Tap the brakes: Murphy says he'll veto NJ Turnpike budget that includes another toll hike

Succumbing to calls from Republicans and his own party, Gov. Phil Murphy announced Thursday that he will veto the 2024 budget approved this week by the board of the New Jersey Turnpike Authority, which would have increased tolls 3% for the third time in three years.

"I am not satisfied with the justification provided for the toll increases reflected in the budget and need more information for why the board is taking this step," Murphy tweeted Thursday.

The announcement and explanation about needing more information from the turnpike board is striking — given that Murphy hired Diane Gutierrez-Scaccetti to be his chief of staff earlier this month. Gutierrez-Scaccetti is also the commissioner of the Department of Transportation, a role that involves sitting as chair of the boards of several agencies, including the Turnpike Authority.

Gutierrez-Scaccetti was present at Tuesday's meeting where the budget was unanimously approved.

Questions to Murphy's press office about why he didn't ask Gutierrez-Scaccetti about the toll hike were not immediately answered.

More: New Jersey Turnpike tolls, Garden State Parkway rates increasing in 2024

Murphy's office was also asked to elaborate on the specific concerns he has about the justification for the toll increases. In 2020, the Turnpike Authority board voted to begin using an "index" system to dictate when and by how much tolls should go up. This allows the agency to increase tolls annually, but caps it at 3% and avoids large, double-digit increases periodically.

The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey also uses an index, which is tied to inflation. The Turnpike Authority's index is not tied to inflation. Questions to the Turnpike Authority about how its toll index is calculated have not been answered, including last year when toll increases were announced.

Legislative leaders called for budget veto

Earlier this week, separate statements from Democratic leaders Senate President Nicholas Scutari and Assembly Speaker Craig Coughlin and Republican leaders Sen. Anthony Bucco and Sen. Declan O'Scanlon called on Murphy to veto the budget, citing the state's affordability crisis.

"As New Jersey families have been struggling with the effects of inflation, we have focused tirelessly on easing their burdens and ensuring affordability," Scutari and Coughlin said before calling on Murphy to veto the minutes in a statement released just after 10 p.m. on Tuesday.

"This would be the fourth time since 2020 that tolls have been increased in New Jersey. Turnpike commuters will now be paying close to 50% more in tolls starting in 2024 than when Murphy first took office," Bucco and O'Scanlon said in their statement Wednesday.

Murphy's decision to veto comes just 12 days before Election Day, and this year every seat in the Senate and Assembly is up for election.

This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Phil Murphy to veto NJ Turnpike budget that includes toll hike