For Immediate Release
Media Contact: Jackie Greger, Jackie.Greger@sierraclub.org
NJ Sierra Club Statement on NJ FY27 Budget: Cuts to NJDEP, RGGI & CEF
Trenton, NJ - Yesterday on June 30th, the NJ Legislature passed and Governor Sherrill signed the New Jersey Fiscal Year 2027 (FY27) Budget, which appropriates $60.7 billion in State funds impacting the environment, conserving open space, and energy affordability. On June 30th, the Budget was passed by the entire legislature and signed by Governor Sherrill.
Environment and Conservation Funding:
The FY27 state budget appropriates $511 million to the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP). This amount represents a $150 million decrease (or 22.7%) from the previous fiscal year's allocation of $661 million.
Additionally, this year, $31.5 million in federal appropriations was cut from the Land and Water Conservation Fund - Outdoor Recreation Legacy Partnership, and $17 million was cut from the Urban and Community Forestry Program grant. Other funding was also reduced from $199 million to $182 million.
Overall, from federal, state, and other funding, NJDEP’s total budget has been reduced by almost $253 million.
Notably, $1.3 million was allocated to the Friends of the NJ School of Conservation to support environmental education and operations, and over $1 million is being allocated to implement the Protecting Against Forever Chemicals Act and reduce PFAS pollution in the environment.
Energy Funding:
Notably, this year’s budget diverts significant funding from both the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) and the Clean Energy Fund (CEF).
RGGI is a critical climate program that works and has provided more than $1.8 billion in cost savings to ratepayers. With the FY27 budget, up to $500 million in RGGI revenue may be transferred to the CEF, and $10 million will additionally be transferred to the NJ Board of Public Utilities (BPU).
Unfortunately, the CEF continues to be raided for purposes outside of its mission, with $140 million being diverted to support NJ Transit. However, the interfund transfer from the CEF this year is $15 million compared to the $75 million transfer in the FY26 budget marking a significant decrease.
NJ Sierra Club Director, Anjuli Ramos-Busot, made the following statement:
“Overall, it is unfortunate that the FY27 budget allows up to $510 million in diversions from RGGI programs. Deployed for other purposes without a clear framework, these diversions will undermine the state’s clean energy progress, and ultimately affordability measures in the long run.
Additionally, the Clean Energy Fund has been used as a fail safe to cover financial holes for years, and we cannot continue to divert dollars away from clean energy solutions while families are feeling the impacts of skyrocketing electric bills as a result of expensive fossil fuel generation and huge energy demand from data center infrastructure. We need to be deploying affordable clean energy measures more than ever to provide relief to ratepayers, but these diversions are counterproductive to those efforts.
While we strongly oppose diversions from RGGI and the Clean Energy Fund, we expect that the Sherrill Administration will use that discretion to maintain the balance needed to deliver on the promise of a cheaper, cleaner, and reliable energy future for every New Jersey family without hampering RGGI’s and the Clean Energy Fund’s success and current programs.
Dropping NJDEP's state funding by nearly a quarter is a step backward. New Jersey cannot achieve aggressive climate goals, enforce critical environmental protections, or safeguard communities from climate impacts such as flooding, drought, and more if agencies lack the funding to do their work. Failing to robustly fund the NJDEP jeopardizes critical open spaces and ecosystems, such as our wetlands and forests, that protect us from extreme weather.”
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About the Sierra Club: The Sierra Club is America’s largest and most influential grassroots environmental organization, with millions of members and supporters. In addition to protecting every person's right to get outdoors and access the healing power of nature, the Sierra Club works to promote clean energy, safeguard the health of our communities, protect wildlife, and preserve our remaining wild places through grassroots activism, public education, lobbying, and legal action. For more information about our work in New Jersey, visit www.sierraclub.org/new-jersey