Senator Barbara Buono

TRENTON – Sen. Barbara Buono (D-Middlesex) issued the following statement in response to the Treasurer’s announcement that revenue collections for the 1st Quarter of the 2010 Fiscal Year are off by 3 percent:

“The first quarter revenue figures reflect the continuing impact of the global financial recession. Fortunately, we based the state budget we approved in June on conservative revenue projections. While it is certainly disheartening that collections have fallen short of those projections, they are within the surplus we budgeted for.

NEW BRUNSWICK – On Wednesday, October 14th, Senator Barbara Buono (D-Middlesex) will host a Nonprofit Roundtable Discussion with leaders from New Jersey’s non-profit organizations to identify ways to work with the State to help increase efficiency and maintain their vital services during the economic recession.

“New Jersey’s nonprofit organizations have been particularly hard hit by the recession,” said Senator Buono. “While they are facing the same declining revenue streams that face the rest of our State, they are also experiencing a dramatic increase in demand for their services.”

TRENTON – A bill sponsored by Senate Budget Committee Chairwoman, Senator Barbara Buono, and State Government Committee Chairman, Senator Nicholas P. Scutari, which expands consumer protections under New Jersey’s motor vehicle “Lemon Law” from two years or 18,000 miles to two years or 24,000 miles, was signed into law yesterday by Governor Corzine.

“This change is reasonable and sorely needed since current usage patterns and needs have changed considerably,” said Senator Buono, D-Middlesex. “Drivers commute to work much farther than when the law was enacted 18 years ago and subsequently consumers are finding their lemon law rights are limited to approximately a year of usage. In fact, the average consumer reaches the 18,000 mile limit after only 14 months. By broadening the window through which individuals can file claims to 24,000 miles or two years, we will be affording many hardworking New Jerseyans enhanced consumer protection.”

EDISON – Senator Barbara Buono (D-Middlesex) issued the following statement in response to two recent bias crimes that occurred in Edison. The first involved the violent attack of a 19-year old student of the Rabbi Jacob Joseph Yeshiva on the second night of Rosh Hashana and the second involved the spray painting of three swastikas on the front of the Congregation Beth El synagogue, discovered the day after Yom Kippur.

“The bias crimes that occurred in Edison this past week are a shameful and outright heinous example of the destructive ability of those who are motivated by hate. The young man who was assaulted during the Jewish holy season, and the many young children who arrived at synagogue to find the symbol of hate used by the Nazi regime, are innocent victims of this irrational intolerance.

Citing studies that document the health risks to non-smokers who are exposed to secondhand smoke, as well as environmental concerns, Sen. Barbara Buono (D-Middlesex) said today she is introducing a bill to ban smoking at all state, county and municipal parks and beaches.

“While cigarette smoking has declined dramatically since the first Surgeon General’s report more than 40 years ago, tobacco continues to take a deadly toll,” Sen. Buono said. “A report on tobacco use in America by the Institute of Medicine of the National Academies found that among the 440,000 annual deaths caused by tobacco are 50,000 non-smokers killed by the smoking of others.”

TRENTON – A $29 billion state budget that dramatically cuts spending, preserves funding for health and education programs and restores substantial property tax relief was approved in the state Senate today by a 22-17 vote.

“This has clearly been one of the most difficult budgets the Legislature and administration have ever had to deal with,” said Sen. Barbara Buono (D-Middlesex), chairwoman of the Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee. “Months of unrelentingly bad economic news on a global scale have informed our work as we have struggled to come up with a budget that is balanced and fairly shares the pain of drastically shrinking revenues. Every page of this budget reflects our efforts to make sure the necessary cuts we made were done with an eye treating the many competing interests with fairness and sensitivity while also recognizing the money to fund some very worthwhile programs simply isn’t available.”

TRENTON – The Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee today approved a $29 billion state budget, restores nearly half a billion dollars in direct property tax relief and dramatically cuts spending while preserving funding for important health and education programs.

“The announcement last week that the Tax Amnesty program has been even more successful than we had hoped has enabled us to significantly increase the amount of property tax relief we can provide to the hardworking people of New Jersey,” said Sen. Barbara Buono (D-Middlesex), chairwoman of the Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee. “The additional revenue the program has brought in is being targeted to provide the most property tax relief to the people who are most in need. This is an extraordinary accomplishment given the economic landscape in New Jersey and across the country.”

TRENTON – Sen. Barbara Buono (D-Middlesex), chairwoman of the Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee, issued the following statement on the revenue windfall from the tax amnesty program:

“The announcement today of more than $400 million in unanticipated revenues from the recently concluded tax amnesty program is a welcome respite from the steady drumbeat of bad news concerning the state and national economy. We are still in the midst of an unprecedented economic downturn, but the tax amnesty windfall will help us lessen some of the pain of next year’s state budget.

Corrects tax rates on alcohol, corrects sponsorship of S-2016. 

TRENTON � The Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee today approved a $28.6 billion state budget, which dramatically cuts spending while preserving funding for important health and education programs and provides needed property tax relief for seniors, for the fiscal year that begins July 1.

�This bill represents a tremendous amount of work by a great number of people and embodies the difficult choices we faced in light of the unprecedented economic downturn that is affecting this country and the state of New Jersey,� Sen. Buono said. �It incorporates more than $4 billion of cuts, an unprecedented amount level of cutting that reflects the sharp reduction in revenues the state is experiencing. This budget had been balanced primarily by spending cuts and reductions in baseline growth.

NEW BRUNSWICK – Today, Senator Buono will speak at the Gateway Transit Village groundbreaking which is part of the long and successful urban renewal process for the city of New Brunswick. The project will add hundreds of much-needed parking spots for the downtown area and create new residential opportunities in a sought-after community.

What: Groundbreaking of Gateway Transit Village Project