New jersey governor phil murphy
New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy

New Jersey Senate Rejects Phil Murphy’s Request to Extend COVID-19 Pandemic Powers

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1 min read
January 10, 2022

TRENTON, NJ – The Democrat led New Jersey Senate today decided to not extend Governor Phil Murphy’s emergency pandemic powers, dealing the newly re-elected governor a political blow on his health emergency policy today.

Murphy initially asked for a 90-day extension, but through negotiations, the Senate introduced a conditional 45-day bill. In the end, the Senate, realizing the political ramifications of empowering the governor, even in the blue state of New Jersey could be dire in the next two election cycles decided not to stop Murphy’s pandemic powers from expiring Tuesday night.

Earlier in the day, Murphy made it clear that he will extend the school face mask mandate whether or not the Senate gave him power to do so.

After the Senate rejected the Governor’s request, the Democrat-controlled assembly will follow suit.

One of the options at the Governor’s disposal is to declare a new unilateral executive order declaring a new public health state of emergency.

Phil Stilton

Phil Stilton is the Editor and Publisher of Shore News Network, an independent digital newsroom providing original reporting on New Jersey, national news, government, public policy, public safety, courts, and community affairs.

As founder of the publication, Stilton leads editorial strategy, investigative reporting, and daily newsroom operations while overseeing coverage that reaches millions of readers annually.

With extensive experience covering municipal government, county government, state legislatures, elections, law enforcement, emergency management, and public records, Stilton specializes in translating complex government actions into clear, factual reporting. His work frequently relies on primary source documents, including court filings, legislation, public meeting records, election finance disclosures, government databases, police reports, and Freedom of Information and Open Public Records Act (OPRA) requests. He has reported extensively on local government accountability, taxpayer spending, campaign finance, public corruption investigations, infrastructure, public safety, and the policies affecting New Jersey residents.

Under Stilton's editorial leadership, Shore News Network has grown into one of New Jersey's largest independent digital news organizations, publishing thousands of original news articles each year while providing breaking news coverage, investigative reporting, and analysis across state and local government. The publication's reporting is routinely sourced from official government agencies, public officials, court records, and firsthand documentation, with a commitment to transparency, attribution, corrections when warranted, and clearly distinguishing factual reporting from opinion.

Stilton's journalism follows established newsroom standards emphasizing accuracy, verification, fairness, and accountability. Every effort is made to verify information through official records and multiple reliable sources before publication. His reporting is intended to provide readers with timely, well-documented information that helps them understand the issues affecting their communities, while maintaining editorial independence from political parties, government agencies, advocacy organizations, and commercial interests.

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