Bills Reducing Pension Contributions from the State Lottery, Instituting a Commuter Tax Credit and Requiring a Cost-Benefit Analysis for the Privatization of State Contracts Will be Voted On
S-2621: Sen. Singleton (D-7) Reduces Pension Contributions Derived from the Lottery
The New Jersey State AFL-CIO opposes this bill and urges all Senators to vote “No”. Adding insult to injury in our already massively underfunded pension system, this legislation would reduce the amount of funding dedicated to pensions from the lottery from 30% to 27%. Northstar, the company that manages the state lottery, is looking to reduce its financial obligation to the state and further increase profits. In short, the company wants to keep more of the money it takes from sales and cut back on how much it sends to the state. This bill is simply bad public policy and is rewarding a company that has underperformed and missed their revenue targets repeatedly.
S-1567: Sen. Weinberg (D-37) The Commuter Tax Credit
This bill has been posted for a Senate vote. The New Jersey State AFL-CIO supports the bill and urges all members of the Senate to vote in favor. The bill requires every employer that has at least 20 employees to offer a pre-tax transportation fringe benefit to all employees. The pre-tax transportation fringe benefit allows an employee to set aside wages on a pre-tax basis, which is then only made available to the employee for the purchase of certain eligible transportation services, including transit passes and commuter highway vehicle travel.
S-1518: Sen. Turner (D-15) & Sen. Beach (D-6) Requires a Cost Benefit Analysis Be Conducted for Privatized State Contracts
This bill requires that prior to entering into any state privatization contract in excess of $100,000 for the performance of work currently performed by public employees, a cost analysis must be performed. The cost analysis is to determine whether it is more cost effective to use employees of the private business entity than to use existing or additional departmental employees. This pro-taxpayer legislation is supported by the New Jersey State AFL-CIO. The bill will be voted upon in the Senate State Government Committee.
The New Jersey State ALF-CIO urges all affiliates to communicate their positions on these important bills to members of the Senate and to attend the voting session on Thursday, September 27.