NJBIA President Philip Kirschner this week urged New Jersey employers to vote in the November 8 elections for State legislative candidates who will work for lower business costs, stronger private-sector job creation, and a better business climate.

“This is a critical election year, and New Jersey employers cannot afford to sit on the sidelines,” said Kirschner said.

“After a number of difficult years in which business was the target of antibusiness policies that raised business taxes and other costs dramatically, we have started to make some progress in the State Legislature,” Kirschner said. “By electing probusiness candidates for the Assembly, we can build on those gains. We can start to rebuild the State’s business climate.”

On November 8, New Jersey voters will elect all 80 members of the New Jersey General Assembly (the next Senate election will be held in 2007) and a new Governor.

Kirschner said employers should pay close attention not only to the gubernatorial race between Democrat Jon Corzine and Republican Doug Forrester, which has garnered most of the media attention, but also to the Assembly races in all 40 legislative districts. Among those races are a few highly competitive ones involving candidates endorsed by NEW JOBS PAC.

NEW JOBS PAC, the largest and most influential political action committee for the State business community, is an independent, nonpartisan organization whose trustees promote a better business climate by endorsing and supporting probusiness candidates for the State Legislature. Kirschner has served as a member of the NEW JOBS Board of Trustees since 2003.
NEW JOBS PAC has endorsed 66 Assembly candidates of both major parties. The NEW JOBS trustees carefully reviewed the candidates’ records, endorsing candidates who have demonstrated a good understanding of the issues facing the business community and a commitment to lowering the cost of doing business in New Jersey. (The full slate of NEW JOBS endorsements can be found on pages 4-5.)

Kirschner said employers, in addition to supporting probusiness candidates and casting their ballots on November 8, can avail themselves of resources to encourage their employees to vote. Important information about voter registration, absentee ballots and voter rights can be found on the NJ Division of Elections Web site at www.state.nj.us/lps/elections/electionshome.html.

Kirschner said the most competitive races by far are in District 12 (Mercer and Monmouth counties) and District 14 (Mercer and Middlesex counties). There are also important races in District 1 (Atlantic, Cape May and Cumberland counties), District 2 (Atlantic County), District 11 (Monmouth County), District 13 (Monmouth and Middlesex counties), and District 36 (Bergen, Essex and Passaic counties). Following are details on all of those races.

District 1 (Atlantic, Cape May, Cumberland)
In District 1, veteran Republican Assemblyman Jack Gibson* faces a tough battle to hold onto his seat, which has been targeted by the Democrats, who hope not only to return two-term incumbent Jeff Van Drew to office, but also to elect his running mate, newcomer Nelson Albano. The other Republican candidate in this district, George Cecola, is a virtual unknown.

District 2 (Atlantic)
The Democrats have also targeted District 2, hoping to take both Assembly seats away from their GOP competitors in this long-time, Republican-held district. Former Atlantic City Mayor Jim Whelan and his Democratic running mate Damon Tyner are giving a spirited challenge to the Republican incumbents, veteran Frank Blee* (1995-present) and one-term Assemblyman Kirk Conover*. Veteran Republican Senator Bill Gormley, who also represents District 2, is managing the Blee-Conover campaign, an indication of just how much is at stake in this race.

District 12 (Mercer, Monmouth)
The Republicans lost control of this once solidly GOP district in 2003 as a result of the fallout from a series of articles in the Asbury Park Press that attacked the ethics of District 12 Senator John Bennett, who was co-president of the Senate at the time. The Republicans subsequently lost control of the Senate seat and the two Assembly seats to the Democrats. Today, they are trying to get them back. Both parties are pouring a lot of money into this race. Republican challengers Jennifer Beck*, a Red Bank councilwoman, and Declan O’Scanlon Jr., a Little Silver councilwoman, are trying to unseat Democrat incumbents Robert Morgan* and Michael Panter.

Districts 11 and 13
(Monmouth, Middlesex)
If the Republicans are trying to win back District 12, the Democrats are hoping to replicate their 2003 victory in that district by also taking control of two contiguous voting areas, Districts 11 and 13. In District 11, Republican incumbents Steve Corodemus* and Sean Kean* are fending off a challenge from Democratic candidates Matt Doherty and Jim Reilly. In District 13, Republican incumbent Sam Thompson*, joined by Monmouth County Freeholder Amy Handlin*, is defending his seat against Democratic challengers William Flynn and Michael Dasaro.

