New Jersey residents will enter 2026 with several new laws taking effect, bringing changes to wages, transportation costs, state government structure, and access to public information.
Beginning January 1, 2026, the statewide minimum wage will rise by 43 cents to $15.92 per hour for most workers. Seasonal employees and workers at small businesses will see their minimum wage increase to $15.23 per hour, a 70-cent bump. Farmworkers paid hourly will see their minimum pay rise from $13.40 to $14.20. Direct care staff in long-term care facilities will see their minimum hourly wage increase by 43 cents to $18.92. The minimum cash wage for tipped workers will also increase, rising from $5.62 to $6.05.
Employers will still be required to make up the difference if a tipped worker’s hourly pay and tips do not total at least the state minimum wage. Labor Commissioner Robert Asaro-Angelo said the increase “will provide vital support to all Garden State workers by making the dream of a livable wage reality.”
Transportation costs will also rise. In mid-November, the New Jersey Turnpike Authority approved a 3% toll increase for both the New Jersey Turnpike and the Garden State Parkway, which will take effect on January 1. Early next year, tolls on bridges operated by the Delaware River Joint Toll Bridge Commission will increase to $2 for E-ZPass users and $5 for drivers without E-ZPass. The Commission is expected to release an exact start date in mid-December. Additionally, tolls on Port Authority of New York and New Jersey bridges and tunnels are expected to rise by 25 cents during the first week of January, pending a December 18 vote.
State government will undergo a significant structural change as well. In mid-January, the New Jersey Department of Military and Veterans Affairs will formally become the Department of Veterans Affairs, a standalone agency dedicated exclusively to supporting veterans. Its responsibilities will include facilitating access to benefits, health care, housing resources, and mental health services.
The current department oversees both veterans’ services and all state military operations, duties that will now be separated. Gov. Phil Murphy, who signed the legislation on September 11, said the change ensures veterans have “a seat at the table and direct access to the support and resources they deserve.”
Another major shift will come in March 2026, when legal notices will move entirely online. Under a law signed last summer, public entities across the state will be required to publish legal notices — including information on municipal meetings, foreclosures, and other official actions — on their agency websites rather than in printed newspapers. Agencies must provide a prominent, no-fee link to a centralized state website that will host all public notices and are required to maintain an online archive for public use. The shift follows years of declining newspaper print circulation and was accelerated after the Star-Ledger announced last February that it would stop offering a printed version.
State officials say the new system is intended to expand access to public information as traditional print options continue to diminish.
the reason mass exodus of young families. keep taxing them into other states
It’s a loser state full of corruption and deceitfully people like our government. To the New Jersey residents out there its to late there is not going to be an America for your kids or grandkids or anything else. It just sickens me at times,so get out while you can and don’t look back..