About $82 million in cannabis tax revenue is going to a range of programs in the Fiscal Year 2027 New Jersey State Budget.
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The NJ Legislature passed its budget in its typical 11th-hour fashion on June 30th before their fiscal year started on July 1st. It was not introduced until Sunday, June 28th.
This seems like a reflection of their shady and/or bumbling nature.
It makes it very hard for journalists, lawyers, and advocates to understand what happened until July.
Social Equity Excise Fee Revenue for Prisoner Release Program
According to the budget, revenue from the Social Equity Excise Fee (SEEF) has been appropriated:
- $11,924,000 to the Department of Corrections to support Purchase of Community Services grants as determined by the Commissioner of Corrections.
The money comes with the condition that a thorough report needs to be made that includes:
- The total reimbursement provided
- population of Residential Community Reintegration Programs (RCRPs)
- total number of release attendance for all program types
- percentage of all released RCRP attendance
- percentage of all released completions of RCRPs
- percentage of re-incarceration of male and female releases who have completed an RCRP.
Some of that money will be “used to provide grants to non-profit entities to meet the re-entry needs of individuals preparing to transition back into the community…”
Notably, there was no mention of the Social Equity Excise Fee (SEEF) tax raise.
NJ Cannabis Tax Revenue for Many Programs
Most of the cannabis tax revenue in New Jersey goes into the Cannabis Regulatory, Enforcement Assistance, and Marketplace Modernization (CREAMM) Fund. Some of that goes to fund the Cannabis Regulatory Commission.
In addition, the budget said the legislature “appropriated such additional amounts to pay for costs associated with implementing the “New Jersey Cannabis Regulatory, Enforcement Assistance, and Marketplace Modernization Act.”
The budget does not note how much money was appropriated for this. It should include more money for the NJ Cannabis Training Academy and cannabis grants from the NJ Economic Development Authority (EDA).
Specifically, revenue deposited into the Cannabis Regulatory, Enforcement Assistance, and Marketplace Modernization Fund is also appropriated via:
- $28,448,000 to the Department of Community Affairs to support Transitional Aid to Localities as determined by the Commissioner of Community Affairs
- $25,500,000 to the Department of Law and Public Safety for Violence Intervention programs including Hospital-Based Violence Intervention and Community Based Violence Intervention programs determined by the Attorney General
- $8,000,000 to the Department of Community Affairs to support the Anti-violence Out-of-School Youth Summer Program, which shall provide grants to the cities of Newark, Trenton, Paterson, and Atlantic City
- $7,000,000 to the Department of Corrections to support the Release Support Partnership Program as determined by the Commissioner of Corrections
- $2,000,000 to the Department of State to support the New Jersey-Based Children’s Defense Fund Freedom Schools grant program determined by the Secretary of State
- $1,800,000 to Rutgers University-Newark for the Scholarship and Transformative Education in Prison Program
- $1,100,000 to the Youth Justice Commission to support the Restorative and Transformative Justice for Youths and Communities Pilot Program
Underage Deterrence and Prevention Program Funding
Under the CREAMM Fund is another account created as part of a political compromise necessary for legalization. So, revenue deposited into the Underage Deterrence and Prevention Account is appropriated via:
- $1,000,000 to the Department of Human Services for a grant to Partnership for a Drug-Free New Jersey as determined by the Commissioner of Human Services.
- $5,400,000 to support the Governor’s Council on Substance Use Disorder as determined by the Executive Director of the Governor’s Council on Substance Use Disorder
The pro-narc cop crowd might love that bit.
It also seems $936,000 has been taken for that from the “Cannabis Regulatory, Enforcement Assistance, and Marketplace Modernization Fund” for an “Interfund Transfer.”
You can see this on Page 7 of the 358-page PDF that is the Fiscal Year 2027 Budget for the State of New Jersey via Governor Mikie Sherrill’s (D) new Budget Report Card portal.
So, along with the SEEF money, that means about $82,120,000 from legal cannabis sales was appropriated in the New Jersey State Budget for different programs.
Unfortunately, the budget did not note how much money in total was raised from legal cannabis tax revenue overall.
