TRENTON, NJ — Legislation that would increase New Jersey’s gas tax by nearly 2 cents per gallon and charge electric vehicle owners an annual registration fee passed both houses of the state Legislature on Monday and now heads to Gov. Phil Murphy for his signature.
The state Senate and General Assembly voted mostly along party lines to pass the New Jersey Transportation Trust Fund Authority Act, or bill A4011, which increases the state’s gas tax rate by 1.9 cents per gallon each year for the next five years.
The passage of the bill reauthorizes the state’s eight-year Transportation Trust Fund, which funds road projects and NJ Transit’s capital needs. Imposing the new tax would increase revenue for the state to $2.115 billion in fiscal year 2026, $2.119 billion in FY 2027, $2.366 billion in FY 2028 and $2.366 billion in FY 2029.
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The legislation also requires the owners of zero-emission vehicles to pay an annual $250 registration fee starting in fiscal year 2025. The fee would increase by $10 annually until it reaches $290 in FY 2029.
The Assembly voted 49-28 to pass the legislation, while the Senate voted 24-14 with most Republicans opposing the Democrat-sponsored bill.
The legislation now goes to Murphy for approval. If signed, the legislation would go into effect on July 1.
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“Without such renewal, ongoing projects will languish, costs will skyrocket, reminiscent of the hardships endured during previous shutdowns that some of you may have been here to face,” bill sponsor Assemblyman Clinton Calabrese said, according to a Bergen Record report.
Senate Minority Leader Anthony Bucco, a co-sponsor of a Republican counter-proposal, said he was “disappointed” in the increase, NJ Advance Media reported. Bucco’s proposal would have “utilized some of the (state’s) debt defeasance money that would have given taxpayers a break a break,” he said, according to NJ.com. “It would have used some of the state surplus the state carries and for a good purpose.”
Meanwhile, Murphy officials have defended the legislation, NJ.com reported, stating that a 1.9 cent per gallon annual increase for five years would be more affordable than an immediate double-digit hike.
“The plan that is on the table is modest, is responsible, it is the least costly plan to get the value (and) the amount of infrastructure investment this state needs,” Diane Gutierrez-Scaccetti, Murphy’s chief of staff and former state transportation commissioner, told NJ Advance Media. “It is affordable by many if not all, and it is meant to be something that is not taxing to a family’s budget.”
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