Governor Jon Corzine assured the 250 businesspeople attending NJBIA's December 9 Public Policy Forum that he will continue to push for economic relief at the State and federal level to help businesses weather a deepening recession and credit squeeze. To underscore his point, Corzine concluded his appearance by signing a bill to provide businesses with a $3,000 grant for every new employee hired/or a grant equal to 7 percent of the cost of new equipment and capital improvements (see related story below).

"What we want to do is have New Jersey ready to go when (the economic) environment changes, and it surely will," Corzine said. "When the confidence turns, we will be in a position to capture a bigger percentage of job growth."

Corzine's address and bill signing capped a full day of events dedicated to the theme of the Forum - Making New Jersey a Better Place for Business. It featured a morning keynote address by US Senator Robert Menendez on the efforts in Washington to stimulate the economy. That was followed by a legislative leaders' panel discussion with Senate President Richard Codey, Senate Republican Leader Tom Kean, Assembly Speaker Joseph Roberts and Assembly Republican Leader Alex DeCroce. The panel moderator was Comcast Newsmakers' Joe Bisicchia.

A political outlook panel discussing the upcoming race for Governor was moderated by New Jersey Network Senior Political Correspondent Michael Aron and featured a taping of his talk show, On The Record, with State Democratic Party Chair Joe Cryan, Republican State Party Chair Tom Wilson, Republican Strategist Roger Bodman and Democratic Strategist Harold Hodes. At the same time, a panel discussion on New Jersey’s economic outlook featured Lisa Hirsh, president and CEO, Accurate Box Company, Inc.; Doug Kuiken, president, Kuiken Brothers Co.; James Blake, president, NJ Society of CPAs; and Rae Rosen, senior economist, Federal Reserve Bank of New York, who works for incoming US Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner. NJBIA First Vice President Art Maurice moderated the discussion.

NJBIA also presented the Paul L. Troast Award to State Senator Shirley Turner and the Leonard C. Johnson Award to Michael Karlovich of ConocoPhillips Bayway Refinery.

Corzine pointed out that he and the Legislature had made progress in recent weeks in making New Jersey's business-tax laws more competitive. The Governor last month signed legislation expanding to 20 years from seven years the period over which companies can deduct net operating losses. The Legislature is close to approving legislation that would eliminate the State's costly "throw-out" and "regular-place-of-business" tax rules, providing businesses with $150 million in tax relief.

The Governor and the Legislature are also working on legislation to speed up the cleanup of environmentally contaminated brownfields sites, "that will unclog some of the backlog we have going on within the DEP," Corzine said. He also pledged to reform New Jersey’s regulatory system, and speed up environmental permit approvals, by implementing the permit-efficiency recommendations in the recently released Daggett report.

2. Corzine's Invest NJ Program Provides Grants for Jobs and Investments

Governor Jon Corzine concluded his appearance at NJBIA's December 9 Public Policy Forum by signing a bill that will provide incentives for businesses to create jobs and purchase equipment.

Corzine signed S-6 (Buono, Turner)/A-3294 (Milam, Albano), which creates the Invest NJ Business Stimulus Program. Employers with five or more full-time employees are eligible for grants of $3,000 per new employee hired in 2009 and 2010 and/or up to 7 percent of capital investment and equipment purchases. The measure is designed to provide $120 million in incentives for employers. For more information, contact Art Maurice at ext. 247.

3. Rate-Setting Bill Could Lead to Costly Energy Rate Hikes, NJBIA Tells Committees

Legislation to radically change how electricity and gas rates are established would remove oversight by the NJ Board of Public Utilities and lead to higher energy costs, NJBIA said December 11.

Testifying at a joint meeting of the Senate Environment and Economic Growth Committees, NJBIA Senior Vice President Melanie Willoughby said the bill, S-2428 (Lesniak), would raise rates without providing the BPU or ratepayers an effective opportunity to review the fairness of or the justification for the increases. New Jersey’s energy costs for commercial and industrial users are already among the highest in the nation. For more information, contact Sara Bluhm at ext. 204.

4. Funding for Energy Projects at Businesses Clears Committee

Legislation providing $105 million to help businesses cope with high electricity costs through conservation and on-site generation was released December 11 by the Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee.

The bill, S-1932 (Ruiz, Gordon)/A-2507 (Chivukula), would fund grants from the NJ Board of Public Utilities (BPU) on a first-come, first-served basis. The funding would come from the existing "retail adder," a tax on large, hourly priced electric bills. The legislation would give businesses benefits provided by a fund into which they already pay. NJBIA supports the bill.

The retail-adder fund is expected to have a balance of $105 million by the end of this year. The bill would allocate $60 million for the development of on-site energy generation, known as combined-heat-and-power projects, and $45 million for energy efficiency projects at businesses. NJBIA has long argued that financial incentives for energy conservation projects have been unfairly distributed. The Retail Adder Fund is supported solely by commercial and industrial (C&I) ratepayers. With an $11 return on investment for every dollar spent on C&I projects, the State should release this money immediately. For more information, contact Sara Bluhm at ext. 204.