TRENTON, N.J. (AP) - The Latest on Democratic candidate for governor Phil Murphy’s community college proposal (all times local):
3:45 p.m.
Democratic gubernatorial candidate Phil Murphy’s campaign says he misspoke when he cited a $400 million estimate for tuition-free community college.
The campaign said Monday that the actual cost would be about $200 million.
Campaign spokesman Dan Bryan cited a 2016 report by the Campaign for Free College Tuition that estimated tuition to be about $200 million. The group bills itself as a bipartisan nonprofit organization dedicated to making tuition free in all 50 states.
Speaking earlier Monday at a news conference in Trenton, Murphy had estimated the cost to be about $400 million.
It’s not clear how the program would be paid for if Murphy wins the Nov. 7 election to succeed term-limited Republican Gov. Chris Christie.
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12:20 p.m.
New Jersey Democratic gubernatorial candidate says the tuition-free community college plan he’s promising could cost $400 million.
Phil Murphy unveiled the estimate Monday during a news conference outside Mercer County Community College, where he was joined by Democratic U.S. Sen. Cory Booker.
Murphy has previously said he supported tuition-free community college. His campaign has said his proposals would result in $1.3 billion in new taxes, but it’s unclear whether the community college proposal is factored into that.
Murphy says some of the money could come from the federal government. He says the proposal would be phased in over time.
Murphy’s top competition in the Nov. 7 election comes from GOP Lt. Gov. Kim Guadagno, who is promising to audit state government and lower property taxes.
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