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May 26 to June 1
Recriminalize Cannabis
A bill sponsored by Senate President Nick Scutari and Republican Leader Anthony Bucco would criminalize the purchase of unlicensed cannabis products. Saying that drug dealers “are alive and well” and citing the existence of unlicensed brick and mortar cannabis stores, Scutari believes it is time to crack down on the state’s black market in cannabis.
Cannabis advocates are arguing that the move is a step in the direction of recriminalizing pot, which was ended with the state’s move to legal cannabis sale and use.
The bill would make the selling of unlicensed marijuana and other cannabis products third-degree indictable offenses. It would make knowingly buying these products a disorderly persons offense. It even establishes a second-degree offense for leading an “illegal marijuana business network.”
The bill has been referred to the Senate Judiciary Committee but has not received a committee vote yet. It also has no counterpart in the Assembly. However, some lawmakers are said to be in support of the move, seeing current circumstances as undermining the regulated activities that the state and municipalities tax. The legal sale of cannabis has produced more than $1 billion of taxable revenue since April 2022.
Republicans in an election year have been particularly harsh when commenting on the present situation. Sen. Michael Testa (R-1) said that Attorney General Matthew Platkin has a policy of “absentee” leadership on the issue. A spokesperson for Platkin said state law enforcement is committed to fighting the black market with all the tools provided under the state laws that the Legislature passed.
The Coalition for Medical Marijuana is using social media to urge New Jerseyans to oppose the bill. Other legal cannabis advocates say recriminalization in any form is a step back from the goals the state articulated when it created the legal industry.
For many who oppose the bill, the proposed Senate action is proof that the legalization of cannabis was always more about money than social justice.
Education Funding Tweaked
With one month to go in the process of reaching agreement on a state budget for fiscal year 2026, which starts July 1, 2025, one area of special concern is the tweaking Gov. Phil Murphy proposed to state education funding. Some $22 billion of the record $58 billion proposed budget is earmarked for public education funding.
The state education formula was redone in 2018 under what has come to be known as S-2, Senate Bill 2. There were winners and losers in that reformulation, and Cape May County was largely among the losers. From fiscal year 2018 to the current fiscal year 2025, Cape May County school districts saw $23.5 million cut from state aid.
Murphy’s fiscal year 2026 state budget tweaks state aid for education in a number of ways, with three specific changes of special importance.
The governor sets a cap on reductions in state aid in any one year for four areas of funding: equalization, transportation, security and special education. Reductions in state aid in these categories cannot exceed 3%, and increases in the same areas cannot exceed 6% when compared to the prior year.
The budget also anticipates a shift in how the state calculates special education aid, requiring the Education Department to use actual special education enrollment numbers in a specific district rather than a state average.
The budget adjusts the formula for calculating a district’s fair share, the amount of the levy that is to be paid by property owners. In that calculation the aggregate property value and income of the district are separately multiplied against rate multipliers that are determined by the state.
If a district has seen state aid reductions from 2021 and the calculation of fair share shows the district’s taxpayers are taxed below their fair share level, the district can raise the tax levy above levels that would normally have been constrained by the state’s tax levy cap. The state will even provide “incentive” funding for doing so through the tax levy incentive aid program. There is no need to seek voter approval for the hikes.
This new provision is being used by Dennis Township School District this year as a way to add $1.8 million to the district tax levy even though voters in the district have twice rejected ballot proposals requesting an above-cap increase in the tax levy.
Also to be closely watched, whether there are any changes in the $1.1 billion in federal aid for education that the budget assumes will be available.
The New Jersey Constitution requires a balanced budget approved by both houses of the Legislature and signed by the governor before July 1.
Electricity Generation Lost
As New Jersey seeks to deal with an escalating energy crisis that is imposing double-digit increases in electricity prices, the state’s loss of electricity generating capacity has become a topic of political debate.
So what specifically has happened to the state’s capacity?
Six power plants in New Jersey have closed down since 2017, resulting in more than 2,500 megawatts of lost capacity. That 2,500 megawatts of capacity is exactly the amount of electricity that the Atlantic Shores offshore wind farm project was scheduled to contribute to the state’s supply. That project is now stalled if not dead.
Specifically the lost capacity came from the closure of five coal-generating plants and one nuclear plant. The breakdown is as follows:
*B.L. England Generating station in Upper Township, which closed in May 2019.
*Hudson Generating Station in Jersey City was shut down in May 2017.
*Mercer Generating Station in Hamilton Township also closed in May 2017.
*Oyster Creek Nuclear Generating Station in Ocean County closed in September 2018.
*Logan Generating Station in Gloucester County shut in December 2022.
*Chambers Cogeneration Plant at Carneys Point closed in May 2022.
No new significant generating stations have come online to replace these decommissioned plants. This has increased New Jersey’s need for energy imports and made the state more vulnerable to market forces.
Week in Review
*The 13 school district superintendents in Cape May County combined to earn $2 million in base salaries in the 2024-2025 school year, according to their district’s budgets.
*The Cape May City Council has adopted a $28 million general fund budget for 2025 that calls for no increase in the local purpose tax rate, the fifth year in a row in which the city has not raised the rate.
*1961 was also the last time one party won three straight times in the race for the governor’s office in New Jersey.
*Wildwood Crest commissioners have authorized a shared services agreement to provide Stone Harbor with the services of their construction official and certain subcode officials.
*Atlantic Cape Community College awarded 887 associate degrees and 37 certificates to students ages 17 to 77 at the college’s 58th annual commencement ceremonies May 22 in Mays Landing.
*The Stone Harbor Borough Council has adopted a $23 million general fund budget for 2025 that increases the local purpose tax rate by 7.2%.
*The Ocean City Regional Chamber of Commerce has endorsed a proposed resort hotel complex on the city’s boardwalk at the site of the now defunct Wonderland Pier.
*The Stone Harbor Borough Council is proceeding with a reorganization of parts of its Police Department that will reduce the force from 18 to 17 sworn officers.
*The Democratic-controlled Assembly has advanced a series of bills on affordability, addressing imminent increases in utility bill rates and and the issue of affordable housing.
*The Cape May City Council is prohibiting dogs on the yet-unopened Lafayette Park nature trails, an action that came just two weeks after it adopted an ordinance that allows leashed dogs on the trails.
*West Wildwood residents are campaigning hard to save the Police Department, which they believe is on the chopping block.
*Residents attending a meeting May 29 on the proposed USS Jacob Jones Memorial Monument seemed to like an early design, but believe its location should be “more reverent” and consolidated with educational opportunities offered by an exhibit on the Navy destroyer at the World War II Lookout Tower in Lower Township.
*New Jersey voters will be going to the polls for the primary elections on June 10 in the next step toward electing a new governor later this year.
*Members of the public and Democratic candidates for the state Assembly asked the county Board of Commissioners May 27 for help regarding people losing Medicaid and other benefits proposed to be cut under legislation supported by President Donald Trump that would eliminate nearly $1 trillion in social safety net programs.
*Ed Dixon, a Navy veteran, is a man on a mission, seeking to have local towns dedicate the month of August each year to remembering military veterans.
*Two virtual public hearings on Atlantic City Electric’s proposed 8.1% increase in its distribution rates, along with a $1.55 monthly hike in the utility’s base customer charge, drew few attendees and comments.
*New Jersey voters will be going to the polls for the primary elections on June 10 in the next step toward electing a new governor later this year.
Spout Off of the Week
The unused railroad bridge in the canal should be removed. Train service into Cape May will never restart and this boating hazard should be removed.
Cape May
