.
The 15 members of the Senate Republican caucus called on Gov. Phil Murphy to improve support for small businesses that are struggling to survive under the continued restrictions of his executive orders. (SenateNJ.com)
The full text of the letter is below:
June 19, 2020
Dear Governor Murphy,
Our caucus has written to you multiple times without response to express our serious concern that your executive orders have caused unnecessary harm to the New Jersey economy, small businesses, and families across the Garden State.
Your actions to reopen New Jersey have been shockingly slow, completely inconsistent, and totally arbitrary. As a result, tens of thousands of employers and their employees have struggled to survive. Sadly, news reports that cherished local establishments in many communities will never reopen have become all too common. It didn’t have to be this way.
O’Scanlon & DiMaso: Reopening Excludes Critical Points
Senator Declan O’Scanlon and Assemblywoman Serena DiMaso (both R-Monmouth) stated that the Governor’s reopening announcements do not go far enough.
Senator O’Scanlon and Assemblywoman DiMaso said the Governor’s announcement about reopening businesses doesn’t go far enough and relies on arbitrary numbers and dates. (Pixabay)
“While we commend the Governor’s announcements yesterday there are several critical points that were not touched upon or were completely left out. While we will be “allowed” to have indoor gatherings up to 25% capacity or 50 people, the Governor is explicitly excluding indoor dining from this announcement. Indoor dining is inherently an indoor ‘gathering’ and it makes no sense not to include them in 25% capacity limits effective immediately.
Oroho to Murphy: Let’s Not Continue to Lag Our Peer States in Reopening
Senators Hear from Restaurant & Hospitality Industry on Reopening Plans
As a member of the Senate Fiscal Recovery Strategy Workgroup, Senator Steve Oroho participated in a virtual meeting today with restaurant owners, operators and caterers throughout the hospitality industry in the state to hear their comments and advice on how to advance their businesses’ safe reopening.
Sen. Steve Oroho participated in a virtual meeting with restaurant owners in the hospitality industry to hear their comments and advice on how to advance their businesses’ safe reopening. (Pixabay)
“Business owners and their employees in the restaurant and hospitality industry have planned, prepared, and are excited to get back to work under the protection of detailed protocols they have developed to maintain hygiene and safe social distancing for both workers and customers,” said Oroho (R-24). “It’s a shame that while restaurants across the Hudson and Delaware rivers have been trusted to reopen safely, New Jersey’s eateries remain shuttered under Governor Murphy’s executive orders. If the governor would approve industry-specific reopening plans that have been proposed, we could successfully open up many of our restaurants and retailers tomorrow, not days or weeks from now.”
