About the NJBIA Public Policy Principles and Priorities

The New Jersey Business & Industry Association’s Public Policy Principles and Priorities is a detailed blueprint for building a strong private-sector economy, creating jobs and improving New Jersey’s business climate. This booklet details the public policy principles that will guide NJBIA’s activities on behalf of the business community during the 2006-2007 session of the State Legislature. It also details dozens of specific legislative initiatives for which NJBIA will be fighting.

NJBIA is the nation’s largest state-level employer association, representing more than 23,000 member companies that employ an estimated 1.3 million New Jersey workers.

Thank You

NJBIA wishes to thank the hundreds of members of its 11 policy committees for taking time away from their businesses to review legislation and analyze how it will affect business operations. NJBIA also thanks the thousands of employers who participated in its two annual surveys—the Business Outlook Survey and the Health Benefits Survey. These surveys provide valuable insight into business conditions in New Jersey and track the State’s business climate. These principles were developed based on the input we received from these committees and surveys.

This is a guide to the NJBIA principles that will be applied in analyzing and evaluating legislation throughout the 2006-2007 legislative session. These principles are being communicated to the Governor and the Legislature. New Jersey’s private-sector employers are the State’s main engine of economic growth and prosperity. Increasingly, they are challenged by domestic and global competition, rising production costs, a growing burden of State and federal regulations, and some of the highest costs of doing business in the nation. At the same time, other states are aggressively courting our businesses, sometimes successfully taking our jobs elsewhere. To keep our economy strong and create new jobs, government at all levels must seek to reduce business costs, avoid costly mandates and offer incentives for economic growth.

NJBIA advocates a strong focus on business retention and economic development. This is key to New Jersey’s future and its ability to create new jobs.

State government should devote as much time and resources to keeping existing companies in New Jersey as it does to attracting out-of-state companies.

New Jersey should use targeted incentives to encourage business investment and job creation, particularly in promising growth industries and vital sectors that are struggling, such as manufacturing.

New Jersey should develop a funding plan to maintain and strengthen its essential services, including transportation and education.

New Jersey spends more on public education than most other states, yet New Jersey employers struggle to find workers with the skills necessary to succeed. NJBIA supports reforms that improve education quality and control education costs.

New Jersey must have high expectations for its students and educators. The State should increase its academic standards, demanding more rigorous course work, and implement better accountability measures to track progress in reaching those higher standards.

New Jersey must foster and maintain flexible education and workforce development programs. Such programs should be adaptable to rapid and dramatic changes in the labor market and meet the specialized needs of the State’s employers.

New Jersey schools at all levels must integrate technology and business into their curriculum to meet the State’s future workforce needs.

New Jersey must control the rising costs of education so that it does not overburden its taxpayers.

New Jersey businesses need a reliable and affordable energy supply. NJBIA supports competitive energy markets to reduce high costs.

Energy prices should be determined by the competitive market. Consumers should be able to choose between competitive suppliers for energy and other services.

Commercial and industrial consumers should not subsidize residential consumers in electricity, natural gas or telecommunications.

Public utility regulations should encourage public utilities to keep costs as low as possible while maintaining quality of service and investing in infrastructure for growth.

The NJ Board of Public Utilities should ensure public participation in rule development by making the processes by which the Board operates more open, transparent and inclusive of ratepayers.

NJBIA supports sensible environmental laws and regulations that protect the public’s health. All regulations should be based on sound science and be related to actual risk. The NJ Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) should take a cooperative approach to environmental regulation, one that encourages compliance, avoids excessive penalties, and recognizes good actors.

State permitting procedures should be efficient and effective to ensure the timely issuance of permits.

All new laws and regulations should result in a measurable and meaningful improvement to public health and the environment.

Environmental regulations should be formulated through an open and transparent process, and the DEP should seek input from the regulated community.

Environmental laws and regulations should provide a level of certainty to the regulated community by establishing standards that are appropriate and based on the most up-to-date data.

Proposed laws and rules should take into account their impact on employment and the competitiveness of New Jersey businesses.

