Enacted Budget – Fiscal Year 2027
On June 30, New Jersey Governor Mikie Sherrill signed the state’s fiscal 2027 budget, with line-item vetoes. The enacted budget provides for $60.74 billion in total state fund appropriations and $30.50 billion in federal fund appropriations. The budget is based on total certified resources for all state funds of $67.06 billion, including a beginning general fund balance of $7.67 billion, general fund revenues of $33.9 billion, Property Tax Relief Fund revenues of $24.4 billion, Casino Revenue Fund resources of $1.0 billion, Casino Control Fund revenues of $81 million, and Gubernatorial Elections Fund revenues of $0.2 million. The budget projects an undesignated ending balance, or surplus, of $6.08 billion.
The budget prioritizes affordability, support for children and families, government accountability, and fiscal responsibility. It provides record property tax relief, including funding for ANCHOR, Senior Freeze, and Stay NJ, and restructures Stay NJ to provide income-based maximum benefits through a modified tiered system. The budget increases funding for the Down Payment Assistance Program to support first-time and first-generation homebuyers, as well as directs funds towards housing programs, homelessness response efforts, and the Bringing Veterans Home initiative. For education, the budget provides record funding for K-12 schools and for preschool education aid, doubles funding for high-impact tutoring, and provides free school meals to 21,000 children. It funds the new Office of Youth Online Mental Health Safety and Awareness and a Social Media Research Center, while providing initial funding for the School-based Partnerships for Access and Resilience for Kids (SPARK) initiative to support students with complex mental health needs. The budget also expands Family Connects NJ, a universal nurse home visiting program, and provides funds to support the reopening of the Child Care Assistance Program application process. To improve government operations and accountability, the budget provides additional funding to the New Jersey Innovation Authority, as well as funding technology upgrades and oversight initiatives. The budget also provides state operating support for NJ TRANSIT and funds for transportation capital projects. Additionally, the budget makes a full pension contribution for a sixth consecutive year. The administration estimates that spending restraint in the budget and revenue changes reduced the state’s structural deficit to $1.35 billion. Separate revenue legislation enacted alongside the budget included a temporary cap on corporate net operating loss deductions, limits on the alternative business calculation adjustment, a new fee for certain employers whose employees or dependents receive Medicaid coverage, and tiered registration fees for certain data brokers, as well as a 25 percent increase to the Child Tax Credit for three years and reduced business formation fees.