TRENTON, NJ – Senator Declan O’Scanlon, the Senate Republican Budget Officer, accused Democratic lawmakers of pushing through $500 million in budget line items without proper disclosure or explanation. He said the spending, spread across 400 items, was added to the fiscal year 2026 budget during a late-night session and lacked the required public justification.
O’Scanlon claimed the documents released Friday afternoon were “sanitized” and altered after the fact to obscure sponsorship details.
He argued that the move violated Rule 42 of the Joint Rules of the Senate and General Assembly, which requires lawmakers to file and publicly share explanations for every proposed budget item before the vote.
According to O’Scanlon, Senate Republicans complied with the rule in June by posting their budget resolutions online, while Democrats delayed releasing theirs until late on a summer Friday, allegedly to avoid public scrutiny.
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Key Points
- O’Scanlon says Democrats added $500M in budget items without proper explanations
- Claims released documents were altered and lacked transparency
- Republicans say they posted their resolutions online in June in compliance with state rules