The regulated community should be given the flexibility to achieve environmental protection goals through performance-based standards and alternative compliance programs.

If proposed State standards are to exceed federal standards, a compelling and justifiable benefit must be demonstrated.

New Jersey employers provide health insurance coverage for the vast majority of New Jersey citizens, but rapidly rising insurance premiums are making that coverage very costly. Government should make insurance more affordable and accessible, while maintaining a high quality of medical care.

The Governor and State Legislature can and must act to limit cost increases. Making health insurance more affordable for New Jersey employers would increase the total number of insured New Jerseyans.

Health insurance laws should give employers the flexibility they need to respond to rapid changes in the healthcare marketplace.

State government should carefully review all proposed healthcare coverage mandates for their potential impact on the cost of health insurance. Costly mandates drive up the price of already expensive health insurance premiums.

New Jersey’s laws and legal system must permit employers to compete effectively with businesses in other states.

Civil justice policies must discourage the use of the court system to harass employers or pursue repetitive or frivolous claims against them.

Penalties, fines and costs should be proportionate to the level of harm and not be duplicative.

Civil sanctions should be premised upon fairness and constitutional protections.

New Jersey’s laws and regulations should be clear, consistent and easily accessible to businesses.

NJBIA supports business tax policies that will encourage, rather than discourage, economic growth and job creation.

New Jersey tax laws should be competitive with tax laws in other states.

State and local governments should balance their budgets without raising taxes.

NJBIA supports fair wages and safe working conditions for all employees. State labor laws must be reasonable and balanced, permitting New Jersey employers to compete on equal footing with employers in other states.

New Jersey should maintain its current workers’ compensation system. It is a model for other states and provides fair and reasonable medical treatment and lost wages for workers injured on the job.

Taxes paid by employers to fund unemployment compensation and job training should be used exclusively for those purposes.

Mandated employee benefits should not exceed those imposed by competing states.

In order to ensure cost-effective compliance, State workplace standards should not exceed federal standards.

All employers, union and nonunion, should be allowed to compete fairly for public contracts. Contracts should be awarded solely on the basis of price, quality and experience.

Overview of NJBIA’s Agenda for Legislative Action—What We’re Fighting for

• A healthcare system that emphasizes affordability, high quality, transparency and accessibility.
• A business tax structure that is fair and competitive with other states.
• Economic development programs that meet employers’ needs and complement and supplement
business job creation and retention efforts.
• Unemployment compensation and workers’ compensation systems that are fair, reasonable
and competitive with other states.
• Cost-effective environmental regulations and programs that are consistent, flexible,
balanced and job friendly.
• Competitive energy markets that are reliable and affordable.
• A public education system that establishes clear accountability and provides every child with
the opportunity to receive a quality education at reasonable cost to taxpayers.
• A legal system that promotes fairness, common sense and personal responsibility

The cost of purchasing health insurance continues to spiral out of control. Double-digit annual increases in employers’ costs far outpace general inflation. Fewer employers are offering coverage to their employees, and health insurance reform has become a critical issue.

NJBIA SUPPORTS

Reform of Small Employer Market - The State-regulated health insurance market in which small employers (2–50 employees) purchase health coverage for their workers is in crisis. If costs continue to explode in New Jersey, growing numbers of employers will be forced to drop coverage. This will cause the number of uninsured New Jerseyans to grow. A revamping of the marketplace is necessary to ensure that employers have access to affordable coverage. NJBIA supports:

• Development of mandate-free or “mandate-lite” insurance products to allow access to affordable health insurance. While all mandates are well-intentioned, their collective impact can price many New Jerseyans out of the health insurance market.

• More flexibility for small employers in health plan design. This would allow employers with 2–50 employees to purchase benefits that they need while excluding expensive coverage they do not want. Employers should be able to design their own plans rather than having a State-mandated “one-size-fits-all” approach imposed on them.

• Implementation of a reinsurance pool to lower health insurance premiums for small employers.

