SENATE, No. 1837

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

218th LEGISLATURE

 

INTRODUCED FEBRUARY 8, 2018

 


 

Sponsored by:

Senator  M. TERESA RUIZ

District 29 (Essex)

Senator  NILSA CRUZ-PEREZ

District 5 (Camden and Gloucester)

 

 

 

 

SYNOPSIS

     Establishes Emerging Technology Urban Grant Program in EDA; appropriates $20 million.

 

CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT

     As introduced.

 


An Act establishing the Emerging Technology Urban Grant Program, supplementing P.L.1974, c.80 (C.34:1B-1 et seq.), and making an appropriation.

 

     Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:

 

     1.    The Legislature finds and declares that:

     a.     High-growth start-up technology companies are critical to developing urban areas into vibrant growth economies that thrive on innovation and entrepreneurship.

     b.    New Jersey should catalyze the transformation of specified urban areas by attracting emerging technology businesses to those areas by creating high-quality jobs and a sustainable knowledge-based economy through the establishment of an Emerging Technology Urban Grant Program.

     c.     The goal of the Emerging Technology Urban Grant Program is to attract high-growth emerging technology businesses to locate in urban areas, called urban technology zones, through financial incentives for utilizing a cloud-based capacity-building technology service, which is a computing service that allows a user to retrieve stored information and resources from the Internet through web-based tools and applications rather than through a direct connection to a server.

     d.    The creation of urban technology zones comprised of high-bandwidth emerging technology businesses that rely on cloud computing services will accelerate the transformation of these urban areas and connect them to the larger vibrant growth economy environment.

     e.     The Emerging Technology Urban Grant Program shall seek to consolidate public and private economic development efforts through various funding sources into one targeted program to attract high-growth emerging technology businesses.

 

     2.    As used in P.L.    , c.    (C.      ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill):

     “Authority” means the New Jersey Economic Development Authority established pursuant to section 4 of P.L.1974, c.80 (C.34:1B-4).

     "Chief Executive Officer" means the Chief Executive Officer of the New Jersey Economic Development Authority.

     “Cloud computing service” means a service that enables on-demand self-service network access to a shared pool of configurable computer resources to provide user-based productivity applications, including, but not limited to, electronic mail, document storage, and document editing, which can be rapidly provisioned and released with minimal management effort or cloud computing service provider interaction.

     “Emerging technology business” or “business” means a corporation, partnership, limited liability company, or sole proprietorship that is engaged in the design, development, and introduction of new technology, including, but not limited to, biotechnology, information technology, technology manufacturing, advanced materials, processing engineering or electronic technology products, or innovative manufacturing processes.

     “Full-time employee” shall have the same meaning as provided in section 2 of P.L.1996, c.26 (C.34:1B-125).

     “Headquarters” means the single location that serves as the national administrative center of a business, at which the primary office of the chief executive officer or chief operating officer of the business, as well as the offices of the management officials responsible for key business-wide functions such as finance, legal, marketing, and human resources, are located.

     “Information technology” means software publishing, digital media production, telecommunications, data processing, hosting and related services, custom computer programming services, computer system design, computer facilities management services, other computer related services, and computer training.

     “Program” means the Emerging Technology Urban Grant Program, established pursuant to section 3 of P.L.    , c.    (C.      ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill).

     “Urban technology zone” means: 1) a zone with a city of the first class in which there is located a terminal of an international airport; 2) a zone within a city of the second class that is the State capital; and 3) a zone within a city that qualifies under the “Municipal Rehabilitation and Economic Recovery Act,” P.L.2002, c.43 (C.52:27BBB-1 et al.).

