NORTH BRUNSWICK – Since Steve and Jane Miller’s daughter Caryn is a teacher, they are concerned about the impact of Chapter 78, a health benefits reform law.
New bills that have been introduced by state legislators would, if they are eventually signed into law by the governor, reduce members’ health care costs by tying school employees’ health insurance contributions to a percentage of their salary rather than to a percentage of the premium, thus relieving the burden of the existing Chapter 78 regulations.
Upon asking Gov. Phil Murphy for his opinion, the Millers, who are North Brunswick residents, learned he “supported that relief since the moment we heard about it.”
He said a lot of educators take home less money now than they did 10 years ago. Murphy said the issue is that health care consumers can accept lesser quality health care or pay more money for a better plan.
He said his administration is creating the Office of Healthcare Affordability and Transparency to help consumers with health insurance issues.
Murphy held a town hall meeting at Linwood Middle School in North Brunswick on Feb. 20. Hundreds of residents from the area listened to the governor tout the successes of the state while answering questions from the audience.
Murphy said since his administration took over two years ago, 72,000 private sector jobs have been created, unemployment is under 4%, New Jersey has the No. 1 public education system in the United States, the minimum wage is on a path to be raised to $15 per hour, New Jersey is the first state in the country to offer arts education to every student in the public school system, and the state has the highest percentage of scientists and engineers per square mile.
He lauded the state’s goal of achieving 100% clean energy by 2050. He said a wealth disparity commission will address the disparity across racial lines.
In foreshadowing the 2020 state budget, which he was expected to unveil on Feb. 25, Murphy said he wants to invest in the middle class. He said he wants more open pre-Kindergarten, open higher education, the fixing of NJ Transit and more affordable/accessible health care.
He said he wants to address affordability of property taxes, especially since 53% of taxes are allotted to school districts.
“Another big key to property tax relief is trying to find ways to share stuff,” he said. “We want to take our boot off the neck of the homeowners of the middle class.”
He also said he wants manufacturers or distributors of opioids to help defray the costs of programs to help those with addiction. He stated that there were 3,000 deaths in New Jersey in 2019, and 280 people died this January alone. He wants to invest $100 million to break the epidemic, he said.
In addition, he mentioned value vs. values: he said LGBTQ, women’s rights and the environment are also of concern.
Overall, Murphy said he wants a state that delivers top-notch education, commuter rail, health care, diversity, foreign language in schools and quality of life.
“We want it and at an affordable price,” he said.
During the question-and-answer session, Murphy said the answer is “yes” to providing 80,000 uninsured children with health insurance, “but probably not overnight, realistically.”
Addressing a commuter’s difficulty traveling from Edison to Newark and Edison to Pennsylvania along NJ Transit lines, he said every day he evaluates the previous day’s statistics. For example, on Feb. 19 there were 39 delays, one cancellation and a 94.2% on time record among the 500 daily trains. He said the objective is 95% on time performance, with a real goal of 100%.
Answering a question about sexual harassment in the workplace, Murphy responded that one incident alone qualifies for a hostile environment, incidents do not require physical touching, and employees who are protected include domestic workers and interns.
Murphy said he has “mixed emotions” about the Second Amendment. He did say gun fees should be raised, not to hurt gun owners, but because it costs next to nothing to get a gun, and such as dog license fees increase, so should gun fees.
Revisiting the issue of high property taxes, Murphy said public educators are taking home less now than 10 years ago, but there are also fewer state employees now than two years ago.
“This is a state that’s still digging out of the recession of 10 years ago,” he said.
Murphy said New Jerseyans do not have to fear the state will become a magnet for non-citizens, as one man suggested in relation to non-legal citizens receiving driver’s licenses. He said it is more of a safety check.
Also in relation to safety, Murphy said, “We put a significant amount of money … in helping out to finance security in houses of worship.”
With this being Murphy’s third visit in five months to North Brunswick – on Sept. 11 for the town’s memorial ceremony and on Oct. 30 for the announcement of train station funding – township officials were thrilled to welcome him back.
“You can tell I”m proud to be from North Brunswick … and I’m proud to be from Middlesex County and with the direction of things we’re doing in New Jersey … under Gov. Murphy I’m proud to be from New Jersey,” Mayor Francis “Mac” Womack said.
Contact Jennifer Amato at jamato@newspapermediagroup.com.
