News Flash

Federal Ways & Means Committee to Hold Hearing on Local Impact of SALT Cap

On Wednesday, it was announced that a Ways and Means subcommittee will hold a hearing next week to review how the recently enacted $10,000 cap on federal income tax deductions for state and local taxes (SALT) may “harm communities, schools, firs...

IRS Final Regulations Effectively End NJ’s SALT Cap Workaround

On Tuesday, the IRS issued final regulations regarding the deductibility of charitable contributions when the contributor receives in exchange a state or local tax credit. These final regulations come about after New Jersey and many other states took effo...

National Flood Insurance Program Extension Enacted

Upon his return to the Country last Friday, President Trump signed H.R. 2157 into law. In addition to providing vital aid to jurisdictions devastated by an unprecedented series of natural disasters, that bill–The Additional Supplemental Appropriations for...

National Flood Insurance Extension Correction and Update

Last week, we were incorrect in stating that the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) would lapse, due to Congressional inaction on the Disaster Relief legislation. In fact, a two-week extension had been enacted. That very short-term lifeline will be s...

House Makes Progress on Infrastructure

On Thursday, in Washington, the House Appropriations Committee’s Subcommittee on Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies approved by voice vote its fiscal year 2020 bill. In total, the legislation provides $137.1 billion in bud...

House Adds NFIP Extension to Disaster Assistance Bill

On April 9, a new $17.2 billion disaster aid package was introduced in the House of Representatives. That bill, H.R. 2157, is scheduled for consideration this week. However, the Senate is still debating how much additional assistance Puerto Rico should re...

High-Level Bipartisan Meeting Yields Some Hope for Infrastructure

On Tuesday, at the White House, President Donald Trump met with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer to discuss the need for action on a comprehensive infrastructure bill. The lawmakers emerged with a conceptual agreement on...

HUD and White House release Opportunity Zone Plan

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the White House Opportunity and Revitalization Council (WHORC) have released an implementation plan outlining how local leaders can maximize benefits when participating in the Opportunity Zone...

Bipartisan Effort to Advance Gateway Continues

In a letter sent on Monday to United States Secretary of Transportation Elain Chao, a bipartisan group of Congressional Representatives, led by New Jersey Congressman Tom Malinowski, called on the Department of Transportation (DOT) to finalize and publish...

Municipal Compliance with Federal Overtime Requirements

We are providing this information to assist you in determining whether your municipality complies with Federal overtime pay requirements. The US Department of Labor Wage & Hour Division advised the League many municipal governments are not complying w...

NLC Launches Opportunity Zone Resources

The opportunity zone program, authored by N.J. U.S. Senator Cory Booker, was created under the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act to provide local and national investors with a tax incentive for investments made in economically distressed areas of the country.

Und...

116th Congress Convenes

As the partial shutdown of the Federal government grinds on, a new Congressional session begins. While Senators (and former Mayors) Bob Menendez and Cory Booker will continue to represent our State in the Upper House, a number of new Jersey voices will jo...

Experts See Local, State, Federal Cooperation Key to Election Security

On Oct. 3, 2018, in Washington, federal election watchdogs conducted an election security briefing with state officials and members of Congress. William Evanina, director of the National Counterintelligence and Security Center, and Christopher Krebs, the ...