♪ ♪ >> From NJPBS Studios, this is "NJ Spotlight News" with Brianna Vannozzi.

>> Hello, and thanks for joining us.

I'm Joanna Gagas, in for Brianna Vannozzi.

A few topics we'll get into later in the broadcast as the trump administration continues to strike iran some members of congress are trying to reign in the president's war powers and tough choices need to be made to balance the state budget will those decisions impact new jersey's business community and later there's a new plan to fund the 988 suicide and crisis hotline, but will it pass the legislature?

First, from the rails to the roads, there's a whole lot going on with transit in New Jersey.

Let's start with news on the Gateway Tunnel, where experts say the fits and starts in funding could add $1 billion to the overall project costs, which right now total $16 billion.

The Sherrill administration argued in the Second Circuit Court of Appeals earlier today, challenging the Trump administration's fight to end the funding, but Tom Wright, head of the Regional Plan Association, warned that a prolonged legal fight will upend the budgeting that was on track before the Trump administration froze the funding last fall.

Governor Sherrill issued a response to the new projected gateway totals, saying, "When President Trump gets involved, costs go up and working people suffer."

Also today, a federal judge ruled against the Trump administration in favor of New York's congestion pricing.

>> The matter went before the Court after u.s.

Transportation secretary Sean Duffy threatened to withhold Approval and funding for several Transit and highway projects Unless new york agreed to end Congestion pricing, a move that The court ruled is illegal.

So congestion pricing remains, And the price of gas is now Likely to go up.

Petroleum analysts say it's a Combo of causes, one being the War in iran and its impact on Petroleum exports through the state of Hormuz, the other being the switch from a winter blend gasoline to a summer blend, which occurs seasonally.

Well, that one-two punch will see prices climb into the $3 range.

Coming up, we look at how New Jersey lawmakers are planning to vote on President Trump's war powers.

We get the latest from Washington.

That's next.

Funding for NJ Spotlight News, provided by the members of the New Jersey Education Association.

Making public schools great for every child.

Protesters marched in freezing temperatures in New York's Military Park on Monday night in opposition to the U.S.

attacks in Iran.

They're calling for an immediate end to the war that they say is illegal.

Many protesters saying that another regime change war will do nothing to make Americans or the world safer.

The event was organized by ANSWER, a national left-leaning organization whose acronym stands for Act Now to Stop War and End Racism.

Local groups joined in the protest, including the People's Organization for Progress and the New York City/New Jersey Black Alliance for Peace.

Meanwhile, members of Congress are President needs their approval to continue the conflict.

Members have proposed multiple War Powers resolutions that would limit the President's ability to use military power.

They're scheduled to vote on one bipartisan bill on Thursday.

Our Washington, D.C.

correspondent Ben Hulak joins us now to break it all down.

Ben, there is a bill right now that I just said is going to be voted on on Thursday, but a new War Powers resolution was also introduced today by New Jersey's fifth congressional representative, Josh Gottheimer.

Let's start with the one that's set for a vote.

What would it do?

It would effectively short circuit the Trump administration's war with Iran.

It would start over the weekend.

It would force hostilities on the U.S.

side to end.

Efforts like this have fizzled so far in this Congress, where Republicans control both chambers.

Similar measures have been put forward last year to rein in a potential war with Iran.

That didn't clear a vote in the Senate.

And if we think about Venezuela, a comparable measure deadlocked recently, 215 votes to 215 votes in the House.

So also keep in mind that anything that Congress passes, if it hypothetically did pass anything, would likely be vetoed by President Donald Trump.

Now, Congress could take another swing and try to override that veto, but that is a tall order.

That would require two-thirds majorities in both chambers.

So, it's a rough political slog ahead.

The votes likely just aren't there.

Yeah, it seems right now many Republicans are in lockstep with the President, supporting his moves in Iran.

Some have called for at least a clearer plan as to how this thing ends, what is considered a success.

Congressman Josh Gottheimer has been in support of the president's actions, but actually proposed this new War Powers resolution.

What can you tell us in terms of what he's calling for together with several members of his Democratic Party?

Well, his measure likely won't even receive a vote.

The House floor is controlled by Mike Johnson, a Republican, who on his own is whipping votes against the bipartisan House resolution that will likely get a vote on Thursday.

So, essentially, Mr.

