Transportation Trust Fund/Gas Tax Vote Rundown
Construction on Route 80 Eastbound, a creative commons image by Doug Kerr.
TRENTON – The New Jersey Transportation Trust Fund Authority Act, which establishes a State Transportation Infrastructure Bank passed both the New Jersey State Assembly on Friday, Oct. 8 as well as the State Senate.
The bill S2412 passed in the Senate 23-14, as well as the in the Assembly 45-27.
The controversial bill will place a tax on gas at 23 cents per gallon, a rate that proponents for the bill said has not been raised since 1988 In turn, the revenue from those taxes will reportedly fund the Transportation Trust Fund, which has gone bankrupt and road projects have come to a halt. Click here to read our prior article on this topic and a meeting discussing the topic with Senator Steve Oroho, one of the bill sponsors.
Thought a sales tax reduction has been proposed to approximately 6.62 percent (a three-eighth percentage drop), critics of it state that the tax will round up anyway to the current 7 percent, and the savings will only be pennies per $100 transaction.
Additionally, estates taxes are slated for elimination by 2018.
Though an amount is not specified, to offset the gas tax, income tax is also reported for reduction, especially veterans, those considered “working poor,” and those who have already retired.
Below is a breakdown of the parties who were for and against the bill in both houses, as well as their political affiliations.
First off, the bill sponsors included:
Vincent Prieto (D-32)
Valerie Vainieri Huttle (D-37)
John F. McKeon (D-27)
Gary S. Schaer (D-36)
Shavonda E. Sumter (D-35)
Ralph R. Caputo (D-28)
Raj Mukherji (D-33)
Troy Singleton (D-7)
Eliana Pintor Marin (D-29)
Thomas P. Giblin (D-34)
David P. Rible (R-30)
Paul A. Sarlo (D-36)
Steven V. Oroho (R-24)
Angela V. McKnight (D-31)
Joseph V. Egan (D-17)
Out of these 15 sponsors, two of them were Republicans and the remainder Democrats. Two of those 15 sponsors were co-sponsors of the bill (McKnight and Egan), also both Democrat.
The voting record on this initiative, image courtesy of the New Jersey Legislature.
The Senate vote included 23 who voted in favor and 14 who did not. There were three who did not vote. They are as follows:
| YES | NO | DID NOT VOTE |
| Dawn Marie Addiego (R) | Gerald Cardinale (R) | Samuel D. Thompson (R) |
| James Beach (D) | Michael J. Doherty (R) | Theresa M. Ruiz (D) |
| Nilsa Cruz-Perez (D) | Jeff Van Drew (D) | Loretta Weinberg (D) |
| Linda R. Greenstein (D) | Diane B. Allen (R) | |
| Joseph M. Kyrillos (R) | Jennifer Beck (R) | |
| Kevin J. O’Toole (R) | Nia H. Gill (D) | |
| Nellie Pou (D) | James W. Holzapfel (R) | |
| Nicholas J. Sacco (D) | Raymond J. Lesniak (D) | |
| Robert W. Singer (R) | Christopher Bateman (R) | |
| Stephen M. Sweeney (D) | Anthony R. Bucco (R) | |
| Jim Whelan (D) | Christopher J. Connors (R) | |
| Richard J. Codey (D) | Thomas H. Kean (R) | |
| Sandra B. Cunningham (D) | Joseph Pennacchio (R) | |
| Steven V. Oroho (R) | Shirley K. Turner (D) | |
| Ronald L. Rice (D) | ||
| Paul A. Sarlo (D) | ||
| Bob Smith (D) | ||
| Joseph F. Vitale (D) | ||
