NJ Gov. Murphy: We did our best in COVID, NJ Transit fare hikes are necessary

New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy says he's proud to have commissioned the "postmortem" of COVID-19 that ultimately found the state isn't ready for another emergency.

The $9 million report found many in government hadn't known about a 2015 plan intended for a "pandemic influenza" that largely predicted how a pandemic would unfold in New Jersey. But Murphy says he's standing up a task force to take its recommendations for getting New Jersey ready before the next emergency.

On the March 13 installment of WNYC's "Ask Governor Murphy," he also defended a planned 15% fare hike for NJ Transit, boasting about improvements to the agency during his time in office. And Murphy said he supports the idea of overhauling the state's Open Public Records Act -- a move journalists and good government groups argue would cripple the public's access to information about government -- if it can be done in ways that "preserve transparency."

Ask Governor Murphy airs the second Wednesday of most months at 7 p.m., dependent on schedule availability. Upcoming episodes are:

Wed, April 10
Wed, May 8
Wed, June 12