She also had a few things to say about digital grocery pricing.
Her $60.7 billion plan for fiscal 2027, released earlier this week, outlines a variety of ideas of how to spend state money on technology.
The fiscal year starts July 1.
Sherrill wants to spend an additional $13.3 million for the freshly revised New Jersey Innovation Authority, money that would go toward such projects as a permitting dashboard and the New Jersey Report Card.
“The budget also authorizes a significant staffing initiative at the Department of Environmental Protection to expedite permitting for energy generation and housing construction,” according to the proposal. “This greater permitting capacity will reduce construction delays that add millions of dollars to the cost of these projects.”
Online permitting stands as one of the hottest trends in gov tech, both for public agencies and suppliers. Better permitting gained early support from Sherrill as she took office earlier this year.
The state’s Division of Consumer Affairs would receive $3 million to upgrade “its licensing system and complaint database,” according to the budget proposal.
The more than $1 billion intended for NJ Transit would help the agency build “a more user-friendly mobile app” while also avoiding service cuts.
Sherrill also wants to “keep kids safe online,” according to the proposal.
That not only means state school districts will go “cellphone free” this fall, but that New Jersey wants to contribute $500,000 to what the proposal calls “a new Social Media Research Center at one of New Jersey’s institutions of higher education to study the impact of digital technology on young people’s mental health.”
The budget also would fund a new Office of Youth Online Mental Health Safety and Awareness.
The theme that not all tech is good tech was driven home in other parts of the proposed budget and Sherrill’s kickoff speech earlier this week.
Sherrill “will also champion legislation that cracks down on rent-setting algorithms to fight digital collusion,” according to the proposed budget.
And so-called dynamic pricing also has earned her dislike and may result in state action, she said during her budget address.
“The same goes for groceries — where they switch prices based on things like time of day, or even your gender, or phone browsing history,” she told lawmakers and residents. “That means if you have to shop after work, when stores are crowded, you’ll pay more than if you’re free to shop at noon.”
Stores can also charge higher prices to shoppers who have searched for products online, a practice she called “outrageous” and worthy of prohibition.
“I’ll work with all of you to pass legislation limiting this kind of for-profit surveillance by Big Tech,” Sherrill said.
Other tech projects peppered through the budget proposal include nearly $9.8 million for the state’s court technology improvement fund, a 3 percent increase from last year; and $30 million for Department of Human Services information technology.
