NJ Gov. Murphy's plans for 2024: Easier access to abortion and voting, lower medical costs

New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy called on the Legislature to pass a series of measures to make the state more affordable — including proposals to defray the costs of an abortion and help people pay off medical debt.

“I am calling on our Legislature to pass a bill — sponsored by Senate Majority Leader Teresa Ruiz and Assemblywoman Shanique Speight — to scrap out-of-pocket costs for abortion procedures and do all we can to protect patients and providers,” Murphy said during his annual State of the State address Tuesday. “Let us do it before the summer. We cannot lose any momentum in the fight for fundamental freedoms.”

The effort would expand on other initiatives during Murphy’s tenure — codifying the abortion rights formerly protected under Roe v. Wade, including for individuals from out of state, creating a state portal for reproductive health information.

Murphy also introduced one of the many guests he brought to the speech, Andrew Gregory of Tenafly, who lost his wife to ovarian cancer and has worked to raise awareness about medical debt.

“Pulling people out from crushing medical debt is vital. But so is protecting them from falling down that hole in the first place,” Murphy said. “In that spirit, today, I am calling on our Legislature to enact a new package that will help families avoid being caught in a medical debt trap, and require every medical bill to be clear and transparent.”

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Ask Governor Murphy returns Wednesday, Jan. 10

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New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy returns to WNYC's air Wednesday at 7 p.m., fresh off his 2024 State of the State address.

We want to know what you would Ask Governor Murphy. Tell us using this form, or tweet with #AskGovMurphy during the show. Listen live Wednesday night at 7 p.m., on 93.9 FM, AM 820 or stream the show at WNYC.org.

Murphy said he wants the package of bills to be named in memory of Louisa Carman, 25, who worked at his Office of Health Care Affordability and Transparency, and worked on the bills. She died on New Year’s Day in a car accident.

When he spoke about Carman, the governor became visibly moved, choked up a bit and paused before he could move on.

The governor also called on the Legislature to pass a bill that he said would create more affordable housing in the state. Murphy had hoped the Legislature would pass the bill during the lame duck session, and he says he’ll push for it to pass this year.

The bill overhauls the existing system for how towns meet their affordable housing obligations, currently negotiating settlements with a court-assigned nonprofit Advocates and many municipal leaders say that process has led to more affordable housing in New Jersey, but has been costly and cumbersome. It would formally abolish the Council on Affordable Housing, which hasn’t met for years, and replace it with a new system that uses court-appointed special masters to determine how much affordable housing towns must provide in new developments.

"We are hopeful that effective legislation to streamline and strengthen the enforcement of municipalities' affordable housing obligations will pass quickly in this legislative session,” Adam Gordon of Fair Share Housing, the nonprofit that currently negotiates settlements with towns, said in a written statement following the speech. “The lack of affordable housing options in New Jersey impacts everyone, especially low-income families and people of color.”

Murphy also touted changes to expand access to voting in under his administration, including instituting early in-person voting, establishing online voter registration and restoring voting rights to people on parole. He called on the Legislature to pass a bill that would give 16- and 17-year-olds the right to vote in local school board elections.

Without offering details, Murphy also pledged to introduce a new clemency initiative “that will ensure we live up to our promise as the state for second chances.”

The largest portion of his speech focused on his previous accomplishments: raising the minimum wage, codifying a right to an abortion, restarting the Hudson Rail Tunnel project, and upgrading the state’s credit rating, which saves taxpayer money.

Missing from the speech was a mention of several of the biggest issues facing the state: the arrival of busloads of migrants sent by the governors of Texas and Louisiana, who Murphy says were mostly bound for New York; a looming budget deficit for NJ Transit and the $300 million in revenue lost by cutting a tax on the most profitable companies in the state.

In a rebuttal, Republican State Sen. Anthony Bucco (R-Morris County) criticized the governor for costing taxpayers too much money.

“Do we continue aggressive spending patterns or do we learn to live within our means and improve the quality of life for all New Jerseyans?” Bucco said. “Republicans choose the latter. Unlike prior years, it does not appear that the State will be flush with cash this year. I hope we have not missed the opportunity to make the structural changes we need to truly make the State more affordable.”