Gottheimer's resolution is a moot point.

He is certainly the most hawkish on Israel of all the Democrats who represent New Jersey and Washington and is also on the House Intelligence Committee, which means he gets to -- he is privy to information that most members are not.

I would just zoom out a little bit and say there are congressional briefings the Trump administration has organized for today, Tuesday, for all members of Congress.

Now, not all members are here.

There are votes.

There's a midterm election happening in Texas.

People are out of town.

But a lot could shift, at least from what we know, on the Hill and beyond in the coming 24 hours or so, a full-blown vote.

And we do know he, this bill, would like to see a 30-day clock for any military action and regularly briefing Congress.

Now, we do know that the President briefed the Gang of Eight right before he took this military action in Iran.

But some members of Congress are calling for more and more regular briefings, even outside of the War Powers resolutions.

Yes?

Basically, yes.

Members are regularly briefed, depending on what committee you sit on.

You may be briefed more than others.

As I alluded to, Mr.

Gottheimer sits on House Intel.

They are privy to stuff that other members are not.

Armed Services Committees in both the Senate and the House similarly positioned to receive a little bit more information than other members.

I spoke with Donald Norcross last week before the U.S.

and Israel attacked Iran on Saturday and then Iran and its proxies in the Middle East struck back.

And Mr.

Norcross essentially told me that briefings and his 12 years of in Congress have been regular steady.

You know the quality has largely been fairly steady.

He doesn't get into a lot of the details when he talks to me about these things because they're classified.

But but in the past year or so the quality and quantity of briefings have gone down sharply.

We said absolutely when I asked him in both number and spend scope effectively have the roofing diminished.

Yes.

Let me ask you this Ben.

Republicans have called Democrats hypocrites on this issue for criticizing the president.

They say they didn't hear this outcry when President Obama took military action against seven different countries.

I'm going to list them Afghanistan Iraq Syria Libya Yemen Somalia and Pakistan.

Why is it that Democrats are so outspoken now against this president.

It is it's easy to be on the sort of political defense if you will criticize a president of the opposition party.

This is historically land that Congress has ceded over myriad wars and decades.

Congress has really given power and legal authority over to the executive branch to conduct military strikes, medium-term operations, long-term operations over generations.

And this is a, I would say, structural, systematic issue more than a partisan issue.

Yeah.

We're going to just quickly switch gears in the short time that we have left because a federal judge ruled today out of the District of Columbia District Court in D.C.

suspending DHS's policy under Christine Noem, Secretary Christine Noem, that requires members of Congress to alert DHS one week before any oversight visit of a detention facility, immigration detention facility.

The judge suspended that rule.

What impact does that have on lawmakers now who want to make, let's say, surprise visits to a detention facility?

Right.

The whole point of an inspection is that it's a surprise, right?

So if you have to notify the person you're inspecting a week in advance, "Hey, I'm going to be there next Thursday," they're going to be ready, right?

Presumably.

So this actually could put some teeth back into congressional oversight of sites like Delaney Hall, Lillis-Biff detention center, and in theory, if it is staffed and holding immigrant detainees, the Roxbury ICE detention site that the Trump administration is standing up right now.

And we know, we've heard from many of our members of Congress here that they've found and heard of deplorable conditions within those facilities.

Right.

And I would say as a reporter, I am interested in talking to members when they've come back from these sites.

And the public should be interested in this as well, because members are some of the few people who can actually enter these sites.

And these are sites that are sealed off.

They are not, perhaps if you're an immigration lawyer or a family member, you can get in by requesting a visit in advance, but you can't just show up, knock on the door and say, "Hey, can you please let me in?"

Members in many ways are eyes, ears, our noses, and a really disgusting sense for what's happening behind these doors.

And the conditions, as you say, have been really putrid for a long time.

Yeah, we're gonna have to leave it there.

But a whole lot we just covered.

Ben Hulak, our Washington, D.C.

correspondent for us.

appreciate your insights.

Of course.

New Jersey's at the edge of a fiscal cliff.

Governor Sherrill announced last week the state's facing a $3 billion structural deficit.

The total budget for last fiscal year was $58.8 billion.

And in just two years, Sherrill says the state's $7 billion surplus will run dry.

She's promised not to raise taxes, but business and industry leaders have long argued that New Jersey's businesses are already overtaxed.

