Grantee Reports

Getting Back on Track: Fully Fund New Jersey Transit by Taxing Big Corporations

New Jersey Policy Perspective (September, 2023)

New Jersey Policy Perspective, dives deep into New Jersey Transit’s shortcomings in Getting Back on Track: Fully Fund New Jersey Transit by Taxing Big Corporations. Addressing cause and consequence, the report demonstrates how the consistent lack of stable funding and the failure to identify a dedicated revenue source have hindered the transportation agency. The report also proposes possible remedies to ensure stability and longevity for the agency. Read full report here.

Unlocking Academic Success: Revitalizing New Jersey’s School Funding Formula for Student Achievement

New Jersey Policy Perspective (September, 2023)

New Jersey's school funding formula needs an upgrade. New Jersey Policy Perspective (NJPP) breaks down why, in Unlocking Academic Success: Revitalizing New Jersey’s School Funding Formula for Student Achievement, In addition to providing an explanation of how the formula works, the report argues that our state’s current method of funding has not kept pace with learning standards that have evolved since the School Funding Reform Act (SFRA) was enacted 14 years ago. Read full report here. 

NJVRA Now: Why New Jersey Needs Its Own Voting Rights Act

New Jersey Institute for Social Justice (August, 2023)

The New Jersey Institute for Social Justice (NJISJ), the Legal Defense Fund, and the Election Law Clinic at Harvard Law School released NJVRA Now: Why New Jersey Needs Its Own Voting Rights Act. The report takes a strong stance on voting rights and demonstrates the changes needed to make our democracy more accessible to residents of color and to those who experience language-related or physical barriers to voting. Read full report here. 

Red Flags Amid a Sea of Green: Breaking Down New Jersey’s FY 2024 Budget

New Jersey Policy Perspective  (August, 2023)

New Jersey Policy Perspective (NJPP) released Red Flags Amid a Sea of Green: Breaking Down New Jersey’s FY 2024 Budget. Highlighting the hits and misses from the latest state budget, the report describes lawmakers' missed opportunity to address historically underfunded areas and prioritize investments. Read more here.

Newark Kids Count 2023

Advocates for Children of New Jersey  (June, 2023)

Advocates for Children of New Jersey (ACNJ) released Newark Kids Count 2023: A City Profile of Child Well-Being. The annual report provides the latest data on how children are faring in New Jersey’s largest city, highlighting the city’s strengths and areas for improvement. ACNJ encourages Newark leaders and residents to contact the organization to hold community conversations to discuss the data. Explore the data within the report here.

Decarcerating New Jersey: A Transformative Vision of Justice

The American Civil Liberties Union (June, 2023)

The United States has a mass incarceration crisis, and the nation continues to incarcerate people at a higher rate than any other country. This report highlights the injustices within New Jersey’s carceral system—which includes the nation’s highest rate of racial disparity. Explore why ACLU has recognized decarceration to be fundamental to racial justice. Read more here.

New Jersey Kids Count 2023: The State of Our Counties

Advocates for Children of New Jersey (May, 2023)

The first report on the well-being of the state’s children and families since 2020 explores a wide variety of issues from economic security to prenatal health care. The data are broken down by county, race, and ethnicity. Read more here.

Stop the Sunset: Corporate Tax Cut Would Benefit the Biggest and Most Profitable Businesses

New Jersey Policy Perspective (February, 2023)

Analysis of Governor Murphy’s FY 2024 Budget in Brief found that the tax cut would cost $1 billion in annual revenue. As the state’s third largest source of revenue, the Corporate Business Tax surcharge supports vital investments such as transportation infrastructure, open space, pre-K-12 schools and more. Read more here.

Forest Stewardship Task Force Report

Forest Stewardship Task Force Report (February, 2023)

The Forest Stewardship Task Force was formed in 2022 to study and identify how New Jersey can best protect and manage its forests to fight climate change, prevent forest fires, improve ecosystems, and protect soil and water quality, among other things. Ultimately, the report calls for the State Legislature to direct the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection to take a number of actions, including conducting a statewide planning and mapping process for forested public land based. Full report here.

State of the Pinelands

Pinelands Preservation Alliance (January, 2023)

The Pinelands Preservation Alliance 2023 annual report sums up the health of the Pinelands preservation efforts by federal, state and local government agencies. The report reviews the actions or inactions of the last 12 months, with a comprehensive account of public policy that affect the Pinelands National Reserve. Read more here.