Review of All Existing Health Coverage Mandates - The State Legislature has passed dozens of health insurance coverage mandates in recent years, yet no comprehensive review of their impact has been conducted. Enacting additional healthcare mandates will put more cost pressure on small businesses – the group most at risk for dropping coverage for their employees. NJBIA asks the Legislature to:

• Block the passage of any new health mandate that would increase the already high cost of health insurance.

• Support the work and the mission of the State’s Mandated Health Benefits Advisory Commission, which is charged with reviewing all proposed mandates before they are brought up for a vote.

• Expand the Advisory Commission’s mission to include the review of existing mandate laws.

Full State Tax Deduction of Health Insurance Premiums - One way to assist employers in their efforts to provide employees with healthcare coverage is to make the full cost of their healthcare premium deductible from State taxes.

Use of Electronic Health Records - The use of electronic health records is essential to ensuring quality care while reducing costs. A more efficient method of keeping records would dramatically reduce the incidence of medical errors and duplicative procedures, lower costs, and increase the quality of care. Medical mistakes not only harm patients, but they also drive up legal costs and insurance premiums, which get passed on to consumers in the form of higher medical charges. The State, along with the rest of the nation, should keep health and medical records electronically. While this shift may be expensive initially, in the long run it will lower costs for individuals and employers; the quality of care will improve; and more people will gain access to affordable care.

In 2004, CFO Magazine’s national tax survey called New Jersey’s tax environment the “most unfair and unpredictable” of any state in the nation. It said New Jersey’s tax policies were the most likely of any state to dissuade companies from relocating or expanding in the State.

Business taxes have also jumped near the top of the list of issues that most concern NJBIA member companies, according to the Association’s 2005 NJBIA Business Outlook Survey. Reforming New Jersey’s business tax structure is crucial to spurring economic growth and creating new jobs.

NJBIA SUPPORTS

A Moratorium on New and Increased Business Taxes - Between 2002 and 2004, New Jersey employers were hit with over $2.5 billion in increased business taxes. The corporate income tax burden doubled. Our business tax structure and rates are among the most onerous in the nation. We believe our weak State economy – New Jersey lags the nation in the rate of private-sector job growth – is caused in large measure by this anti-business tax climate. A moratorium would send a clear and immediate signal to employers that New Jersey policymakers are intent on making New Jersey business friendly.

Single-Sales-Factor Reform - NJBIA supports the adoption of the single-sales-factor tax model for the State’s manufacturing sector. Under the current system, taxes are levied based on a business’s in-State sales, business property, and in-State payroll. Out-of-state companies are therefore taxed at a lower rate because they have no New Jersey payroll and no property. Adopting a single-sales-factor model would put New Jersey manufacturers on equal tax footing with competitors in other states. It would also stop penalizing companies that invest in New Jersey and create jobs here.

Alternative Minimum Assessment Expiration - Enacted in 2002, the Alternative Minimum Assessment requires employers to pay taxes on their gross sales or gross profits. (No other state in the nation imposes such a tax.) It even requires businesses that lose money to pay taxes. This is a highly regressive tax that disproportionately increases tax rates for companies that are struggling the most. Ensuring that this unfair tax expires as planned in July 2006 would allow employers to take tax deductions for the cost of employee health insurance, salaries and wages, real estate, and other important costs of doing business.

Amending the Business Retention Act (BRA) - New Jersey should pass legislation to reaffirm the exemption of business personal property, such as machinery and equipment, from property taxes. In 1997, the New Jersey Tax Court interpreted the BRA to mean only equipment and machinery that has actually been moved qualifies as nontaxable personal property. If allowed to stand, this ruling would dramatically increase property taxes for New Jersey manufacturers. Amending the law now to preserve this exemption would not reduce revenues to local governments, as no governments have yet implemented the Tax Court policy change. This would spare manufacturers millions of dollars in potentially higher taxes.

Keeping Federal Tax Changes - New Jersey should allow companies to take the federal 50 percent bonus depreciation on their New Jersey tax returns. Similarly, New Jersey should allow businesses to deduct up to $100,000 in new equipment from business income on their State tax return, as they can on their federal tax return.

