Relocation Tax Credits
A-1696 (Fisher, Van Drew)/S-80 (Kean)
Status:  Assembly Budget Committee/Senate Economic Growth Committee
The bill amends the "Business Retention and Relocation Assistance Act" to extend eligibility for the granting of tax credits under the act to businesses relocating 50 or more employees within New Jersey.  Current law requires that a firm relocate a minimum of 250 jobs to be eligible for the tax credits.  Many businesses in New Jersey are manufacturing firms with fewer than 100 employees.  This bill would provide to small businesses the same tax credits currently available to large businesses. 
NJBIA Position:  Support

Limited Procurement Performance
A-1919 (Burzichelli, Greenwald, Vas, Quigley, Conaway)/
S-1020 (Sweeney, Rice)
Status:  Assembly Commerce and Economic Development/Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee
This bill requires contracting units, when using State funds, to give a limited preference in their award of bids to benefit qualified manufacturers producing certain manufactured goods and products within the State.  Under the bill, the Chief Executive Officer and Secretary of the New Jersey Commerce, Economic Growth and Tourism Commission would be responsible for certifying a manufacturer as a "qualified manufacturer."
NJBIA Position:  Support

TEFA Tax Cut
A-1993 (Cryan, Vas, Karrow)/S-1578 (Rice, Bucco)
Status:  Assembly Appropriations Committee/Senate Economic Growth Committee
The bill exempts sales of energy and utility service to manufacturing facilities from the sales and use tax and the transitional energy facility assessment (TEFA) unit rate surcharge. The sales tax exemption and the TEFA unit rate surcharge exemption will save manufacturing facilities an estimated 10 percent in taxes assessed against their energy use. 
NJBIA Position:  Support

Greenhouse Gas Emissions Reductions
A-3301 (Stender, Vanieri Huttle, Gusciora, Greenstein, McKeon)/S-2114 (Buono, Kean)
Status: Assembly Telecommunications and Utilities Committee/Senate Environment Committee
The bill directs the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) to establish a greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions monitoring and reduction program, with a goal of gradually reducing greenhouse gas emissions in the State by 2020 to the 1990 greenhouse gas emissions levels. This legislation would implement a GHG emissions reduction program that would go beyond initial Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) rules to limit not only carbon dioxide, but all GHG determined by the DEP to contribute to global warming.  Additionally, the bill goes beyond RGGI by capping GHG emissions from not only power plants, but all significant emitters of GHG, as determined by the department including, but not limited to, manufacturers and distributors of fossil fuels such as oil refineries, oil storage facilities, and natural gas pipelines. 
NJBIA Position: Oppose

UEZ Tax Exemption
A-3938 (Burzichelli, Cryan, Van Drew, Manzo, Vas, Fisher)/
S-2491 (Sweeney) 
Status:  Assembly Budget Committee/Senate Economic Growth Committee
This bill establishes a sales and use tax rebate process for purchases by UEZ-based businesses.  The bills restore the full sales tax exemption for purchases by any business which is solely located within the UEZ zone and also restores the use tax exemption regarding out-of-state goods purchased by all UEZ based businesses.
NJBIA Position:  Support

Mental Health Expansion
A-2512 (Gordon, Johnson, Manzo, Burzichelli, Greenstein)/
S-807 (Vitale, Buono)
Status:  Assembly Appropriations Committee
The bill would expand mental health insurance coverage to include non-biologically based mental illnesses as defined by the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM). The bill also would require health insurers and hospitals to treat substance abuse the same as other diseases by requiring individual, small health benefits, and HMO insurers to provide inpatient programs, outpatient care, and detoxification and confinement treatment.
NJBIA Position:  Oppose

Eminent Domain
A-3257 (Burzichelli, Gordon, Bateman, Manzo, Cruz-Perez, Fisher, Lampitt)/S-2088 (Sweeney)
Status:  Senate Community and Urban Affairs Committee
This bill amends and supplements various parts of statutory law to provide greater accountability and transparency in the use of eminent domain by local governments in New Jersey.  The criteria for finding property to be an “area in need of redevelopment” would be reorganized and the ability to include non-qualifying parcels in an area in need of redevelopment would be limited to 20 percent of the land mass within the proposed redevelopment area.  If eminent domain is used, the bill would require that the redevelopment agreement contain a timeframe for the acquisition of such property and a requirement that all requests for the use of eminent domain be made within five years of the date of the redevelopment agreement. 
NJBIA Position:  Seek Amendments

Business Closing
S-472 (Sweeney, Doria)/A-1044 (Van Drew, Johnson, Egan)
Status:  Second Reading in the Assembly to Concur with Senate Amendments
This bill requires any company with more than 200 employees to provide 180 days notice of a plant closing or a mass layoff of more than 50 workers to the employees and the Commissioner of Labor and Workforce Development. An employer with between 49 and 199 employees must give 90 days notice of any potential action. If the pre-notification is not provided, the company must provide one week severance pay for each year worked for every employee terminated, and if the company is in an Urban Enterprise Zone, three weeks severance pay for every year worked by the employees.
NJBIA Position:  Oppose

Mandatory Rest Breaks
A-2560 (Van Drew, Albano)/A-2220 (Van Drew)/
S-1021 (Sweeney, Kavanaugh)
Status:  Assembly Labor Committee/Assembly Labor Committee/Second Reading in Senate
This bill requires every employer to provide mandatory rest and meal break to employees.  The bill requires a meal break of at least 30 minutes for employees who work for more than six hours continuously. The bill also requires at least a 15 minute paid rest break for any continuous period of more than four hours of work.
NJBIA Position:  Oppose

Paid Family Leave
S-2249 (Sweeney, Buono)/
A-3812 (Albano, Panter, Oliver, Van Drew)
Status:  Senate Budget & Appropriations Committee/Assembly Labor Committee
This bill provides workers with family temporary disability leave benefits to care for members of the worker’s family unable to care for themselves, including sick family members and newborn and newly adopted children.  The bill provides up to 12 weeks of TDI benefits for a worker caring for a family member suffering a serious health condition. 
NJBIA Position:  Oppose

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