Gov. Murphy introduces 2019 budget in State House address

Gov. Phil Murphy delivered his first budget address Tuesday since taking office earlier this year.
The governor said that his goal with this budget is to build a stronger and fairer New Jersey.
Murphy says he wants to see minimum wage increased to $15 per hour, along with paid sick leave for all workers in the state.
The budget includes more spending on schools. The plan would provide $341 million more for schools and an expansion of pre-kindergarten. Murphy also mentioned plans to make community college tuition free for students.
The governor also increased funding for New Jersey Transit to $242 million.
Murphy also spoke about the controversial millionaire’s tax. He said that it would raise $765 million for New Jersey. Under his budget plan, incomes over $1 million would be taxed at 10.75 percent, up from the top bracket of 8.97 percent.
“We are standing for fairness and fiscal responsibility by asking those with taxable incomes of excess of $1 million to pay a little more,” Murphy said. “The fact is that we have a thousand more millionaires today than we had at our pre-recession peak." 
Murphy’s budget also calls for sales tax to increase from 6.625 percent to 7 percent and include ride-sharing services and accommodations like Airbnb.
The governor also brought up the topic of legalizing recreational marijuana. He thanked those lawmakers who proposed decriminalizing marijuana but said that legalization was what’s best for the state.
Republican lawmakers held a rebuttal following the governor’s speech. They said that they are not in favor of raising taxes of any kind. They said that doing so would make it unaffordable to live in New Jersey.
Murphy’s proposed spending plan of $37.4 billion is roughly 5 percent higher than former Gov. Chris Christie's final-year proposal.
The Associated Press wire services contributed to this report.