| Patrick J. Diegnan, Jr. (D) | ||
| Robert M. Gordon (D) | ||
| Fred H. Madden (D) | ||
| Nicholas P. Scutari (D) | ||
| Brian P. Stack (D) | ||
Number of Democratic Senators – 24
Number of Republic Senators – 15
Number of Democratic Senators Who Voted “Yes” – 18
Number of Democratic Senators Who Voted “No” – 5
Number of Republican Senators Who Voted “Yes” – 4
Number of Republican Senators Who Voted “No” – 10
The Assembly vote included 45 who voted in favor and 27 who did not. There were eight who did not vote. They are as follows:
| YES | NO | DID NOT VOTE |
| Daniel R. Benson (D) | Bob Andrzejczak (D) | Pamela R. Lampitt (D) |
| Marlene Caride (D) | Anthony M. Bucco (R) | Nancy F. Munoz (R) |
| Nicholas Chiaravalloti (D) | John DiMaio (R) | Annette Quijano (D) |
| Herb Conaway Jr. (D) | Jerry Green (D) | Scott T. Rumana (R) |
| Joe Danielsen (D) | Amy H. Handlin (R) | Cleopatra G. Tucker (D) |
| Tim Eustace (D) | Sheila Y. Oliver (D) | Jamel C. Holley (D) |
| Joe Howarth (R) | Parker Space (R) | David C. Russo (R) |
| Gordon M. Johnson (D) | Jay Webber (R) | Adam J. Taliaferro (D) |
| Sean T. Kean (R) | David W. Wolfe (R) | |
| Paul D. Moriarty (D) | Robert Auth (R) | |
| Nancy J. Pinkin (D) | Michael Patrick Carroll (R) | |
| Gary S. Schaer (D) | Jack M. Ciatterelli (R) | |
| Jon Bramnick (R) | Joann Downey (D) | |
| John J. Burzichelli (D) | Bruce R. Land (D) | |
| Craig J. Coughlin (D) | Erik Peterson (R) | |
| Wayne P. DeAngelo (D) | Brian E. Rumpf (R) | |
| Thomas P. Giblin (D) | Holly Schepisi (R) | |
| Louis D. Greenwald (D) | Andrew Zwicker (D) | |
| Mila M. Jasey (D) | Chris A. Brown (R) | |
| Patricia Egan Jones (D) | Robert D. Clifton (R) | |
| James J. Kennedy (D) | Ronald S. Danser (R) | |
| John F. McKeon (D) | DiAnne C. Gove (R) | |
| Gabriela M. Mosquera (D) | Eric Houghtaling (D) | |
| Elizabeth Maher Muoio (D) | Vincent Mazzeo (D) | |
| Eliana Pintor Marin (D) | Gail Phoebus (R) | |
| David P. Rible (R) | John S. Wisniewski (D) | |
| Shavonda E. Sumter (D) | Gregory P. McGuckin (R) | |
| Valerie Vainieri Huttle (D) | ||
| Benjie E. Wimberly (D) | ||
| Arthur Barclay (D) | ||
| Ralph R. Caputo (D) | ||
| Annette Chaparro (D) | ||
| BettyLou DeCroce (R) | ||
| Joseph V. Egan (D) | ||
| Reed Gusciora (D) | ||
| Angelica M. Jimenez (D) | ||
| Robert J. Karabinchak (D) | ||
| Joseph A. Lagana (D) | ||
| Angela V. McKnight (D) | ||
| Raj Mukherji (D) | ||
| Declan J. O’Scanlon Jr. (R) | ||
| Vincent Prieto (D) | ||
| Maria Rodriguez-Gregg (R) | ||
| Troy Singleton (D) | ||
| Blonnie R. Watson (D) | ||
Number of Democratic Assemblypersons – 51
Number of Republic Assemblypersons – 28
Number of Democratic Assemblypeople Who Voted “Yes” – 38
Number of Democratic Assemblypeople Who Voted “No” – 9
Number of Republican Assemblypeople Who Voted “Yes” – 7
Number of Republican Assemblypeople Who Voted “No” – 18
In both the Senate and Assembly, Democrats outnumber Republicans – the number tallies to just under half in the both houses.
The cost of gasoline is expected to rise the 23 cents per gallon beginning on Nov. 1, 2016.
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