Incentives Bill Goes Back to Legislators

TRENTON, NJ-The bill to revamp the state's business incentive programs has gone to the Senate with Assembly having approved it Monday only a few hours after Gov. Chris Christie sent it to lawmakers for a final vote.

The Assembly voted 706 to accept several changes Christie made to the measure, and the Senate will take up the measure at 1 p.m. on Thursday. The bill called the Economic Opportunity Act is designed to streamline five previous development incentive programs into two.

The program overhaul has been in the works for more than a year, but became bogged down in last-minute amendments before the legislators went out on summer break. When the governor finally got the bill, he said he required two changes before he will sign it.

Christie wants to delete a provision requiring prevailing wages (read: union wages) be paid at projects that receive tax incentives  and also a provision saying hat hospital redevelopment projects are eligible for tax credits.

The Assembly went along with both of those deletions.

Another controversial element remains in the bill, one requiring residential builders who receive incentives to set aside 20% of new units for affordable housing. State Sen. Raymond Lesniak, who is the Senate sponsor of the measure, opposes it. However, Lesniak has indicated he wishes to avoid futher delay in passage of the incentive package - and will try to attack the specific provision on affordable housing later.

The New Jersey Business & Industry Association has approval of the bill.

"The competition for private-sector jobs is extremely intense regionally, nationally and globally," said the group's president, Philip Kirschner.

The Economic Opportunity Act will keep the Grow New Jersey and Economic Redevelopment and Growth tax incentives, while phasing out the Business Retention and Relocation Assistance Grant, the Business Employment Incentive, and the Urban Transit Hub Tax Credit programs.