NJBIA OPPOSES

Higher Corporation Business Taxes - The 2002 Corporation Business Tax (CBT) increase doubled the taxes C corporations pay and hurt many small businesses. Small businesses make up to 95 percent of all corporate tax filers. Legislators should recognize that any increase in CBT rates hurts small businesses, and they should reject such increases.

Suspension of Net-Operating-Loss Deductions - The ability to deduct net operating losses (NOLs) is important to struggling businesses. NOLs allow qualified employers to spread out economic losses from lean years over several future tax years. In 2002, the State suspended NOL deductions for two years. Legislators should reject any effort to suspend
NOLs in the future.

Higher Income Taxes - Legislators should reject higher State income taxes on businesspeople who earn their share of the profits or income through S corporations, limited liability companies, partnerships or sole proprietorships. In 2004, the State Legislature enacted an increase in the top income rate, to 8.97 percent from 6.37 percent.

Higher Property Tax Rates for Businesses - New Jersey should not amend the uniformity clause of the State Constitution to subject business properties to property tax rates that are higher than residential rates. Residential and nonresidential properties should be treated equally.

Nondeductibility of Business Equipment - Legislators should not put New Jersey companies at a competitive disadvantage with companies in other states by denying them the same tax deductions for the cost of new equipment that the federal government allows. Many states use the same depreciation and expense-deduction rules for their state corporate tax returns as the US government does on federal returns.

Sales Tax Extension to Professional Services - Taxing professional services would harm New Jersey service professionals such as accountants and financial planners and divert much of this work to professionals in New York, Pennsylvania and surrounding states.

New Jersey has the third highest business costs in the nation, according to an analysis by economy.com. Improving the State’s business climate requires a strong economic development plan. Investments in economic development will pay off many times over in higher employment, greater economic vitality, and higher tax revenues.

NJBIA SUPPORTS

Expansion of existing employment incentive programs to assist manufacturing job retention - The Business Employment Incentive Program (BEIP) and Business Retention and Relocation Assistance Grant Program (BRRAG) focus on new job creation (in the case of BEIP) and job retention for firms (in the case of BRRAG) relocating within New Jersey. Neither program assists existing manufacturers who wish to invest in machinery and equipment to remain competitive. Lawmakers should expand the BEIP and BRRAG programs to stimulate business investments and expansions by providing financial grants to manufacturers equal to a percentage of the cost of new machinery or equipment.

Small Business Set-Asides - Legislators should statutorily increase the minimum small business set-aside for all government contracts to 25 percent from 15 percent. The threshold has been increased by executive order, but legislation is needed to make it permanent.

Each workplace is unique. Policymakers should strive to give employers maximum flexibility to meet the needs of their employees and effectively manage their workforces.

NJBIA SUPPORTS

Dedication of Unemployment Insurance (UI) Fund Revenues - New Jersey should ensure that UI tax payments made by employers and employees are used solely to fund jobless benefits for the unemployed and job training activities through the Workforce Development Partnership program. Legislators should not divert UI contributions to other programs. More than a decade of diversions has lowered the fund balance to a critical point that will trigger higher UI tax rates.

New Jersey’s Model Workers’ Compensation System - New Jersey’s workers’ compensation system is a model for the nation, consistently ranking as one of the most affordable and generous of any state. The State should refrain from making any changes to this system.

Specifically, lawmakers should not eliminate the provision that allows employers to choose the physician in workers’ compensation cases. Studies show that such a change would immediately increase premium costs by 10-20 percent. Such changes to the system, or even to certain industries or employers, would have a negative impact on the pricing of workers’ compensation insurance for all employers.

NJBIA OPPOSES

Paid Family Leave - Paid family leave would impose a one-size-fits-all workplace mandate on employers with as few as two employees. It would not recognize the difference between a hospital, a construction site, a manufacturer or a bank, but would force all employers to provide paid time off to their employees. Paid leave would discourage new businesses from moving to New Jersey and would be a tremendous burden to New Jersey employers.

