The Jaffe Briefing - March 13, 2018

TRENTON - As Gov. Phil Murphy prepares to deliver his first budget address at 2 p.m. today, at the State House, observers will be curious if his proposals jive with the state's pension mess. Look for the governor to talk about campaign topics like equal pay, health care, climate change, immigration and offshore drilling, as well as the proposed millionaire's tax to generate cash for New Jersey's schools, transportation and pension systems. Murphy will hit a few hiccups along the way, most notably Senate President Stephen Sweeney's less-than-tepid support and an inconvenient $8.7 billion structural gap between revenue and expenses. Another hiccup? Years of skipping or reducing pension contributions have left New Jersey with the "worst-funded state system in the nation," reports Bloomberg. So, have at it, governor. No one said this would be easy.

TRENTON - So, what's next for NJ Transit? We will learn today, when the governor promises a "major statement" about this beleaguered rail agency. The grand solution will certainly cost a heap of money, as Murphy must magically reverse declining ridership, chronic maintainence issues and reduced staffing. Fare hikes would certainly appear in the mix, as New Jersey, unfortunately, is not permitted under the U.S. Constitution to print its own money. (We checked.) Here's an idea to spark ridership: If students want to attend free community college, as the governor has promised, all classes need to be held on NJ Transit trains. Just an idea.

JERSEY CITY - Former Gov. Brendan Byrne passed away January 4, but he is still somehow making news. The plan is for some of his ashes be prominently placed at Healy's Tavern in Jersey City at 4 p.m. Friday, while other remains would be scattered at Brendan Byrne State Forest and elsewhere. NJ.com asked the Roman Catholic church about the plans, and the response was as expected: The church is against it. Apparently, all the remains need to be together, so the perfect body rises during Resurrection. You are not supposed to scatter ashes either. OK, ok; no one wants to mess with the Archdiocese of Newark. But, as Byrne fans, we would prefer to honor his successes by looking up at a mantle and toasting the 47th governor with a pint.

STATEWIDE - If you are a repair guy with a major utility, you are not reading this. You are sleeping. Or eating. Or showering. Or journeying home. That's because you have been working day and night for the past week, restoring power to people's homes after two nor'easters dumped more than two feet of snow, with high winds, on New Jersey. It appears that all power has been restored, mercifully, with crews from as far away as Michigan and Illinois cutting through fallen trees to reconnect miles of wire. Politicians and social media pundits have been squawking about all the power outages. But kudos to all these repair crews, who we assume were under tremendous pressure to work, work, work....and work.