Is Gov. Murphy Misleading Wall Street About NJ’s Finances?

The ranking Republican on the Senate Budget Committee sure thinks so, and he is threatening to file a complaint with the federal Securities and Exchange Commission if the Murphy administration doesn't come clean.

Sen. Declan O'Scanlon (R-Monmouth) recently reviewed financial disclosures from the New Jersey Department of the Treasury. What he found, he says, is a series of "grossly misleading" data shared with Wall Street credit rating agencies and the public.

❓ What’s Missing from NJ’s Financial Disclosures?

These rating services have great influence over what it costs New Jersey to borrow and bond money as well as what we pay on existing loans.

O'Scanlon says the data provided to Wall Street made no mention of a huge state budget hole.

Sen. Declan O'Scanlon (Townsquare Media Photo)

"Despite moral, and arguably legal, requirements," O'Scanlon said in a statement, "Treasury has thus far failed to fully and reasonably portray the State’s financial condition to financial markets and the public."

Murphy's administration is preparing to sell $1.5 billion in new debt by the end of October.

Read O'Scanlon's full letter HERE.

❗ Hidden Budget Bombshells? Senator Sounds the Alarm

O'Scanlon called the Murphy administration’s disclosures "grossly misleading—both because of what it states, and because of what it omits: information that any reasonable rating agency, financial analyst, or member of the public who cares about State finances would expect to be told."

Earlier this year, Murphy celebrated an upgrade to the state's credit rating by Moody's. "Our relentless focus on fiscal responsibility is saving taxpayers money," Murphy said on X.

The increase shocked O'Scanlon, given the huge structural budget deficit New Jersey is facing.

He blames a lack of transparency in the documents presented by the state treasurer. "Most critically, the documents failed to explain approximately $4 billion of purposeful and destabilizing financial ‘cliffs’ built into next year’s State budget," O'Scanlon said.

❓ Moody’s Rating vs. Recession Reality

The increase in the state's credit rating was made more curious since Moody's Analytics Chief Economist Mark Zandi said this week New Jersey was currently in recession amidst an economic slowdown and persistent job losses.