TRENTON, N.J. – On July 8, Gov. Jon Corzine (D) ended a nine-day government shutdown by signing a $31 million budget into law.

The Philadelphia Inquirer reports that the new law will raise the state sales tax from 6 percent to 7 percent, which will cost the average New Jersey family about $250 a year.

Meanwhile, legislators agreed to increase the state cigarette excise tax from $2.40 per pack to $2.57 per pack--half the amount originally proposed by the governor.

The increase makes New Jersey’s cigarette excise tax the highest in the nation, surpassing Rhode Island’s $2.46 per pack excise tax.