This was Attorney General Gurbir Grewal’s first appearance before the Senate Budget Committee, so he would have to be excused for his punctuality, given the committee’s casual relationship with the clock.
Chairman Paul Sarlo’s committee is tasked with boring down on the numbers included in the governor’s $37 billion budget but, given that the Attorney General was whisked into office on the first day of the new administration, members seemed intent on picking his brain, concentrating on policy more than numbers.
“The Department of Law and Public Safety touches the lives of New Jersey residents in numerous ways,” began Grewal. “We obviously serve as the state’s lawyers; we investigate and prosecute crimes; we assist the victims of crimes and their families. We regulate a variety of industries important to New Jersey’s economy, including gaming, boxing, horse racing, and the distribution and sale of alcohol.”
It’s a full plate that includes State Police and more, but Grewal promised an activist attorney general, something he’s already shown by joining the fight against the president’s policies on immigration, climate, guns and more. The Attorney General’s Office is proposing a budget of over half a billion dollars, but the cost of litigation is unpredictable, and of concern to some Republicans.