HOLMDEL, N.J. — Senate Republican Budget Officer Declan O’Scanlon on Thursday called on Governor Phil Murphy to immediately freeze hundreds of state budget items he labeled as frivolous “pork,” warning of a $4 billion budget shortfall that will confront the next administration.
O’Scanlon cited more than 200 spending accounts from the past three state budgets, including allocations for a cheer squad, a lacrosse association, a skating rink, and a minor league baseball stadium outfitted with luxury boxes and party decks. He also pointed to ongoing unspent appropriations for a marina in Hoboken and funding tied to an agency in Newark that sponsored an event involving antisemitic figures.
“The pork was apparently so frivolous and unnecessary that there are three-year-old cash balances no one has claimed,” O’Scanlon said in a statement. He urged the Governor to impound these funds and prohibit any agency from distributing them until further review.
Among the items he flagged were repeated appropriations to the same projects across multiple years, including additional funding in 2024 for the Newark agency and the Middlesex County baseball stadium. O’Scanlon said the money should have either been spent within a year or returned to the General Fund under the original grant terms.
In addition, O’Scanlon is calling for a freeze on 115 new appropriations in the recently signed fiscal 2026 budget, which includes approximately 400 grants totaling $500 million. He said many of these items were allocated without sufficient explanation and should be placed in reserve for at least six months.
He previously introduced an amendment to cancel these appropriations and redirect the money toward property tax relief and potential federal aid shortfalls. The amendment was voted down by legislative Democrats.
O’Scanlon cited concerns raised by the nonpartisan Office of Legislative Services, which has identified the projected budget gap as stemming from a $1.7 billion drawdown of surplus funds, reliance on about $1 billion in one-time revenues, and underfunding of the STAY NJ property tax relief program.
The Senator said the budget “shoveled money out the door to law-of-the-jungle pork” and warned of significant financial pressures ahead if federal Medicaid funding assumptions do not materialize.
O’Scanlon’s appeal intensifies scrutiny of discretionary state spending as New Jersey faces mounting fiscal uncertainty.
