Sherrill’s absolute vetoes kill Jersey City open-space diversion and rental-car tax — citing 2016 voters and ‘one-shots’

Absolute veto messages for S-4513 and S-4514, dated Sept. 28, 2026, reject a one-year diversion of Jersey City open-space levy dollars into the general fund and a Jersey City–only rental-vehicle tax package, citing the 2016 referendum’s exclusive-use language and prior-administration “one-shots.”

TRENTON / JERSEY CITY — Governor Mikie Sherrill’s absolute vetoes, dated September 28, 2026, returned Senate Bill No. 4513 and Senate Bill No. 4514 without approval. Both bills were tailored, by the governor’s own veto narratives, to Jersey City. Jersey Intel’s account tracks the veto PDFs and the governor’s same-day legislation release — not competitor framing that centers a mayoral feud.

S-4513: open-space diversion vs. the 2016 referendum

In the absolute veto of S-4513, Sherrill wrote that the bill would allow a municipality that has established an arts and culture trust fund to deposit amounts raised by an annual levy for open space, recreation, and historic preservation into the municipality’s general fund, and that the diversion authority would be in effect only for fiscal year 2027.

Citing the Department of Community Affairs, the veto says Jersey City is the only municipality that has both an annual open-space/recreation/historic levy and an arts and culture trust fund. In 2016, Jersey City voters approved a referendum establishing a Municipal Open Space, Recreation and Historic Preservation Trust Fund funded at a rate not to exceed $0.02 per $100 of assessed valuation. The veto quotes the referendum’s condition that levy funds be used exclusively for acquisition, development, and maintenance of lands for recreation, conservation, and historic purposes.

“The plain language of the ballot question that was submitted to Jersey City’s voters clearly dedicated to recreation, conservation, and historic purposes the revenues that this bill now seeks to divert to the City’s general fund,” Sherrill wrote. “The voters assented to an additional tax levy on the condition that the funds raised from the levy be used exclusively for the purposes set forth in the referendum. The will of the City’s voters should not be set aside in the manner proposed in the bill.”

Sponsors listed on the governor’s Sept. 28 action release: S-4513/A-5348 (Mukherji, McKnight / G. Rodriguez, Walker, Sampson).

S-4514: rental-vehicle tax and “one-shots”

The absolute veto of S-4514 says the bill would modify distribution requirements and rates for certain municipal motor vehicle–related taxes, fees, and penalties, and impose a new municipality-wide five percent tax on motor-vehicle rentals. The bill’s population formula — a municipality of 200,000 or greater that grew more than 15 percent between the 2010 and 2020 censuses — qualifies only Jersey City, the veto states.

Sherrill noted the bill was introduced June 24, 2026, and passed less than a week later alongside the Fiscal Year 2027 Appropriations Act.

Then the fiscal diagnosis, still without naming the prior mayor: “The residents of Jersey City are currently suffering from a fiscal crisis caused largely by the irresponsible decisions made by the City’s prior administration. The prior administration’s over-reliance on short-term budget gimmicks and ‘one-shots’ have seriously undermined the City’s long-term stability. Going forward, sustainable revenue growth and structural reforms must be a priority. The proposed legislation is not appropriate at this time.”

Sponsors on the action release: S-4514/A-5347 (Mukherji, McKnight / Sampson, Walker).

Doubt angle — what the vetoes do and don’t settle

The vetoes settle the immediate legislative ask. They do not publish Jersey City’s open-space trust cash position, arts-trust balances, or a reconciled FY2027 gap after any state loans or grants. Naming “prior administration” and “one-shots” in an official veto invites political reading; the document itself does not name a mayor. Who benefits from a Trenton–City Hall frame versus a ledger of structural revenues remains an open accountability question until trust balances and monitor notes are public.

Same-day, Sherrill also conditionally vetoed S-4477 (residential mental-health services pilot) and signed unrelated bills including S-2962, S-3739, S-4193, S-4420, and S-4515 — context only.