District 14 (Mercer, Middlesex)
Like District 1, District 14 is split between the two major parties, a rare circumstance. In this district, the Republican incumbent, Bill Baroni*, and the Democratic incumbent, Linda Greenstein, are trying to hold onto their seats while their respective parties hope to build their base by picking up a second seat. Baroni, a Seton Hall law professor, is seeking a second term, while Greenstein, an attorney, is hoping to win a fourth term. The challengers are Republican Michael Paquette and Democrat Daniel Benson.

District 36 (Bergen, Essex, Passaic)
The loss of the GOP’s lone seat in this split district is all but a forgone conclusion. Veteran Republican Assemblyman Paul DiGaetano decided not to seek a ninth term in this heavily Democratic district last spring when he competed in the gubernatorial primary, which he lost. Now that the popular DiGaetano is retiring, the Democrats are expected to take his seat with little trouble. Vying for seats are Democrat Gary Schaer* and Republican challengers Louis Aloia and Jose Sandoval. Democratic incumbent Fred Scalera is expected to maintain his seat.

*NEW JOBS endorsees are identified with an asterisk.

A respected national survey of employer-provided health benefits shows health benefit costs continuing to skyrocket, prompting NJBIA to again call on the Legislature to enact health insurance reform to help control costs. According to the Kaiser Foundation’s annual Employer Health Benefits Survey, average health insurance premiums increased by 9.2 percent in 2005. The survey also found that the percentage of all firms offering health benefits to their employees had dropped to 60 percent from 69 percent in the last five years. Here in New Jersey, employers responding to NJBIA’s Health Benefits Survey (released April 2005) reported an 11 percent increase in the cost of providing health insurance to their employees in 2004.

NJBIA has been pushing for comprehensive health insurance reform in New Jersey to help slow the rise in health insurance costs. Several of the key measures are:

• A-3440 (Cohen, Russo)/S-2435 (Kean)/S-2574 (Rice), Health Savings Accounts—Health Savings Accounts (HSAs) allow employers and individuals to contribute tax-free to savings accounts that are then used to pay for routine medical expenses. A-3440 would change New Jersey law to permit the sale of qualified federal high-deductible insurance plans in this State.
• A-3359 (Cohen, Weinberg)/S-1454 (Sweeney), The Health Insurance Affordability and Accessibility Act—This bill would provide more flexibility in the design of health plans for individuals and employers with two to 50 employees and increase choice and competition among consumers by requiring insurers to offer health plans in both the individual and small employer markets, not just one or the other.
• A-747 (Cohen, Gordon)/S-2166 (Adler), Health Insurance Tax Credits—This bill would provide employers with fewer than 25 employees State tax credits equal to 25 percent of the cost of buying health insurance.
• S-1559 (Bark)/A-2787 (Bodine, Chatzidakis), Electronic Medical Records—This bill would create a 15-member task force on electronic medical records to identify the types of technologies that would be most effective at reducing duplication and errors at hospitals.

Governor Richard Codey on September 7 signed a compromise diesel engine retrofit bill—S-1759 (B. Smith)/A-3182 (McKeon, Manzo)—that limits the costly mandate to predominantly publicly owned vehicles or vehicles under government contract. The new law is a compromise that will allow New Jersey to reduce particulates emissions from diesel engines without imposing enormous cost burdens on New Jersey businesses.

Originally, the legislation would have required thousands of private-sector employers to retrofit diesel engines on trucks and other equipment at a cost of up to $8,000 per vehicle. At NJBIA’s urging, the Legislature dropped the requirement that most private-sector companies retrofit their diesel engines. The measure signed into law limits diesel engine retrofits to school buses, publicly owned diesel garbage trucks, privately owned diesel garbage trucks under public contract, publicly owned on-road diesel vehicles and off-road diesel equipment, and all commercial buses. For more information, contact Dave Brogan at ext. 236 or dbrogan@njbia.org.

Again and again, New Jersey employers hiring entry-level workers are confronted with the same problem: many of these workers do not have the basic business skills required to do the job.

From the corner store with three employees to the manufacturer with 300, business owners across the board are having trouble finding qualified entry-level workers. They are often forced to do remedial instruction themselves or they trust their new workers will pick up the skills they need on the job.

Now, NJBIA’s research affiliate, the New Jersey Policy Research Organization Foundation (NJ PRO) is offering hope. NJ PRO has developed a set of new lesson plans designed to teach basic business skills to students long before they ever enter the workforce.

NJ PRO brought together business leaders and education experts to create Teaching Tomorrow’s Entrepreneurs Today. Designed for middle school students in grades 6-8, the curriculum consists of a series of lesson plans that provide student with real-world business instruction that can be applied to state-mandated courses like mathematics, English and communications.

The curriculum has been endorsed by the NJ Department of Education, the New Jersey Education Association, as well as numerous corporations, including AT&T and PSE&G.

