Governor Phil Murphy delivers the 2026 fiscal year budget address in Trenton, Tuesday, Feb. 25, 2025.
© Anne-Marie Caruso/NorthJersey.com / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
(Trenton, NJ) — New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy is proposing a 58-billion-dollar budget for the 2026 fiscal year. It’s the largest budget in Garden State history and contains a one-point-two-billion-dollar budget gap.
The second-term Democrat, who’s term-limited, said the state has an obligation to deliver economic opportunity and security to all New Jerseyans in the face of everything from escalating housing costs to soaring egg prices. Murphy said all this comes in the face of chaos in Washington and acknowledged the impact it could have on the state, especially in light of a federal funding freeze.
Murphy emphasized fiscal responsibility and a commitment to fully funding New Jersey’s education system. There will be tax increases, he said on internet gaming, sports betting, alcohol, cigarettes and high-value properties. The Governor and state lawmakers are required by law to have a new budget in place by July 1st.