Project Labor Agreements - Government contractors should be judged on their ability to do the job on time and on budget, not on their use of union labor. Project labor agreements, by requiring the use of union labor, significantly raise the cost of government contracts.

Union Favoritism - Union and nonunion businesses should be treated equally. Legislators should reject legislation that favors unionized companies when giving out government contracts, loans or grants. New Jersey should not allow unions to organize workplaces without elections, nor should it prevent company managers from opposing the formation of a union.

Penalizing Private-Sector Employers - New Jersey should not impose criminal penalties, mandate severance pay policies or otherwise penalize businesses for plant closings, layoffs or other economic decisions. Such penalties would only weaken the underlying economic problems that led to the closing or layoffs in the first place. To weather tough economic times, employers must have the ability to eliminate unproductive operations or reduce their workforces. Often, businesses will bounce back to become more competitive and create new jobs. The State should offer incentives and constructive assistance rather than imposing penalties.

New Jersey ranks 38th in the nation in the volume of air emissions it produces, yet New Jersey businesses still pay the highest air permit fees. They also pay the highest water permit fees and must cope with one of the biggest and most cumbersome environmental bureaucracies in the nation. Paying extra fees, taxes and bureaucratic penalties for environmentally unnecessary regulations adds to the business cost burden in New Jersey.

NJBIA SUPPORTS

Eliminating Red Tape and Paperwork - The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) should issue more general permits or eliminate permits altogether for routine activities that have little environmental impact. For example, general permits could be issued for low-volume or low-BTU boilers. General permits reduce paperwork and red tape while providing the same level of environmental protection.

Conforming to Federal Right-to-Know Rules - Businesses should not be forced to abide by two different sets of right-to-know laws. New Jersey’s right-to-know law should conform to the federal rules for both reporting and labeling. The existing State law has not provided any additional environmental or public health benefits. This is just one example of a wide variety of State regulations that are redundant, costly and confusing.

Cooperation and Self-Disclosure - The DEP has initiated limited self-disclosure policies for business and should work with the Legislature to expand this cooperative relationship and work with business to improve environmental quality.

Businesses that conduct environmental audits, disclose their own environmental problems and fix them should not be penalized with fines or sanctions. The DEP should not punish companies for doing the right thing. The Legislature should approve a system of self-disclosure or self-auditing that removes mandatory sanctions against companies that have good environmental records.

Uniform Methods of Applying Discretion for Noncompliance - Enforcement of air and water pollution rules should be more equitable. The DEP commissioner should apply discretion in issuing penalties to differentiate between paperwork violations and violations that cause real environmental harm. Small business should not be forced to spend lots of time and money to comply with reporting requirements just to avoid penalties.

Greater Electronic Communication - The DEP has made great progress in the use of electronic communications to help small businesses comply with complex DEP rules. NJBIA supports the continued expansion of publishing rules and regulations on the DEP Web site so that small businesses can easily access them in order to comply.

Permitting System with Expedited Timetables - Extraordinary delays in the land-use permitting process have long hampered development across the entire State, adding significant costs to the development process. Expedited permits in development areas will act as a tool to curb sprawl and encourage economic redevelopment.

NJBIA OPPOSES

Expanding Reporting Requirements - Legislators and the DEP should not expand the reach of existing paperwork and analysis-laden regulatory programs, such as the Pollution Prevention Program, by expanding reporting requirements to more employers. New Jersey already has one of the most onerous environmental bureaucracies in the nation. Adding to the paperwork and red tape will cost business more time and money for compliance, but will do little to improve New Jersey’s environment.

New Placard and Notification Requirements - New Jersey should not implement a new placarding system for commercial and industrial buildings. Also, it should not adopt significant local-authority notification requirements for a greatly expanded hazardous chemical list. These are redundant and costly and will do nothing to improve environmental quality.

