Sept. 17, 2008 - Tracking Legislation Important to the New Jersey Business Community

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

Permit Extension Act of 2008 – A-2867 (Greenwald/D-6; Malone/R-30; Cryan/D-20; Biondi/R-16; McHose/R-24; Sarlo/D-36; Van Drew/D-1): Governor Corzine signed into law on Sept. 6.  Extends state, county and municipal permits issued after Jan. 1, 2007 until July 1, 2010, with up to an additional six months phase-in period. Existing economic conditions make it difficult for developers to obtain financing and in some cases they are forced to delay scheduled projects that have already been approved, which results in some of these permit approvals expiring before the projects are completed. Given that the permit application process is extremely time consuming and expensive, it makes sense to allow additional time for stalled projects to be completed. Contact: Mary Ellen Peppard

ENVIRONMENT

Public Access and Marina Safety Act – S-1553 (Ciesla/R-10; Van Drew/D-1; Wolfe/R-10; Holzapfel/R-10; Amodeo/R-2; Polistina/R-2; Albano/D-1; Milam/D-1): Governor Corzine signed into law Sept. 10.  The bill imposes a moratorium on the implementation of the rules and regulations adopted by the NJ Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) governing public access at marinas. While the moratorium is in effect, a Public Access and Marina Safety Task Force established under the amended legislation will conduct a study to address the issues raised by the rules and regulations.  The Task Force is directed to submit a report to the Governor and the Legislature by Dec. 31, 2010.  The State Chamber believes the current NJDEP regulations raise concerns regarding property rights, safety and homeland security issues. Contact: Michael Egenton  

GOVERNMENT REFORM

Local Government Financial Disclosure Requirement – S-103 (Weinberg/D-37; Scutari/D-22; Johnson/D-37; Vainieri Huttle D/37): Governor Corzine signed into law Sept. 6.  The bill amends the Local Government Ethics Law to require local government officers to file a financial disclosure statement within 30 days of taking office.  Currently, a local government officer has until April 30 to file the required financial disclosure statement.  This means that under existing law, some local government officers, such as those elected through a non-partisan election in May, are not required to file a financial disclosure statement until April 30 of the following year.  Under this legislation, all local government officers are to file a financial disclosure statement within 30 days of taking office. Contact: Jim Leonard

Assembly Housing and Local Government Committee
Requiring Local Five-Year Financial Plans – A-2552 (Lampitt/D-6; Moriarty/D-4): Committee passed.  Requires counties, municipalities, fire districts and boards of education to annually adopt a five-year financial plan.  The purpose of the legislation is to allow for financial coordination as each entity prepares its annual budget.  Contact: Jim Leonard

Assembly Housing and Local Government Committee
Providing Funds For Shared Services – A-2853 (Roberts/D-5; Scalera/D-36): Committee passed.  Expands the ability of the state to assist local units in participating in shared services projects by permitting the use of SHARE funding for start-up costs that are financed through the issuance of debt or capital lease agreements.  Currently, these costs are excluded from the program.  The bill limits the amount of grants or loans for these start-up costs to no more than $200,000.  Contact: Jim Leonard

HEALTH

Assembly Health and Senior Services Committee
Bypassing Physician Referral – A-1380 (Conaway/D-7; Greenstein/D-14; Munoz/D-21; Voss/D-38): Committee passed with amendments.  Requires health insurance carriers that offer a managed care plan to permit a covered person to receive covered services from a health care provider in its provider network without obtaining a referral from the covered person’s primary care physician.  Contact: Jim Leonard

TAXATION

Assembly Appropriations Committee
Excessive Tax Recording and Reporting – A-1067 (Wagner/D-38): Committee passed with amendments.  Requires vendors that collect New Jersey sales tax in New Jersey to record and report the amount of sales tax collected within each municipality in the state. This bill imposes additional administrative and compliance burdens on businesses and add to the costs of doing business in New Jersey. Contact: Mary Ellen Peppard