Michelle Sekirka is president and CEO of the New Jersey Business and Industry Association.

She joins us now to talk about where the state should go from here as part of our Under the Dome series.

Michelle, thanks so much for being with us today.

What was your reaction to Governor Sherrill's announcement last week ahead of the budget address that she'll deliver on Tuesday?

Sadly, no surprises.

We have been sounding the alarm about a fiscal cliff for the last few years.

We know that particularly post-COVID, we had a lot of extra money in this state that was getting spent, and getting spent on items that weren't going to be sustainable for the future.

So we were not surprised to hear about this deficit facing us here in the state of New Jersey.

What would you like to see as the state's priorities?

Listen, Treasurer, New Jersey State Treasurer Erin Binder says cuts have to be a part of this budgeting process.

Where would you like to see those cuts made?

Well, I always come back to reform.

I don't just like to talk about straight cuts because we have to understand really where there's opportunity to create reform for sustaining long-term opportunity here in the state of New Jersey.

So we've talked for years about property tax reform.

We talk about how we fund education here in the state of New Jersey.

How we look at issues that are some of the biggest items that we have to deal with as challenges and opportunities in terms of the cost and the expense to our state.

Let's just pause right there because I want to talk about how would you reform the way that the school the state fund schools and education.

Well I think we have to step back because again we have a property tax crisis here in the state of New Jersey and we know that property tax is driven by how we fund education.

So we need to sit down and we need to bring everybody together to talk about what are there other opportunities to do that.

I don't have the answer as I sit here today.

I believe a good process yields a fair result but we don't even want to get to the process.

The good thing is the Sherrill administration does believe in process and I think if she could understand that if we could sit down and put a process together with stakeholders around the table looking at practices from other states, I think maybe we'll get some different results for the future.

Let me ask you this.

You've been critical of the Murphy administration over the eight years.

You said that business leaders and the business community didn't have a seat at the table.

Do you feel right now that you do have a seat at the table with the Sherrill administration?

We do.

From day one she was listening.

We had our blueprint for competitive New Jersey throughout the entire campaign.

A lot of those recommendations made their way into transition reports.

And within those recommendations are some of the some of the reforms that we're talking about here.

Give me a couple of those welcomed our ideas and our opportunities.

Give me a couple of them Michelle.

Well let's let's you know again take a look at the ideas in in reforming how we tax here in the state of New Jersey.

You know the fact that we've had such an incredible amount of out migration out of this state.

Again we come to the idea that over the last 15 years we're pushing 40 billion dollars of just a gross income out of the state of New Jersey.

The answer to that is not looking back at the business community with things like that increased corporate business tax.

We have an increase the highest in the nation corporate business tax here in the state of New Jersey while Pennsylvania is on their way down to a reform that's taking them to below 5 percent.

Well we're at 11.5 for the next four years.

So let's start looking at areas like that.

Let's create more opportunity to grow jobs here in the state of New Jersey.

And let's make investments in areas of workforce development so we can skill up our next generation workers so that they're ready for the jobs that we can create here.

Michelle do you support any corporate business tax at a higher level for a higher profit in company?

Absolutely not.

That's what we've been doing.

We've only been looking at our at our businesses, our companies, our corporations as a piggy bank.

We need to look at them as job creators.

That corporate business tax some want to say well it was only on those you know that make the the largest amount of revenue here in the state of New Jersey.

Guess what?

Those are the ones that create the most amount of jobs here in the state of New Jersey, and they're the same ones that have been attritioning here in the state of New Jersey.

They're taking advantage of opportunities to go across to Pennsylvania and not stay here.

So no, the answer is no more taxes on the business community.

In fact, we have to bring those taxes down and create an incentive for those companies to stay here for the future.

You and your organization have been critical of the corporate transit fee that Governor Murphy put in place at about a 2.5% rate right now for businesses profiting 10 million net annually.

That money is right now supposed to be funding NJ Transit.

I know you're not in support of that fee, but it is in place until the end of 2028.

Do you believe that while it exists, it should be constitutionally dedicated to ensure that those funds go where they were intended to go?

100%.

The last thing we want to see is that money is siphoned off for some other purpose.

We understood the challenges with New Jersey Transit.

You know we've engaged in discussions of where and how we could be helpful.

We did not think that that corporate transit fee was the proper answer.

But what we did say is you're going to impose that upon these businesses.

