The Town Crier - Legislative Backgrounder

In the final week of December, the House and Senate passed a $1.7 trillion FY2023 federal budget through September 30, 2023. President Biden signed the bill on December 29. Below are New Jersey-specific provisions and other provisions of interest to municipalities. Due to the length and breadth of information, there are two blog posts. The first blog post below focuses on New Jersey-specific provisions; transportation and infrastructure; healthcare; and environment. The second blog post will focus on housing; and community, and economic development, as well as science and innovation; public safety and justice; finance services and general government; veterans; and community-directed spending. 

New Jersey-Specific Provisions 

• Gateway: $1.26 billion for Amtrak’s Northeast Corridor, an increase of $385.5 million over FY22 levels. The bill funds the Capital Investment Grants (CIG) program at $2.635 billion in total. $2.21 billion of this is for normal FY23 appropriations, and the remaining $425 million is to help existing projects, including offsetting increased costs. The bill includes a $25 million increase in funding for the Portal Bridge in New Jersey–a key component of the broader Gateway to support projects impacted by inflation and supply chain disruptions.
• Hoboken Rebuild by Design Project: An important extension for the Hoboken Rebuild by Design Project that allows critical flood safety improvements to move toward completion in Hoboken.
• Teterboro Airport: The bill includes prohibiting the use of funds to increase the aircraft weight restrictions at Teterboro Airport.
• Army Corps of Engineers: The bill provides $37.3 million in funding for New Jersey Army Corps projects, including a legislative fix for the Green Brook Flood Risk Management Project that will allow for the allocation of additional funding at full federal cost share to the project, which is critical to the safety of New Jersey communities.  

Transportation & Infrastructure

• Roads and Bridges: $62.9 billion for the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), an increase of $2.3 billion compared to FY22. Of this total, $58.77 billion is from the Highway Trust Fund to meet the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act obligations for federalaid highway programs and $3.42 billion from the general fund, which includes $1.15 billion to reduce the backlog of structurally deficient bridges.
• Public Transportation Grants: $105 million for federal grants under the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) for public transportation security.
• Port Security: $100 million for federal grants under FEMA for port security.
• Disaster Relief: $803 million in emergency disaster relief for the FHWA and $213.9 million for the Federal Transit Administration (FTA).
• Investments in High-Poverty Areas: Includes language targeting federal resources to high- and persistent-poverty toward more than a dozen programs within the Departments of Agriculture, Commerce, Treasury, and EPA. The bill also contains new language directing the Economic Development Administration to create a plan to increase the share of investments across all EDA programs in persistent poverty counties and high-poverty areas.

Healthcare

• Maternal Health: The bill includes $324 billion for maternal health, an increase of $120 million. The bill makes permanent the option for states to provide 12 months of postpartum coverage to pregnant individuals through Medicaid and CHIP, which is a critical step towards ensuring yearlong coverage for all pregnant people nationwide.
• Firefighter Cancer Registry: The bill provides $5.5 million in funding for the Firefighter Cancer Registry, a $2.5 million increase from FY22. 
• Prostate and Ovarian Cancer Research: $110 million for prostate cancer research and $45 million for ovarian cancer, no increase from last year.
• State Opioid Response: The bill includes $1.6 billion, an increase of $50 million for states’ response to the opioid pandemic. The bill also authorizes the Alternative to Opioids in the Emergency Department (ALTO) Reauthorization Act, which establishes a grant program for developing and implementing alternatives to opioids for pain management in hospitals and emergency departments. Yearly funding for this program has increased from $6 million to $8 million.
• Public Health Emergency Preparedness (PHEP): The bill includes $735 million, a $20 million increase over last FY’s $715 million.
• Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB, and Malaria: $2 billion included, which is a $440 million increase from FY22.

Environment

• Environmental Protection Agency: The bill provides $10.14 billion for the EPA, an increase of $576 million over the FY22 enacted level. This funding invests in core environmental programs, providing increases for EPA enforcement and compliance programs ($72 million), clean air programs ($32 million), water programs ($33 million), and toxic chemical programs ($20 million)–helping advance environmental protection and environmental justice throughout the country.
• Ocean Programs: The bill funds the Sea Grant program at $80 million, a $4 million increase above the FY22 enacted level. Coastal Zone Management grants are funded at $81.5 million, $2.5 million above the FY22 enacted level. The National Estuarine Research Reserve System is funded at $32.5 million, an increase of $2.8 million. NOAA Habitat Conservation and Restoration is funded at $56.684 million. 
• Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE): The bill provides record funding for EERE at $3.46 billion, an increase of $260 million above fiscal year 2022 enacted. 
• Water Infrastructure: The bill continues steady funding for the State Revolving Funds, including $1.13 billion for drinking water and $1.64 billion for clean water. The Water Infrastructure Financing Innovation Act (WIFIA) loan program increased by $6.1 million, totaling $75.64 million. The bill provides $27.5 million for lead contamination testing at schools and childcare centers.