Murphy signs New Jersey Economic Recovery Act
(The Center Square) – New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy on Thursday signed into law a multibillion dollar bill intended to help small businesses across the Garden State.
The New Jersey Economic Recovery Act of 2020 supports various programs at promoting jobs, eliminating food deserts, forging community partnerships, and promoting film production.
“This is how we propel our economy moving forward to be a strong and resilient post-COVID reality and future,” Murphy said during a bill-signing ceremony in Hamilton. “There’s so much throughout this package that is good for our state – strong protections for our union brothers and sisters, a commitment to eradicating food deserts, a vision for turning urban brownfields and long-ignored properties into accessible, walkable, affordable and active communities where good jobs are created, and people can live, work and raise their families.
“We built this program on the twin pillars of transparency and fairness to fuel the creation of good paying, future-focused jobs and ensured sensible spending caps and strong safeguards to protect taxpayers and communities,” Murphy added.
According to a Legislative Fiscal Estimate, the bill could result in a revenue loss of up to $14.4 billion over several years for the state, and state expenditures will increase by $55.5 million. The legislation could result in an “indeterminate” level of indirect revenue gains for the state.
The Office of Legislative Services was “unable to ascertain whether the bill will have a positive or negative fiscal net impact on the State because of imperfect information on the number and attributes of projects that will receive incentives as a result of the bill’s enactment,” the state agency said in its review.
In a statement, New Jersey Business & Industry Association (NJBIA) President and CEO Michele Siekerka said the “focus on innovation, manufacturing and workforce development will be especially beneficial.”
“With an economic plan of such enormous scope, there are always areas which can be improved upon and we do hope there will be further assistance for our challenged Main Street businesses,” Siekerka said. “Going forward, NJBIA will continue to encourage revisits of the programs by our policymakers to ensure there is an appropriate balance of opportunity for businesses of all types and sizes in New Jersey.”
Last month, Assemblyman John DiMaio, R-Warren, criticized the plan, saying the state should instead look to lower business taxes.
“Simply stated, lower taxes for all is absolutely (the) more successful approach,” DiMaio said in an Assembly telephonic session before the vote. This “plan is like a carrot and a stick. We offer a few carrots to a select few, and we beat the rest of our businesses over the head with a stick by raising their taxes.”
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