Expansion of the Diesel Retrofit Program - The DEP should effectively implement the retrofitting of diesel engines on school buses, commercial buses, solid waste vehicles and publicly-owned diesel equipment. This program promotes clean air without putting New Jersey businesses at a competitive disadvantage. We oppose the expansion of this program by requiring the retrofit of business vehicles at a cost of $5,000 to $8,000 each.

New Jersey receives its electricity from the PJM power grid that also services Pennsylvania, Delaware and Maryland. PJM is one of the most reliable power grids in the nation, but New Jersey power rates are the highest of all the states within PJM due to the costs of generation, transmission and State-imposed surcharges.

NJBIA SUPPORTS

Energy Deregulation That Promotes Competition - Commercial and industrial energy rates must not be used to subsidize residential rates. Energy deregulation has helped to hold down power costs for many employers throughout New Jersey. Competition has allowed high volume electric and gas consumers to use their buying power to reduce energy rates.

Lower Energy Taxes - The scheduled reduction of energy taxes from 10 percent to 7.5 percent should not be delayed. Phasing out energy taxes was a key component of the 1999 Energy Deregulation Act. With escalating energy prices, the State needs to help commercial and industrial customers by eliminating the Transitional Energy Facility Assessment (TEFA) surcharge, reducing the Societal Benefits Charge (SBC) surcharge, and exempting manufacturers from the energy sales tax.

Elimination of the Utility Tax on Business - The NJ Board of Public Utilities (BPU) has collected over $45 million in retail-margin-adder funds to penalize large customers that have failed to shop for third-party electric power supplies. This is no longer a mechanism to spur competition. This provision should be eliminated and a rebate given to this
class of customers.

Fast-Track Permitting - The DEP should adopt a fast-track permitting procedure for companies joining PJM’s Demand Side Response program. The program allows companies to reduce energy costs at times when energy is most expensive or the stability of the grid is in jeopardy by using alternative sources, such as on-site generation. This requires raising the annual limit for on-site generation and, therefore, a new permit from DEP. Furthermore, the DEP should not penalize companies with existing permits that participate in PJM’s demand-side management programs or approved BPU pilot projects to reduce consumption. They should also be allowed to change permits without excessive costs or being required to resubmit applications.

Public Involvement at the BPU - NJBIA advocates a more open, accessible BPU. Every effort should be made to encourage business involvement in the process. To this end, the BPU should set up business stakeholder meetings on a quarterly basis to discuss matters related to the Board. The BPU should make its Web site more accessible to business by dedicating resources to expanding the information available to commercial customers. Finally, it should utilize the regulatory process to ensure transparency in BPU actions.

Development of Renewable Technology on the Industrial Level - The BPU has spent hundreds of millions of dollars to install renewable-energy units in homes over the past five years but has failed to meet its renewable power goals. The Clean Energy Fund should focus spending on industrial and commercial projects that will achieve the diversity required by BPU regulation. Furthermore, caps on rebate and grant levels should be eliminated for the commercial and industrial customer.

NJBIA OPPOSES

Carbon Dioxide Cap-and-Trade Programs that Increase the Cost of Energy - New Jersey commercial and industrial customers use 68 percent of New Jersey’s electric power and pay the highest prices for electricity within the PJM grid. The imposition of carbon dioxide emissions caps in New Jersey alone leaves the State vulnerable to reduced in-State generation as increased regulatory costs make it uneconomical to operate a facility.

New Jersey spends more on public education than most other states, yet New Jersey employers struggle to find workers with the skills necessary to succeed. NJBIA supports reforms that improve education quality and control education costs.

NJBIA SUPPORTS

Higher Expectations - NJBIA supports legislation and regulations that demand more of New Jersey’s students, educators and schools. The State should implement initiatives to create a better workforce by requiring more for a New Jersey high school diploma, providing incentives for higher level classes, asking educators to teach to more advanced levels, and strengthening accountability standards.

Business-Education Partnerships - New Jersey should have more programs that link classroom learning with the business world. Through internships and other types of partnerships between business and education, students can build an understanding of the critical connection between the learning that occurs in school and the knowledge and skills required in the workplace.

