March 19, 2009 - Tracking Legislation Important to the New Jersey Business Community

CALL TO ACTION - LICENSED SITE PROFESSIONAL BILL

Call Governor Corzine's office at (609) 292-6000 and urge him to sign the LSP Bill

Legislature Passes Bill Improving the Site Remediation Program – A-2962 (McKeon/D-27; Cryan/D-20; Barnes/D-18; Coutinho/D-29; Pou/D-35; Smith/D-17): Assembly passed 75-2, Senate passed 34-4, sent to the Governor. Establishes a Licensed Site Professional (LSP) program for site remediation within the state Department of Environmental Protection (DEP). This legislation proposes borrowing aspects of a Massachusetts program to allow certified professionals to proceed through the investigation and remediation of selected sites with DEP oversight where most appropriate. The State Chamber, working collaboratively with other stakeholders, was successful in advocating changes that would provide better liability protections for LSPs and more flexibility in the site remediation process. Contact: Michael Egenton  

Additional Legislation and Items of Interest

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

Expanding the Urban Transit Hub Credit – S-2379 (Cunningham/D-31; Ruiz/D-29): Senate passed 37-0.  Expands the eligibility and clarifies certain provisions of the Urban Transit Hub Tax Credit Program, which provides tax credits of up to 100 percent of qualified capital investments made in an urban transit hub. The bill lowers the capital investment threshold from $75 million to $50 million, revises forfeiture requirements, and allows unused credits to be sold. Contact: Mary Ellen Peppard

COAH Fee Moratorium – S-2485 (Lesniak/D-20; Bateman/R-16): Senate passed 36-0.  Implements an 18-month suspension on the collection of the 2.5 percent fee on commercial development as a funding source for affordable housing. The bill also authorizes municipalities to seek an adjustment of their fair share obligation, and directs COAH to adjust the obligation accordingly. In addition, the bill eliminates any growth share obligation or requirement to pay the 2.5 percent fee for projects that were underway when the original legislation was passed. It further requires municipalities to refund any payment already made for the project. The bill awaits action by the General Assembly. Contact: Jim Leonard

Revising Age-Restricted Housing Projects – S-2577 (Sarlo/D-36; Vitale/D-19; Greenwald/D-6; Malone/R-30): Assembly passed 42-28, Senate passed 21-15, sent to the Governor. Allows for  approved age-restricted developments to move forward without age restriction with approval of the planning or zoning board. To be eligible for conversion, a developer must agree to set aside a percentage of the units in the development, not to exceed 20 percent, for the provision of affordable housing.  These units would automatically count towards fulfilling a municipality’s affordable housing obligation under the Fair Housing Act.  Contact: Jim Leonard

ENVIRONMENT

Assembly Environment and Solid Waste Committee
DEP Acting Commissioner Outlines Stimulus Money Projects – State Department of Environmental Protection Acting Commissioner Mark Mauriello discussed the impact of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) as it relates to environmental infrastructure projects. He said the Clean Water State Revolving Fund will receive approximately $161 million and the Drinking Water State Revolving Fund around $44 million to assist communities with water quality, wastewater and drinking water infrastructure needs.  Criteria set by EPA will determine viable projects based on ranking, readiness and direct job impact.  The final list of projects should be available by May.  The underground storage tank component will receive $4.9 million to assist parties who are unable to cleanup petroleum leaks from underground storage tanks.  Between $15 million and 18 million will go towards the diesel emissions reduction effort, providing competitive grants to retrofitting projects that reduce diesel emissions.  The state also expects a portion of the $2 billion set aside for flood control and beach restoration.  Contact: Michael Egenton  

GOVERNMENT REFORM

Activities Governing Political Party Committees – S-930 (Weinberg/D-37; Allen/R-7): Senate passed 31-2.  Requires county political party committees to adopt and distribute a constitution and bylaws, and file a certified list of committee members with the county clerk. The constitution and bylaws must also include procedures for removing a committee officer who is unwilling or unable to serve his or her office in the county committee.  Contact: Jim Leonard