Assembly Housing and Local Government Committee
Extending Neighborhood Revitalization Tax Credit Program – A-2623 (McKeon/D-27; Jasey/D-27): Committee passed with amendments. Extends program eligibility to areas located in municipalities contiguous to those currently qualified to participate in the Neighborhood Revitalization Tax Credit Program, which is designed to foster the revitalization of areas of New Jersey’s distressed cities. The program offers business entities that invest in the revitalization of low- and moderate-income neighborhoods in eligible cities a 100 percent tax credit against state taxes. This bill is intended to decrease the disparities that exist between different neighborhoods that border municipalities that are eligible to participate in the program. Contact: Mary Ellen Peppard

Assembly Appropriations Committee
Corporate Business Tax Reform - A-2626 (Vas/D-19): For discussion only. Provides a single sales factor corporate business tax allocation formula for manufacturers, which changes the corporation business tax formula used to determine the portion of income subject to New Jersey tax from a three factor formula (payroll, property and sales) to a single formula based on sales. Implementing a single sales factor formula would encourage capital investment and job creation in New Jersey. The Chamber supports expanding this bill to extend a single sales factor formula for all industries, not just manufacturing. This expansion would provide an incentive for our state’s high-growth “new economy” businesses to create jobs and expand in New Jersey. Contact: Mary Ellen Peppard

Assembly Commerce and Economic Development Committee
UEZ Sales Tax Exemption – A-2720 (Vas/D-19; Burzichelli/D-3; Pou/D-35): Committee passed, referred to Assembly Appropriations Committee. Repeals the point of sale sales tax exemption on purchases by businesses located in Urban Enterprise Zones (UEZs). This bill repeals the requirement enacted last year that requires a business that qualifies for a sales tax exemption to pay the sales tax and then apply for a rebate, rather than exempting the sale from tax at the point of sale. Since the rebate program was implemented, a significant number of businesses have dropped out of the UEZ program, citing the significant administrative burdens and high costs of complying with this new law. Contact: Mary Ellen Peppard

Assembly Housing and Local Government Committee
Taxing Rental Vehicles – A-2765 (Coutinho/D-29; Spencer/D-29): Committee passed with amendments. Referred to the Assembly Appropriations Committee. Authorizes certain municipalities to impose a tax on motor vehicle rentals to fund redevelopment plan activities. In 2006, the auto rental industry was required to charge an additional $5 domestic security fee on top of the cost of a car rental. Additional taxes on this industry to cover redevelopment projects is detrimental. Contact: Mary Ellen Peppard

Assembly Commerce and Economic Development Committee
Improving NJ’s Corporate Business Laws – A-2879/A-2880/A-2881/A-2882/A-2883/A-2884/A-2885 (Diegnan/D-18) Committee passed. This seven-bill package is designed to update New Jersey's business laws to make it easier for corporations to conduct business in our state. Many of the legislative changes proposed are modeled on Delaware General Corporation Law, such as increasing the options by which a corporation can merge, acquire or consolidate with a non-incorporated business.   Contact: Jim Leonard

TELECOMMUNICATIONS

Exemptions from BPU Review – A-2906 (Chivukula/D-17): Governor Corzine signed into law on Sept. 15.  Permits certain companies which do not themselves provide regulated telecommunications or cable television services to engage in various types of corporate transactions, including combining, merging or consolidating with or acquiring control of another organization without the review or approval by the state Board of Public Utilities (BPU).  This bill will promote competitive policies by striking the right balance between preserving the BPU’s core oversight over cable company transactions and allowing the parent or holding company to engage in important financial transactions that have no bearing on cable operations.  Contact: Jim Leonard

Trenton Watch is a publication of the New Jersey Chamber of Commerce. Thumbs up and down indicates the chamber’s support or opposition to issues. Questions? Call the State Chamber Government Relations Department at (609) 989-7888. Comments are always welcome.