Workforce Development - New Jersey should expand the promotion and availability of workforce development programs to the business community. New Jersey has a diverse economy with specific needs in many distinct areas. Rapid changes in the labor market increase employer demands for workers with specialized skills. The promotion of customized training grants and vocational education would enable more employers and workers to take advantage of them.

School Consolidation and Shared Services - New Jersey should provide financial incentives to promote public school district consolidation and greater sharing of programs and services. The State has more than 600 school districts, several with fewer than 100 students. Some have no students at all. School district consolidations would reduce administrative costs and allow more tax dollars to be spent on activities that directly benefit students’ education.

Funding for Vocational Schools, Charter Schools and Other Education Options - The State should eliminate the barriers and burdensome requirements that limit the development of nontraditional schools like charter and vocational schools. These schools should be promoted because their specialized education programs often better prepare students for real jobs that are in demand. Charter and vocational schools should receive more support from the State for their facilities and their funding, especially in low-income communities.

NJBIA OPPOSES

Eliminating Contracted Services - The State should not limit the ability of public schools to contract with private companies for noneducational services such as busing, cafeteria and custodial services. These public-private partnerships have helped school boards provide quality services at competitive prices, thereby reducing district costs without hurting the quality of education.

Increasing Mandates and Fixed Costs for School Districts - The State should not impose costly mandates on school districts or increase the minimum levels of salaries and benefits for staff. This would place undue budgetary pressure on school boards and would increase property taxes or divert money from the student. Instead of receiving mandatory salary and benefit increases, teachers should be rewarded for performance, student achievement, improvement in effective practice, and knowledge of the subject they teach.

Lowering Standards for Students to Succeed
Easier - New Jersey should not lower academic expectations for New Jersey’s students. Allowing lower standards for high school graduation, grade level promotion and standardized tests does a disservice to the State’s students by not adequately preparing them for the
real world.

Can be reached at 609-393-7707

Philip Kirschner, President (ext. 210)
Phil is the Association’s chief executive as well as chief spokesman for the business community. He is responsible for seeing that the Association’s mission is fulfilled, namely to provide information, services and advocacy for its member companies in order to build a more prosperous New Jersey.

Melanie Willoughby, Senior Vice President, Government Affairs (ext. 205)
Melanie directs the Association’s government affairs and staff lobbying activities and represents NJBIA in all legislative areas. She is also the staff director for the NJBIA Government Affairs Committee and Manufacturing Council.

Sara Bluhm, Director, Energy and Federal Affairs (ext. 204)
Sara lobbies for the Association on energy issues and staffs the Energy Policy Committee. She also monitors and tracks legislation on federal issues. She is the Executive Director of NJBIA’s public policy affiliate, the New Jersey Policy Research Organization Foundation (NJPRO).

David Brogan, Vice President, Environmental Policy (ext. 236)
David is responsible for environmental affairs and serves as staff director of NJBIA’s Environmental Network.

Christopher Emigholz, Director, Education Policy (ext. 201)
Christopher lobbies for NJBIA on education issues, serves as staff director of the Association’s Education Committee and as Deputy Director of NJBIA’s public policy affiliate, NJPRO.

Arthur Maurice, First Vice President, Economic Development
and Taxation (ext. 247)
Art represents NJBIA in its economic development and taxation activities and is staff director of these policy committees. Art also serves as Executive Director of the independent pro-business PAC NEW JOBS.

Frank Robinson, Vice President, Transportation & Grassroots Member Activities (ext. 225)
Frank lobbies for NJBIA on transportation issues. He is also Executive Director of the Employer Legislative Committees (ELCs) and coordinates the grassroots activities of NJBIA.

John Rogers, Vice President, Human Resource Policy (ext. 209)
John lobbies for the Association on human resource and election law issues. He staffs the Human Resource Policy Committee. He serves as the Deputy Director of the Manufacturing Council.

Christine Stearns, Vice President, Health Affairs (ext. 260)
Christine lobbies for the Association on healthcare and legal issues. She serves as staff director of the Association’s Health Affairs and Legal Affairs Committees.