Senate Community and Urban Affairs Committee
Providing Funds for Shared Services – S-2259/A-2853 (Singer/R-30; Bucco/R-25; Roberts/D-5; Scalera/D-36; Conaway/D-7; Pou/D-35; Greenstein/D-14): Committee passed, referred to the Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee. 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

Qualified Purchasing Agents  – A-1645 (McKeon/D-27; Scalera/D-36; Prieto/D-32): Senate passed 22-9.  Redefines the roles and qualifications of purchasing agents in Local Public Contracts Law. In the ever increasingly complex world of local public contracts and municipal finances, requiring government entities to have a qualified purchasing agent is prudent. This step will provide added protection for the expenditure of taxpayer funds. Contact: Jim Leonard

Absentee Policies for Municipal Boards – A-2784 (McKeon/D-27; Malone/R-30; Coutinho/D-29; Johnson/D-37; Cruz-Perez/D-5): Assembly passed 79-0. Permits municipalities to establish strict absentee policies for members of authorities, boards and commissions established by the municipality in order to better enable these entities to function. The bill requires municipalities to compile and maintain a roster of its local authorities, boards and commissions in order to provide information to residents interested in serving their municipality. It also establishes a standard form municipal officials can provide to persons who are interested in serving on a municipal authority, board or commission. Contact: Jim Leonard

HEALTH

Hospital Medical Errors – S-2471 (Vitale/D-19; Sweeney/D-3; Weinberg/D-37): Senate passed 38-0. Identifies 14 patient safety indicators that are generally preventable and seeks to prohibit hospitals and physicians from charging patients if there are medical errors in these areas. In addition, the bill directs the state Department of Health and Senior Services to include hospital-specific data in the NJ Hospital Performance Report. Contact: Jim Leonard

LABOR

Assembly Labor Committee
Labor and Workforce Commissioner Outlines Jobless Strategies – State Department of Labor and Workforce Development Commissioner David Socolow briefed committee members on how the Administration is using American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) dollars to assist unemployed workers. He also spoke with them about how his Department is assisting displaced workers and maximizing the stimulus funds that the state receives. He said the infusion of funds from the ARRA and Governor Corzine’s recovery plan is expected to create new jobs in industries such as health information technology, school and infrastructure construction, and renewable energy. Commissioner Socolow’s Department is helping workers identify available jobs and making sure that the unemployed have the necessary skills to fill such jobs. A new tool, Real Time Jobs in Demand, was created to identify jobs that are in demand but for which there is no ready supply of unemployed workers. Information about available employment services is available on the state’s economic recovery website, www.recovery.nj.gov, and the Department is reaching out to communities and local government officials to disseminate this information.

The federal stimulus funds will provide $32 million for increased training and employment opportunities for dislocated workers; $29 million for disadvantaged adults and youth; $3 million for older workers; and $7.5 million for workers with disabilities. Additionally, under the new COBRA provisions of the ARRA, the federal government will pay 65 percent of the cost of continuous coverage for displaced workers. The Unemployment Insurance Trust Fund is slated to receive $207 million in federal funding, but this amount, plus additional money that the Governor put into the fund last year, is not enough to make the fund solvent and avoid a payroll tax increase. Contact: Jim Leonard

Unemployment Benefits – A-3818 (Pou/D-35; Vainieri Huttle/D-37; Gusciora/D-15): Assembly passed 79-0, Senate passed 38-0, Governor signed into law March 17. Provides additional unemployment insurance (UI) benefits to laid-off or displaced workers enrolled in state-approved job training programs. The training program also qualifies New Jersey for $207 million in federal UI fund assistance from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) to be directly deposited in our UI fund. Contact: Jim Leonard

