'I Don't Think It's Illegitimate': Gov. Murphy Defends Using $520K In COVID Funds On SUVs

NEW JERSEY — Gov. Phil Murphy defended his administration's use of more than a half-million in federal COVID-19 relief funds on SUVs to escort him and other state officials.

The administration received blowback last week following revelations that it spent $521,783 in American Rescue Plan Act funds on eight vehicles, writing it off as a COVID-related expense. Several Republican lawmakers blasted the expenditure, but Murphy endorsed the purchase Tuesday during News12 New Jersey's "Ask Gov. Murphy" segment.

"To put it this way: I don’t think it’s illegitimate," Murphy said.

New Jersey treasury officials shared the expenditure in a Jan. 17 memo to state lawmakers, detailing 46 ways that the Murphy administration allocated $200 million in federal COVID funds in Fiscal Year 2022. Politico New Jersey first reported the document.

• Read more: $520K In COVID Funds Spent On SUVs For Murphy Administration

The memo justifies the vehicle expenditure as COVID-related, since top officials required secure transportation as they responded to the public-health crisis. State Police provide transportation services for Gov. Phil Murphy, Lt. Gov. Sheila Oliver and other state officials.

Asked on News12 why the state spent COVID funds on SUVs to chauffeur government employees, Murphy said the following: "Chauffeured around — I don’t have a choice. There’s a certain number of folks — including, by the way, legislators I might add — who have automobiles that are state-provided and driven."

News12 anchor Eric Landskroner interjected that the issue is the use of federal COVID funds. Murphy then defended the expenditure.

"It is what it is," the governor said. "What we don’t want to do is start programs that cost money, that we have to pay for as a state. That’s money the state doesn’t have to pay for, that frees us up to do something with resources elsewhere. We are at the hyper, most conservative end of the spectrum when we compare how we spend federal COVID monies with other states, so I feel quite comfortable."

The American Rescue Plan Act — a COVID relief package signed into federal law in March 2021 — allocated nearly $200 billion in Fiscal Recovery Funds, which gave each state significant flexibility on how they're spent. New Jersey's state government received $6.4 billion.

Under a deal with legislators, the Murphy administration can decide how to use the funds on items less than $10 million and up to $200 million total.

Most of the expenditures listed on the memo for Fiscal Year 2022 include funds for county health departments, hospitals and first responders. The fiscal year ran from July 2021 through June of last year.

But the Murphy administration received flack for the SUV purchases, which State Sen. Michael Testa (R-1) called "despicable."

"It’s disturbing that Governor Murphy and Democrat leaders chose to spend pandemic relief funds to buy new SUVs for the State Police to chauffeur them around the state," Testa said in a statement. "Instead of putting the billions in unspent relief funds that have sat idle in state accounts for two years to effective use, Democrats prioritized their own comfort and convenience over helping people."

The current budget, Fiscal Year 2023, allocates $2.1 billion in American Rescue Plan funds, leaving about $1 billion for Fiscal Year 2024, which begins July 1. Murphy plans to introduce his administration's 2024 budget proposal around late February.

Watch News12's full segment.