Make sure it gets to where it needs to be.

Are you pushing for that with any lawmakers?

We will continue to push for that as we've had from day one that it was imposed.

Let me ask you a pivot here.

The Supreme Court recently ruled against President Trump's tariff policy.

Since then he has not backed down.

He put in he said 15 but ended up putting in a 10 percent worldwide tariff in place.

How is this.

How is first the confusion about the tariffs and how is that actual new tariff policy impacting business here in New Jersey particularly small business.

Yeah tariffs have been I've been a challenge for sure.

Ironically as I come to you today I'm just leaving the National Association of Manufacturers board meeting where one of the largest topics was tariffs in the future of tariffs.

You know when we have policies that we don't know from day to day how they're going to change.

We need predictability and certainty as a business community in order to make investment for the future in order to invest in equipment and people and new opportunities.

We can't do that on lack of predictability.

So tariffs have been a significant challenge.

What would you like to see come from the federal administration.

What we'd like to see a pause on these on these tariffs for sure.

Absent a full pause we'd like to see a policy that's sustaining.

Let's take the hit once and let's get it absorbed into our balance sheets and know that how we're going to make up for that.

Through our products and services sales what we can or can't put off to our consumers and how it's going to affect our products for the future.

But again we cannot make investment if we do not have certainty and predictability.

Finally short answer as we prepare to watch the governor deliver her first budget address.

Is there anything in particular that you're going to be listening for.

Again we would like to hear that she's ready to take on reform.

We would like to hear no new taxes.

We would like to hear opportunity for investment in the things that mean something to our future.

Workforce development, post-secondary education, the whole continuum of child care, accessibility and affordability, the things that we know are going to help to create prosperity, opportunities and jobs here in our state of New Jersey.

All right, Michelle Sikirka, president and CEO of NJ, the New Jersey Business and Industry Association and JBAA.

Thank you so much.

Thanks so much.

Under the Dome is made possible in part by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, a private corporation funded by the American people.

650 New Jersey residents took their own lives last year.

That's 12 more than the year prior.

The first time there's been an increase in suicide by death since 2022.

That's according to provisional data from the state's Department of Health.

New Jersey's been funding a 988 Suicide and Crisis Hotline to help people at their worst moments, but funding for the program is uncertain, especially with a new administration in Trenton.

Our Mental Health writer Bobby Breyer has been reporting on a bill that would tax phone lines to fund 988.

He's here now to talk about it.

Hey Bobby, how are ya?

- Hey Joy, good.

- First, just help us understand what 988 is and how it operates in the state.

- Sure, 988 is really the state's suicide and crisis lifeline that people could call anytime they're in a mental health emergency.

This was a number that came about in July of 2022 when Congress had a federal mandate where they essentially had every state move from a 10-digit suicide hotline number to 988, in part because it's easier to remember.

So when a call comes in to 988, essentially a trained crisis counselor will answer the phone, they'll stay on the phone with the person and talk through what they're experiencing.

Most of those calls are resolved over the phone, not just here in New Jersey, but nationally.

It's about 80% of those calls.

In addition to that, in those 10 to 20% of calls that maybe need an additional mental health response, they could then dispatch a mobile crisis response teams, known as M-CORTS here in the state.

That would be two folks going out, oftentimes a licensed clinical social worker or a licensed social worker with somebody with lived experience going out to that person's house oftentimes to follow up to check in on them.

Usually those are dispatched within the hour of being called.

We should be clear that is not a police response, right?

These are mental health professionals.

Like all things, it costs money to run this program.

This doesn't have a dedicated source of revenue.

Can you tell us about the bill that was proposed and sponsored by Senator Joe Vitale and Senator Vin Gopal?

Absolutely, yeah.

So this bill is essentially looking to tax mobile phone, excuse me, all phone lines here in the state, 40 cents per month.

What that would do is create a source of revenue for the state in which $67.3 million, according to the state office of legislative service, would allow for the state to generate that revenue to keep that funding going year over year.

What's interesting about the bill is that it's separate from the budget itself, and this is why a lot of lawmakers are in favor of it.

Essentially, it would not be subject to the whims of a lot of other line items like other budget items are year over year.

It wouldn't go into the general fund.

That's correct.

It would go into a separate 988 trust fund.

