TRENTON, NJ—Leaders of the top two business associations in the state say the state legislature's insistence on legislating mandated behavior by New Jersey businesses gives companies a negative impression of the state's attitude toward business and economic development, and may have contributed to the decision by Mercedes-Benz USA to end its corporate headquarters' 50-year tenure in the Garden State.

GlobeSt.com exclusively interviewed six New Jersey thought leaders for their reaction to the Mercedes move. Gov. Chris Christie's office and the office of NJ Senate President Steve Sweeney did not respond to repeated requests for comment on the Mercedes announcement.

You can hear extended excerpts from these interviews in the audio podcast player below.

MBUSA announced late Monday afternoon that it was relocating its corporate headquarters from Montvale, NJ to Atlanta. The move will transfer about 1,000 jobs out of New Jersey, and economists say there will be follow-on effects in reduced purchases from other vendors. A source familiar with the site selection and negotiation process tells GlobeSt.com that MBUSA received “something north of” $30 million in incentives from Georgia, including a Regional Economic Business Assistance Grant from Georgia's Department of Community Affairs. Mercedes did not respond to a request for details of the economic incentives it received from Georgia.

Thomas Bracken, president of the New Jersey State Chamber of Commerce, which represents more than 1,200 member companies, lays blame for the Mercedes decision at the statehouse door.

“The legislature continues to come up with mandates to the business community that are punitive,” says Bracken, citing paid sick leave and minimum wage legislation that would have increased with the Consumer Price Index. “We keep having mandates like that promulgated on the business community. That is out there like a black cloud hanging over things.”

“I don't think it was for lack of incentives that Mercedes left,” Bracken says. “Mercedes people have made it very clear that New Jersey is a high cost state to do business and the tax structure is pretty onerous. I think therein lies some need for work.”

“It's a reminder that New Jersey must work harder toward creating a positive, attractive business climate,” says Michele Siekerka, president of the New Jersey Business & Industry Association. “We need to do things to ensure that we set a climate where companies that are located here will stay here and will grow here, and that other companies will be attracted to come here.”

Mandates “negatively impact our ability to retain, expand, and attract business,” says Siekerka. “We will bring information and data to our legislators to show where mandates are bad policy.”

Technological advances make it possible for companies to consider locations more distant from traditional financial centers like New York, says James Hughes, dean of the Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning & Public Policy at Rutgers University. “A lot of activities wanted to be in the New York region, so that spurred our growth in the 80s and 90s,” says Hughes. “There are other places that are much more affordable, have an equivalent number of amenities, and are competitive with us in terms of quality of life.”

Economist Joel Naroff of Naroff Economic Advisors, Holland, PA, doesn't buy the business climate argument entirely.

“The nature of running a business is you want to do as much as you possibly can without any controls over it,” Naroff says. “You can't find large rural areas in New Jersey like you can in almost every other state, so operating in New Jersey—by its nature—is going to be different than in any other state. You get something from being in New Jersey, but you have to give something up. Businesses are always going to complain.”

Peter Reinhart, director of the Kislak Real Estate Institute at Monmouth University, West Long Branch, NJ, says the mandates may not be a deciding factor, but do play a role in how companies perceive New Jersey. “It just makes New Jersey a little less competitive, so companies have to overlook that or find the other benefits like the location, like the skilled workforce, like the mass transit, to overcome the high cost structure,” he says.

One GlobeSt.com reader also voiced dissatisfaction with New Jersey's high cost of living and business climate.

"No one can afford to stay here to retire and almost everybody (seriously) I have met in my 13 years here is looking for a parachute out of NJ at some time," says David Larkin, director of business development for due diligence firm Bock & Clark in Newark.