New Jersey Senate Republicans

09/03/2026 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 09/03/2026 13:54

News Flash, Doing Nothing, Other than Increasing State Taxes, Won’t Solve the Problem

News Flash

News Flash, Doing Nothing, Other than Increasing State Taxes, Won't Solve the Problem

Declan O'Scanlon Posted on September 03, 2026

Senate Republican Budget Officer Declan O'Scanlon (R-Monmouth) released the following statement regarding Governor Sherrill's announcement to "freeze" state employee health benefit contribution rates in 2027, essentially doing nothing to solve the problem and simply shifting the cost onto taxpayers:

"The Governor's answer to a 20 percent increase in the cost of the State Health Benefits Program is apparently to do nothing this year and promise to work on it later. That is not a reform plan. Meanwhile, taxpayers and local public employees are left dealing with double-digit premium increases while the SHBP continues to become more expensive and less sustainable. Once you're in a death spiral, the time for formation of committees is over. This is an emergency, that there is no plan other than this at this point is astounding.

"It's no different than under Governor Murphy. And saying the State will eat the cost is a little misleading. The State doesn't have a magic checkbook; it's the taxpayers that are left covering the bill. If the Governor is serious about fixing this problem, she should stop promising reforms down the road and actually do the work now to make the program sustainable. It's these big-government, politically motivated promises that force State taxpayers to pick up extra bills that leads to endless tax increases and cascading pressure throughout our budget… underfunding of schools just one example."

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