In his speech, the governor of New Jersey supports healthcare and medical debt relief
New Jersey Gov. Philip D. Murphy on Tuesday embraced proposals in his annual State of the State address to make it easier to build affordable housing and cut out-of-pocket spending on abortions.
The governor, a second-term Democrat who cannot run for re-election, also said he would support the increased use of phonics in learning to read and would continue to work to ease the burden of medical debt, presumably by expanding a program he had developed. funded last year and with the goal of raising $10 million to pay off 100 times that amount of residents’ debt.
“In the richest country in the world,” the governor told Senate and General Assembly lawmakers in a joint speech in Trenton, “no one should have to worry about being able to afford crucial health care services or a life-saving medical procedure.” ‘
The goals stated by the governor were fairly modest as he looks ahead to his final two years in office, and they largely stemmed from existing initiatives proposed by the Democratic-led Legislature.
Mr Murphy made a fleeting reference to his support for wind power, but gave no indication of how he might pivot after Danish company Orsted abruptly withdrew from its plan to build two wind farms off the Jersey coast in November. The canceled projects were a major setback to the state and country’s ambitious goals for reducing greenhouse gas emissions that accelerate climate change, and some feared it could hurt Democrats just days before the election.
Even before Orsted’s announcement, most Democrats in tight races had avoided campaigning with Mr. Murphy, who was re-elected in November 2021 by only about three percentage points. However, Democrats expanded their majority in Trenton, prompting the governor to appear to take a veiled swipe at his legislative colleagues on Tuesday.
“I guess having your picture taken with me wasn’t so bad after all,” he said.
Here are some highlights from Mr. Murphys sixth annual State of the State Address:
Louisa Carman Medical Debt Relief Act
Health-related costs are the No. 1 source of debt in the United States, according to the White House, more than debt related to credit cards, loans and energy costs.
In New Jersey, the outlook is even grimmer.
New Jersey ranked 45 out of 50 states for policies that help residents burdened with unpaid medical bills, according to a report by Innovation for Justice and a team of researchers from the University of Arizona and the University of Utah.
The governor used his address to the Legislature to propose a package of medical debt relief bills to help families “avoid falling into a medical debt trap” and require that medical bills be clear and transparent .
Part of the legislation would be named after this name Louise Carman, who died in a traffic accident in New Jersey on New Year’s Day. Ms. Carman, 25, was a policy analyst who worked for the governor and focused on making health care more affordable and accessible.
“With this legislative package, we can continue her mission,” the governor said, choking back tears.
Fully funded abortions
Before the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022, Mr. Murphy and state lawmakers proposed expanding access to reproductive health care while enshrining abortion as a right in New Jersey.
Lawmakers succeeded in codifying the procedure as a constitutional right in the state, limiting the effect of the Supreme Court’s decision.
But they failed to gain support to fully fund the procedure for low-income women.
Since last year the New Jersey Department of Banking and Insurance began demanding coverage of abortion services. And Mr. Murphy said the Legislature should pass a bill sponsored in the past by Senate Majority Leader M. Teresa Ruiz and Assemblywoman Shanique Speight to “eliminate out-of-pocket costs for abortion procedures.”
Sound-it-out lecture
Mr. Murphy joined a chorus of governors, including Gov. Kathy Hochul of New York, who now say instructors should return to solid instruction, known as phonics, when teaching children to read.
As reading scores have lagged across the country, bipartisan support has grown for what has become known as the “science of reading.”
Mr Murphy said he planned to introduce “new initiatives” to “teach our children the basics of reading – such as pronouncing letters and combining them into words.” He did not elaborate on the proposal, but said the goal was to “improve the literacy rate among our children.”
Affordable housing
Mr. Murphy said he supported a proposal unveiled last month by leaders of the General Assembly and Senate to make it easier to build more affordable housing “efficiently and equitably.”
The proposal calls for a new, streamlined process to give cities more flexibility in building low-cost housing.
It would also create a neutral panel of experts to mediate conflicts over how much and where to build affordable housing, in an effort to reduce costly and lengthy lawsuits that could delay construction.
Right to vote from age 16
Mr. Murphy said he would support lowering the voting age in statewide school board elections to 16.
On Wednesday, the Newark City Council is expected to approve legislation that would make Newark the largest city in the country to allow 16- and 17-year-olds to vote in school board elections. The next such elections are in April.
In Trenton, lawmakers are expected to introduce legislation in coming months that would require communities across the state to allow 16-year-olds to vote in school board races.
“Encouraging our young neighbors to engage with democracy is really about encouraging them to become lifelong voters,” the governor said.
Artificial intelligence
The governor also announced what he called an “AI moonshot.”
He said he would push to make New Jersey a center of innovators and leaders willing to invest in artificial intelligence research and development.
Last month, the New Jersey Economic Development Authority announced plans to do so join Princeton University to make the state “an integrated center of AI activity.” He said the state’s Chief Innovation Officer Beth Noveck would also become New Jersey’s first AI strategist.
Unlike Ms. Hochul, who on Tuesday proposed spending $275 million in state funds to create a public-private partnership aimed at making New York a major player in artificial intelligence research, the Mr Murphy few additional details.
“The future of generative AI is yet to be written,” he said. “New Jersey could be the author.”