Platform Update

July 2009

ACTION ITEMS

New Platform Chair: Dennis Bone, president of Verizon New Jersey , was recently elected chairman of the New Jersey Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors. Dennis served as chair of the Platform Economic Development Coalition since 2005, and asked Chamber Executive Committee member Gil Medina to succeed him in this capacity.  

As executive managing director for commercial real estate services firm Cushman and Wakefield , Gil is responsible for managing the company’s New Jersey operations, which consists of offices in Western, Central and Northern New Jersey . He directs operations and business development for all of the firm’s service lines. Gil served as Governor Christie Whitman’s commerce secretary for the State of New Jersey from 1994 to 2000, and was appointed by Governor Corzine to the New Jersey Real Estate Advisory Board.   

We are looking forward to working with Gil to continue advancing our pro-growth agenda. We would also like to take the opportunity to thank Dennis for his strong leadership in directing the Platform’s economic development activities. 

Economic Development Legislation: Before their summer break, the members of the legislature passed A-4048, the Economic Stimulus Act of 2009. This bill is intended to stimulate economic growth throughout the state by modifying redevelopment, affordable housing and higher education financing laws, and by expanding incentive programs. 

Specific provisions include allowing a municipality to establish a local Economic Redevelopment and Growth Grant program to encourage redevelopment projects by reimbursing developers for project financing gaps. It also expands the Urban Transit Hub Tax Credit Program by lowering the capital investment threshold from $75 million to $50 million, expands the credit to light rail stations, revises forfeiture requirements, and permits owners to meet employment requirements by aggregating employments of tenants. The bill expands the Technology Business Tax Certificate Transfer Program, which allows unprofitable technology and biotechnology businesses to sell their unused net operating losses (NOLs) and R&D tax credits. The bill suspends the 2.5 percent Council on Affordable Housing (COAH) fee and allows a refund for commercial and industrial projects that have been issued either preliminary approval or final approval before July 1, 2010. It also allows certain municipalities to impose a tax on the rental of motor vehicles within designated industrial zones to fund redevelopment projects and allows higher education institutions to enter into agreements with private entities or municipalities to finance higher education projects.

While elements of the bill will benefit the state, we are concerned that provisions pertaining to new taxes and fees, no-bid contracts, prevailing wage mandates, and project labor agreements will ultimately diminish the value of the legislation. This bill is awaiting signature by the Governor.  

Additionally, the legislature passed A-2623, which revises the Neighborhood Revitalization State Tax Credit Act, which offers business entities a 100 percent tax credit against various New Jersey state taxes for investing in the revitalization of low-and moderate-income neighborhoods in eligible municipalities. The revision extends eligibility to areas that are adjacent to neighborhoods that currently participate in this program. The adjacent area must share similar socioeconomic characteristics with the eligible neighborhood, as determined by the Commissioner of Community Affairs. A total of $10 million in tax credits per year is available. This bill is awaiting signature by the Governor. 

On July 2, Governor Corzine signed into law S-2577, which permits conversion of age-restricted housing units to non-age-restricted housing units. This law allows developers of new housing construction projects currently restricted to those who are 55 and older to apply to local planning boards for the elimination of the age restriction. The Governor signed the bill after the legislature concurred with his conditional veto recommendations, which permits local officials to deny an application for conversion, requires 20 percent of units in affected developments to be set-aside for affordable housing, and allows the courts to review local board decisions. 

New Clean Energy Program: The New Jersey Economic Development Authority (EDA) recently launched a new financing product, the Clean Energy Solutions Capital Investment (CESCI) Loan/Grant, which was developed to promote energy efficiency measures within the commercial and industrial sectors – and encourage the use of renewable energy while supporting the goals of the Energy Master Plan. The CESCI Loan/Grant program is available to commercial, institutional or industrial users advancing energy-efficient end-use projects, combined heat and power (CHP or cogen) production facilities, or construction of state-of-the-art, efficient electric generation facilities, including Class I and Class II renewable energy. CESCI will provide zero-interest loans and grants up to $5 million to eligible commercial, industrial or institutional customers, with up to a 10-year loan term to fund the purchase of fixed-assets, including real estate or equipment. Interested businesses should

visit www.njeda.com in the coming weeks for more information on this program and on upcoming clean energy opportunities.

Click here for the previous update.

MaryEllen Peppard
Government Relations Manager
New Jersey Chamber of Commerce
216 West State Street
Trenton, NJ 08608
Phone: (609)989-7888 Ext. 125
Fax: (609)989-9696
Maryellen.Peppard@njchamber.com