Best of all, the NJ PRO Small Business Curriculum hits classrooms this fall.
The complete set of lesson plans is available at the new NJ PRO Web site, www.njprofoundation.org. Workshops are being held this fall to help teachers use the new curriculum in the 2005-2006 school year.

“For years, employers in virtually every industry have complained about the lack of fundamental business skills in their entry-level workers,” NJBIA President Philip Kirschner said. “Now, business leaders and educators have stepped up to the plate to do something about it. The NJ PRO Small Business Curriculum is a wonderful example of how business and education can join together to make the education our children receive more thorough and more relevant.”

“Teachers need resources to design lessons that are meaningful to students now and after they leave school. Not only does this curriculum provide those resources, it demonstrates how our children win when educators and the business community come together,” said Joyce Powell, President-Elect of the New Jersey Education Association. “And because classroom teachers participated in the creation of this curriculum, the lesson plans are well-constructed and easy to implement.”

The curriculum consists of eight lesson plans featuring hands-on activities for students. The lessons address aspects of small business management and entrepreneurship including business planning, finance, marketing, technology, innovation, the hiring process, and communication. The lessons are designed to combine material required by the New Jersey Core Curriculum Content Standards, which outlines what all public school students must be taught, with business instruction.

Each lesson plan contains a lesson overview, specific learning objectives, the resources and materials needed to deliver the lesson effectively, a list of new business vocabulary words, the Core Curriculum Content Standards addressed, student activity sheets, and career information.

Teachers can also use one of several New Jersey business vignettes, which are stories about real businesses that serve as models.

Each lesson plan requires approximately five days of class time to complete, assuming five 45-minute class periods. This arrangement allows for maximum flexibility for implementation in middle schools throughout New Jersey.

“This makes learning more relevant and more fun,” said NJ PRO Executive Director Sara Bluhm. “We’ve tried to make the lessons as real as possible to show students how classroom learning can one day help them in their careers. Students don’t just learn what an entrepreneur is, they learn how to become an entrepreneur.”

Lesson plans cover topics like branding and graphic design in marketing; the history of entrepreneurship and its function in society; what communication skills employers look for when hiring a new employee; how to formulate a budget for a start-up business; how to create a marketable invention and bring it to market; and what it takes to be a successful entrepreneur.

In the technology curriculum, for instance, students are asked to develop and design a new product using math, science and technology principles. Working in small groups, the students list problems they could solve with inventions, develop a solution to one of those problems, create patent drawings for their ideas, and develop business plans for bringing their new product to market.

At the culmination of the lesson, each group makes an oral presentation on their inventions to the class. They are expected to present as if they were speaking to a potential client.

US Representative Robert Menendez touted the Liberty Corridor project and discussed health insurance costs and free trade with 12 New Jersey employers at an August 31 NJBIA Congressional Roundtable in Newark. Menendez also took a tour of the Covanta waste-to-energy facility, which hosted the roundtable.

The recently enacted transportation funding bill includes good news for New Jersey, he said.

“I am very proud of the work I and others have done on the transportation funding bill,” Menendez said. “We have achieved for New Jersey the highest rate of return (of gas tax revenues) it has ever had and the greatest allocation for special projects in the State’s history.”

One key allocation that Menendez hopes will pay big dividends for the State is the $100 million he secured for the Newark region’s Liberty Corridor project.

Menendez explained that the Liberty Corridor project represents a new approach to economic development where government funding is used to develop infrastructure in a way that coordinates the interaction between industrial sites, existing educational institutions and transportation assets.
Ultimately, Liberty Corridor will be a region where a business can develop, manufacture, and ship a product, all from one area. Menendez said educational institutions such as Stevens Institute of Technology and the New Jersey Institute of Technology can help with the development and design of new products; the area’s numerous brownfield sites provide space for new manufacturing facilities to produce the product; and the State’s array of roads, Newark Liberty International Airport and the Port of Newark and Elizabeth provide the means for shipping the products.

“I do not believe government can do everything, nor should it try,” Menendez said. “But I do believe that government can act as a catalyst.”

The Covanta facility combusts 900,000 tons of municipal waste a year to generate about 500,000 megawatts of electricity, Business Manager Hank Asher explained.

“We basically burn what you throw away in your homes, you know, normal stuff,” Asher said.

Covanta has a strong safety record and extensive environmental controls. Steve Bossotti, regional vice president - operations, called the company “a safety driven organization” that not only reports accidents, but anything that could potentially be an accident as part of their “near miss” program.

Their efforts have earned the company a VPP Star rating (the highest rating) from the US Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA).