LEGAL

Adjusts Special Civil Part Fees – A-3773 (Conners/D-7; Munoz/R-21; Diegnan/D-18): Assembly passed 58-16, Senate passed 27-11, sent to the Governor.  Provides the Administrative Office of the Courts the authority to adjust Special Civil Part service-by-mail fees to match postage increases.  This section of court is typically utilized by small businesses.  By maintaining a service-by-mail program, plaintiffs do not have to serve in person, thereby helping reduce the cost of litigation. Contact: Jim Leonard

TAXATION

Assembly Budget Committee
Stimulus Fund Oversight and Transparency – State Comptroller Matthew Boxer discussed the federal requirements for oversight and transparency for the federal funds that New Jersey receives under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, and his role in these efforts. Governor Corzine recently appointed Boxer and Chief of Staff Ed McBride to lead the New Jersey Recovery Accountability Task Force that will oversee how the funds are spent. New Jersey is projected to receive $17 billion from the federal stimulus program, including $7 billion in tax cuts and $10 billion in grants.  Boxer told the committee members that his office will focus on ensuring transparency and accountability in the funding process. He noted that one of the challenges is coordinating efforts between state and local governments, which can also receive funding.

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act requires that specific categories of information, including funding criteria and the process for making funds available, be posted online for the public to view. The Governor’s Office recently launched an economic recovery website: www.recovery.nj.gov. Contact: Mary Ellen Peppard  

Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee  
Enhancing Liquidity to New Jersey Banks – S-2552 (Sweeney/D-3; O’Toole/R-40):  Committee passed, Senate passed 37-0.  Extends for up to one year the range of investment vehicles in which the Director of the Division of Investment and State Investment Council may invest dollars in the State of New Jersey Cash Management Fund and dollars in the state pension funds that are intended for investment in fixed income, debt securities and non-convertible preferred stock. This bill authorizes the director to invest these funds provided that the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or the National Credit Union Share Insurance Fund guarantees the obligation. This legislation stems from the Governor's New Jersey Economic Assistance and Recovery Plan, which recommended that up to $500 million in state-managed cash and pension funds be invested in New Jersey banks. The goal is for these investments to provide enhanced liquidity to New Jersey community banks, so that they make more loans available to credit-worthy small businesses, local governments, and individual borrowers wanting to invest in the state. Contact: Mary Ellen Peppard

S-1675 (Sacco/D-32; Lesniak/D-20; Burzichelli/D-3; Vas/D-19; Prieto/D-32; Fisher/D-3 ): Utilizing UEZ Funding for Homeland Security – Assembly passed 71-8, sent to the Governor.  Allows municipalities located in Urban Enterprise Zones to fund certain eligible homeland security expenses, such as closed circuit television surveillance systems, through the  enterprise zone assistance fund.  Contact: Mary Ellen Peppard

TRANSPORTATION

Assembly Transportation, Public Works and Independent Authorities Committee
Use of Stimulus Funds Focus of Hearing – State Department of Transportation Commissioner (DOT) Stephen Dilts and New Jersey Transit Executive Director Richard Sarles discussed the impact of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) as it relates to transportation projects.  Over $1 billion has been set aside for New Jersey’s transportation system, including road, highway, bridge, transit, safety and pedestrian improvements.  Commissioner Dilts said the value of the stimulus funding is further enhanced because of the increased flexibility the funding will allow the DOT in its upcoming fiscal 2010 capital program.  The DOT will receive $469 million, New Jersey Transit approximately $24 million and $162 million will go to the three metropolitan planning organizations (MPOs) in the state.  Governor Corzine has charged DOT to deliver projects faster and more efficiently, by reducing final review times from eight weeks to less than three weeks.

Sarles said $130 million in initial federal investment has been dedicated to building the ARC Mass Transit Tunnel project.  Additionally, the ARRA nearly doubles the amount of pre-tax withholding that transit riders can apply to their commuting expense.  Giving parity to the existing parking benefit, transit riders can have their pay withheld on a pre-tax basis up to $230 a month to help offset their commuting expense.  New Jersey Transit is collaborating with other agencies that partner with employers to offer the benefit to more riders. Contact: Michael Egenton  

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.