 

     3.    a.  The authority shall establish an “Emerging Technology Urban Grant Program” within the authority to award a grant to a qualifying emerging technology business to encourage the business to locate in one of three urban technology zones to acquire cloud computing services that will facilitate the business to grow and create full-time employment. The award of a grant to a qualifying business shall be applied to the cost of acquiring cloud computing services.

     b.  The Chief Executive Officer shall approve for grant eligibility an emerging technology business that:

     (1) is located in an urban technology zone;

     (2) commits to maintaining its headquarters in an urban technology zone for the duration of the grant term of two years and at least three additional years;

     (3)  employs 50 or less full-time employees; and

     (4) has experienced a net increase of 20 percent full-time employment or added 20 percent to the square footage of their workspace in an urban technology zone during the six-month period preceding the application.

     c.  An emerging technology business seeking to participate in the program shall submit an application in a form determined by the Chief Executive Officer. The application shall include information that the Chief Executive Officer determines is necessary to administer the program. All applications shall be submitted prior to December 31, 2018.

     d.  The Chief Executive Officer shall issue payment of the grant upon the submission of proof to the authority by an approved emerging technology business applicant that the business has fulfilled the application requirements pursuant to subsection b. of this section and any other requirements determined by the authority. The submission of proof shall be subject to review and audit by the Department of Labor and Workforce Development.

     e.  The value of a grant shall be up to $60,000 per month for two years, provided that no grantee shall receive more than $1,400,000 in grants pursuant to this section over the duration of the program.

 

     4.  The authority may adopt rules and regulations, pursuant to the “Administrative Procedure Act,” P.L.1968, c.410 (C.52:14B-1 et seq.), necessary for the implementation of P.L.    , c.    (C.      ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill), including, but not limited to, a procedure for recapturing grants awarded pursuant to P.L.    , c.    (C.      ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill) in cases in which the authority determines that the emerging technology business receiving the grant award fails to meet any condition or requirement attached by the authority to the receipt of the grant award or included in rules and regulations adopted by the authority governing the implementation of the program.

 

     5.  There is appropriated $20,000,000 from the General Fund to the authority for the purposes of the implementation of P.L.    , c.    (C.      ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill), and the grant program shall also be credited with:

     a.  any additional monies made available by the authority for the purposes of the grant program; and

     b.  monies received by the authority from any public or private sources for the purpose of the grant program, the coordination and consolidation of which shall enhance efforts to attract emerging technology businesses to accelerate the development of urban technology zones.

 

     6.  This act shall take effect on the 60th day following the date of enactment, except the authority may take any anticipatory administrative action in advance as shall be necessary for the implementation of this act.

STATEMENT

 

     This bill establishes the Emerging Technology Urban Grant Program (program) in the New Jersey Economic Development Authority (EDA) to award grants to qualifying emerging technology businesses to encourage the businesses to locate in one of three urban technology zones to acquire cloud computing services that will facilitate the businesses to grow and create full-time employment. The award of a grant to a qualifying business is to be applied to the cost of acquiring cloud computing services, which are on-demand computing services that allow a user to retrieve stored information and resources from the Internet through web-based tools and applications rather than through a direct connection to a server.

     The bill establishes an urban technology zone in Newark, Trenton, and Camden.

     The Chief Executive Officer of the EDA is to approve for grant eligibility an emerging technology business that: 1) is located in an urban technology zone; 2) commits to maintaining its headquarters in an urban technology zone for the duration of the grant term of two years and at least three additional years; 3) employs no more than 50 full-time employees; and 4) has experienced a net increase of 20 percent full-time employment or added 20 percent to the square footage of their workspace in an urban technology zone during the six-month period preceding the application.

     The Chief Executive Officer is to issue payment of the grant upon the submission of proof to the EDA by an approved emerging technology business applicant that the business has fulfilled the application requirements pursuant to the bill and any other requirements determined by the EDA. The submission of proof is to be subject to review and audit by the Department of Labor and Workforce Development.

     This bill provides that the value of the grant is to be up to $60,000 per month for two years, provided that no grantee receives more than $1,400,000 in grants over the duration of the program.

     There is to be appropriated $20,000,000 from the General Fund to the authority for the purposes of this bill.