A site that receives 3,000 tons of trash a day must also have extensive environmental controls. Regional Environmental Manager Kenneth Armellino explained that Covanta maintains an enclosed storage area designed to keep odors in, high temperature combustion to prevent harmful emissions by destroying complex molecules, and special flue gas treatment and acid gas scrubbers. The NJ Department of Environmental Protection can even view the company’s emissions monitors online, allowing it to look up the company’s real time environmental data.

With 87 employees and a contract with the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, Covanta expects to be a part of the local economy for a long time.

“We have a lot of pride in our organization here,” Asher said. “We will continue to do the things we do well—safety, environmental, and community involvement.”

District 1 (Atlantic, Cape May, Cumberland)
Jack Gibson – R (I)

District 2 (Atlantic)
Frank Blee – R (I)
Kirk Conover – R (I)

District 3 (Cumberland, Gloucester, Salem)
John Burzichelli – D (I)
Douglas Fisher – D (I)

District 4 (Camden, Gloucester)
Paul Moriarty – D

District 5 (Camden, Gloucester)
Joe Roberts – D (I)
Nilsa Cruz-Perez – D (I)

District 6 (Camden)
Louis Greenwald – D (I)
Pamela Rosen Lampitt – D

District 7 (Burlington, Camden)
Jack Conners – D (I)
Herb Conaway – D (I)

District 8 (Burlington)
Francis Bodine – R (I)
Larry Chatzidakis – R (I)

District 9 (Atlantic, Burlington, Ocean)
Christopher Connors – R (I)
Brian Rumpf – R (I)

District 10 (Monmouth, Ocean)
David Wolfe – R (I)
Jim Holzapfel – R (I)

District 11 (Monmouth)
Steve Corodemus – R (I)
Sean Kean – R (I)

District 12 (Mercer, Monmouth)
Jennifer Beck – R
Robert Morgan – D (I)

District 13 (Middlesex, Monmouth)
Sam Thompson – R (I)
Amy Handlin – R

District 14 (Mercer, Middlesex)
Bill Baroni – R (I)

District 15 (Mercer)
Reed Gusciora – D (I)
Bonnie Watson Coleman – D (I)

District 16 (Morris, Somerset)
Christopher “Kip” Bateman – R (I) Pete Biondi – R (I)

District 17 (Middlesex, Somerset)
Upendra Chivukula – D (I)
District 18 (Middlesex)
Peter Barnes, Jr. – D (I)
Patrick Diegnan, Jr. – D (I)

District 19 (Middlesex)
John Wisniewski – D (I)
Joseph Vas – D (I)

District 20 (Union)
Neil Cohen – D (I)
Joseph Cryan – D (I)

District 21(Essex, Morris, Somerset, Union)
Eric Munoz – R (I)
Jon Bramnick – R (I)

District 22 (Middlesex, Somerset, Union)
Linda Stender – D (I)
Jerry Green – D (I)

District 23 (Hunterdon, Warren)
Mike Doherty – R (I)
Marcia Karrow – R

District 24 (Hunterdon, Morris, Sussex)
Guy Gregg – R (I)
Alison Littell McHose – R (I)

District 25 (Morris)
Michael Carroll – R (I)
Richard Merkt – R (I)

District 26 (Morris, Passaic)
Alex DeCroce – R (I)
Joe Pennacchio – R (I)

District 27 (Essex)
John McKeon – D (I)

District 28 (Essex)
Craig Stanley – D (I)

District 29 (Essex, Union)
Wilfredo Caraballo – D (I)
William Payne – D (I)

District 30 (Burlington, Mercer, Monmouth, Ocean)
Joseph Malone – R (I)
Ronald Dancer – R (I)

District 31 (Hudson)
Charles Epps – D

District 32 (Bergen, Hudson)
Joan Quigley – D (I)
Vincent Prieto – D (I)

District 33 (Hudson)
Albio Sires – D (I)

District 34 (Essex, Passaic)
Tom Giblin – D

District 36 (Bergen, Essex, Passaic)
Gary Schaer – D

District 37 (Bergen)
Gordon Johnson – D (I)
Loretta Weinberg – D (I)

District 39 (Bergen)
Charlotte Vandervalk – R (I)
John Rooney – R (I)

District 40 (Bergen, Essex, Passaic)
Kevin O’Toole – R (I)
David Russo – R (I)

On Tuesday, October 18, the New Jersey Business & Industry Association presented its Award for Excellence to eight member companies during a dinner ceremony at The Westin Princeton Hotel in Forrestal Village. The companies were recognized for outstanding achievements in managing their workforces, protecting the environment, creating new jobs and serving their communities.