That's why this is so appealing to so many folks, and it would also follow many other models that about a dozen other states have done right now in order to fund their own 988 lines.

Who are some of those other states?

Sure, right now it's California, Nevada, Oregon, Washington.

We also on the East Coast have Delaware, Maryland, and Virginia.

A few in the Midwest as well, and there's a handful of other states that are also considering legislation like this.

New Jersey, according to NAMI New Jersey, if they were able to get this passed, they would become the 13th state to have some sort of funding like this.

Under the current plan for 988 right now, there is an expansion planned, right, for these some treatment centers.

Can you just explain what those would look like?

We'll get into the costs after.

Sure.

Yeah, those those are two separate things.

There are crisis receiving and stabilization centers, and then there's diversion homes.

Crisis receiving stabilization centers are essentially an alternative to hospital emergency rooms.

These would be kind of more living room settings, as it's been described, more kind of holistic approach to helping somebody in a mental health crisis.

On top of that, if they need additional care, there's these diversionary homes.

These are like month-long transitional housing for somebody in a mental health crisis.

The goal here is really to keep people out of hospital emergency rooms and the jail system in a way that would be more community-based and often evidence-based as well.

Where can you tell us about the bill and where it stands right now in the legislature, in the Senate, and then we'll look at the Assembly.

Sure.

Right now, it's passed the Senate Health, Human Services, and Senior Citizens Committee.

It should also be noted that Assemblywoman Carol Murphy in the Assembly has sponsored this bill.

So it's going to be interesting to see how far this will go.

Right now, the state is facing an issue where a lot of the federal funding for 988 is kind of falling off and they're going to have to find a way to create a dedicated and permanent source of funding.

Many folks feel that this bill, if signed into law, is the best way to do that.

>> Have you heard anything from The sheryl administration in Terms of whether they would sign This if the governor would sign It, if it reached her desk?

>> I reached out several times To the sheryl administration.

They said they could not comment On pending legislation.

I had spoken to senator joe Vitale about this and he said He's hopeful that the sheryl Administration would be able to Put this funding in place.

But it should be noted that this Was a bill that came up in the Previous lame duck session of The legislature that stalled Before governor murphy left Office.

So it's interesting.

The state is going to have to make a decision here sooner rather than later.

And as many advocates have said, oftentimes lives are on the line in these decisions.

Governor Sherrill has said no new taxes.

Are Republicans or the public looking at this as a tax?

They are.

There's at least two vocal Republicans, Senator Robert Singer and Senator Owen Henry, who had said they're not against the number.

They're not against putting this permanently in the budget, but they are against a new tax.

And they kind of called out this point of affordability, saying that things in the state of property taxes, school, education, housing is already so high, we don't need another new tax on our residents.

So there is pushback, but overwhelmingly, Democrats have supported this bill that has been spearheaded by Joe Vitale.

on this and all of the mental health coverage that you've done for us.

Today is your last day here at NJ Spotlight News.

We're so sad to see you go.

You joined us in 2022 at a time when we were in the come just coming out of a pandemic.

Mental health couldn't have been more of an important issue as it remains today.

Yes.

Right.

Right.

What would you say have been the highlights of your coverage here?

You know, the highlights, I think, working with this incredible team that we have across the board, in addition to that, it's been really covering school-based mental health, the intersection of housing for folks experiencing homelessness, as well as a lot of gun violence prevention initiatives here in the state and its intersection with mental health.

It's been an incredible opportunity.

You've done a whole lot with covering folks who are dealing with substance use challenges as well.

That's right.

Can't overlook that work that you've done.

Opioid recovery and prevention harm reduction.

So yeah a lot of a lot of great work we've all done collectively together but a great opportunity one I'm going to really miss.

You are going to now get your hands dirty in the field actually doing the work alongside other mental health providers.

Just quickly where are you going.

That's correct.

Yes I'll be heading to the Pennsylvania court system to work as a behavioral health administrator really trying to build out mental health diversionary programs in that state.

So often looking towards the work that New Jersey has done.

Thank you Bobby so much for from all of us here at NJ Spotlight News for all the work you've done and for all the residents in the state for the important work you've highlighted.

Thank you.

Thank you so much.

That is going to do it for us tonight.

I'm Joanna Gaggis for the entire team here at NJ Spotlight News.

Thanks for being with us.

We'll see you right back here tomorrow.

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