Every year, NJBIA honors a small group of employers from among its 23,000 members for their outstanding achievements. Any NJBIA member company in good standing is eligible to be nominated for an award.

“It always gives us great pleasure to recognize the outstanding achievements of our member companies. Each of our winners has a wonderful story that deserves to be told,” said NJBIA President Philip Kirschner.

NJBIA wishes to thank the independent panel of judges that selected the 2005 winners. They include 18 members of the Service Corps of Retired Executives (SCORE) and four members of NJBIA’s policy committees: William Baney, JoAnn Trezza, Tom Eckhoff and John Kinkela. NJBIA also wishes to thank Mercadien, P.C., Certified Public Accountants of Princeton, which verified the information supplied by the winning applicants.

Following is a listing of the award winners in each category, including their location:

THE 2005 WINNERS

Enterprise Award
NRG Energy, Inc.
Princeton

Ranbaxy Inc.
Princeton

Environmental Quality Award
Mannington Mills, Inc.
Salem

New Jersey American Water
Lawrenceville

Outstanding Employer Award
Lundbeck Research USA, Inc.
Paramus

Trinitas Hospital
Elizabeth

Public Service Award
Johnson & Johnson
New Brunswick

QualCare, Inc.
Piscataway

Thanks to Our Sponsors

GOLD SPONSORS
AT&T
Atlantic Environmental Solutions, Inc.
Banc of America Corporate Insurance Agency, LLC
Epstein Becker & Green, P.C.
Fidelity Investments
HSBC North America
Johnson & Johnson
Lundbeck Research USA, Inc.
Masterfoods USA - A Division of Mars, Inc.
MWW Group
NJM Insurance Group/ NJM Bank FSB
New Jersey American Water
NRG Energy, Inc.
PSE&G
QualCare, Inc.
Ranbaxy Inc.
Schering-Plough Corporation
South Jersey Industries
Trinitas Hospital
Wachovia, N.A.

SILVER SPONSORS
Accutech Environmental Services
Cardolite Corporation
Environmental Services
Langan Engineering &
Lowenstein Sandler, PC
New Jersey Blood Services – a division of New York Blood Center
New Jersey Institute of Technology
Saul Ewing LLP
WolfBlock Brach Eichler

BRONZE SPONSORS
New Jersey Economic Development Authority
Organon Pharmaceuticals USA Inc.

Tuesday, December 13, 2005,
Sheraton at Woodbridge Place, Iselin, NJ 7:45 a.m. — 2:00 p.m.
7:45 — 8:15 a.m. Registration and Networking

8:15 a.m. — 11:00 a.m. Opening Breakfast Program

Presentation of Paul L. Troast Award
Recipient: Hon. Richard J. Codey

Keynote Speaker
Hon. Richard J. Codey, Acting Governor

Presentation of 2006 Business Outlook
Findings of NJBIA’s Annual Survey of 23,000 Employers
NJBIA President Philip Kirschner

The Legislative Leadership
Confronting the Post-Election Challenges
Legislative Leaders: Alex DeCroce, Bernard Kenny Jr., Leonard Lance, Joseph Roberts

11:00 a.m. — Noon
Concurrent Panel Discussions

Post-election Political Outlook
What’s in Store for NJ Employers?
Four top political analysts assess the state’s newly elected political leadership.

New Jersey Economic Outlook
Why is Job Growth Sputtering?
Three CEOs and one economist look at what can be done to restore New Jersey’s economic leadership.

Noon — 2:00 p.m. Luncheon Program

Presentation of the Leonard C. Johnson Award
Recipient: JoAnn Trezza, Arrow Group Industries

Keynote Speaker
Governor-Elect (invited)

REGISTRATION INFORMATION: The cost is $170 per person for NJBIA members and $230 for nonmembers. Contact Stacy Wichner at 609-393-7707, ext. 213.

Be A High Profile Forum Sponsor
The following opportunities are available for Forum sponsors. Contact Sherry Esteves at ext. 219 for details.

Opening Breakfast: Co-Sponsorship @ $2,500
(includes one complimentary ticket to the Forum with reserved seating at breakfast)

Morning Panel Discussions: Co-Sponsorship @ $1,500

Luncheon Program: Co-Sponsorship @ $2,500
(includes one complimentary ticket to the Forum with reserved seating at lunch)

Networking/Coffee Breaks: Sponsorship @ $500

Sponsors will be recognized during the event with announcements and signs. Your company will also be recognized in the feature story appearing in the February 2006 issue of New Jersey Business Magazine. In addition, sponsors of $1,500 or more can have a link to their corporate Web site via NJBIA’s Web site.