ASSEMBLY, No. 195

 

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

 

Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative Counsel

 

PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 1996 SESSION

 

 

By Assemblywoman WEINBERG

 

 

An Act creating the Multistate Industrial Retention Commission and making an appropriation.

 

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

 

ARTICLE I

 

THE "MULTISTATE INDUSTRIAL RETENTION COMMISSION"

 

    1. This act shall be known and may be cited as the "Multistate Industrial Retention Act."

 

    2. As used in this act:

    "Affiliate" means any entity which has a relationship with an employer in which the entity, directly or indirectly, is controlled by or controls the employer.

    "Agency" means a state and any of its instrumentalities, including any of its agencies or political subdivisions and any authorities created by the legislature of the state.

    "Commission" means the Multistate Industrial Retention Commission established pursuant to section 3 of this act.

    "Commissioner" means a member appointed to the commission pursuant to this act.

    "Concurring state" means any state which enacts legislation which concurs with this legislation.

    "Contract" means any agreement between an agency and a contractor under which the contractor furnishes goods or services to the agency, except for a contract under which the goods or services are paid for by the United States.

    "Contractor" means any employer who enters into a contract with an agency.

    "Economic development assistance" means any economic development assistance provided to an employer by an agency, including, but not limited to, direct grants, including job training grants, and subsidized financing, except that "economic development assistance" shall not include any assistance which is financed by funds provided by the United States.

    "Employer" means an individual or private business entity which employs the workforce at an establishment and includes all affiliates of the employer.

    "Establishment" means a single place of employment operated by an employer, but shall not include a temporary construction site.

    "Significant transfer or termination of operations" means a termination of operations or transfer of operations which results, during any continuous period of not more than 180 days, in the termination of employment of 50 or more employees.

    "Termination of employment" means the layoff of an employee without a commitment to reinstate the employee to his previous employment within six months of the layoff, except that "termination of employment" shall not mean any layoff of a construction worker upon the completion of a construction project or any layoff of a seasonal employee or refer to any situation in which an employer offers to an employee, at a location not more than 30 miles from the previous place of employment, the same employment or a position with equivalent status, benefits, pay, and other terms and conditions of employment.

    "Termination of operations" means the permanent termination of all or a portion of the operations conducted in an establishment, except for a termination of operations made necessary because of a court order, fire, flood, natural disaster, national emergency, act of war, civil disorder, or industrial sabotage.

    "Transfer of operations" means the transfer of all or a portion of the operations conducted in an establishment to another location, inside or outside of the state where the establishment is located.

 

    3. a. There is hereby created the Multistate Industrial Retention Commission, which shall have all of the powers and duties set forth herein and any additional powers and duties as are conferred upon it by subsequent action of the legislatures of all of the concurring states.

    b. The commission shall consist of one commissioner from each concurring state who shall be appointed, and shall serve, in the manner determined by the legislature of that state. Each commissioner shall not receive compensation from the commission but may be reimbursed for necessary expenses incurred in and incident to the performance of the duties of the commissioner.

    c. The commission shall provide for its own organization, administration and procedures and shall adopt rules and regulations governing its meetings and transactions. It shall first organize itself upon the enactment of concurring legislation by not less than five states and upon the appointment of a commissioner from each of those states, and shall subsequently organize itself annually. In organizing itself, the commission shall elect a chairperson and vice-chairperson from among its commissioners and appoint an executive director who shall serve as its secretary and chief executive officer.

    d. Each commissioner shall be entitled to one vote on all matters which may come before the commission except as provided pursuant to subsection h. of section 5 of this act. No determination, decision or action of the commission shall be made or taken unless a majority of the commissioners votes in favor of the action.

 

    4. The commission shall have the power to:

    a. Sue and be sued in a court of competent jurisdiction;

    b. Adopt and have a seal;

    c. Provide for the hiring, organization and administration of a commission staff and retain and employ counsel, and fix and provide for the qualification, appointment, removal, term, tenure, compensation, pension and retirement rights of its officers and employees;

    d. Establish one or more offices for the transacting of its business;

    e. Make and enforce rules and regulations that the commission deems necessary to effectuate the purposes of this act; provided that any rule or regulation, other than one which deals solely with the internal management of the commission, shall be adopted only after public hearing and shall not be effective unless filed in accordance with the law of each respective concurring state applicable to the filing of rules and regulations;

    f. Conduct, upon the request of the designated agency of a concurring state, any investigation and hearing necessary to implement the purposes of this act; administer oaths and issue subpoenas to compel the attendance of witnesses and the giving of testimony and the production of other evidence; and have full and free access to and from all property, premises and places necessary to conduct the investigation;

    g. Co-operate with and receive assistance and data from any agency which will enable it to implement the purposes of this act, and, in the manner provided pursuant to section 5 of this act, recommend actions to be taken by the agency; and

    h. Do all other things necessary or incidental to the administration of its functions pursuant to this act.

 

    5. a. The purpose of the commission is to provide information, analysis and recommendations to concurring states which will assist them in making informed decisions when they act in their roles as market participants to prevent the harm caused to the welfare of their citizens by detrimental net relocations of employment associated with significant transfers or terminations of operations of establishments in those states.

    b. In order to implement its purpose pursuant to this section, the commission shall investigate any significant transfer or termination of operations of an establishment located in a concurring state upon a request by the designated agency of the state where the establishment is located, and may investigate any possible future significant transfer or termination of operation of an establishment upon the request of the designated agency of the state where the establishment is located.

    c. The goal of each investigation undertaken by the commission of an actual or anticipated significant transfer or termination of operations of an establishment pursuant to this section shall be to make a determination of fact as to whether the employer at the establishment is responsible for a detrimental net relocation of employment in connection with the transfer or termination. For the purposes of this act, an employer shall be regarded as responsible for a detrimental net relocation of employment if the commission finds that:

    (1) Employment lost from the establishment was transferred or is being transferred to one or more other locations, including any transfer by means of outsourcing or contracting out of production, and that employment loss is not the result of the employer reducing or discontinuing entirely its total sale or use of the product line or lines which had been produced at the establishment; and

    (2) The transfer of employment to other locations has contributed or will contribute to an undermining of labor, health, environmental, human rights, civil rights or other standards, based on a diminishment of the pay and conditions of employees, of the funding of education or other public services required for the general welfare, or of other conditions affecting employees and their communities, which diminishment is demonstrable by comparison of conditions where the establishment is located and conditions at the other locations.

    The commission shall require the employer to report all changes in the location, during the preceding period of not less than ten years, of all employment and production of the employer related to each product line produced at the affected establishment, including changes related to the outsourcing or contracting out of production. The commission shall consider all of those changes when determining whether the employer is responsible for a detrimental net relocation of employment.

    d. In the course of its investigation, the commission shall conduct one or more hearings to provide an opportunity for the employer to present its views with respect to whether the significant transfer or termination of operations has occurred or will occur and whether the employer is responsible for a detrimental net relocation of employment.

    e. If it is determined that the employer is responsible for a detrimental net relocation of employment, the commission shall decide which one or more, if any, of the following actions to recommend that each concurring state take against the responsible employer:

    (1) Placing the employer, for a period of time determined by the commission, on a list of contractors debarred from entering into contracts with any agency of that state, except that the debarment shall not apply to the purchase of goods or services from the employer if that employer is the only person able to provide those goods or services in commercial quantities and of satisfactory quality;

    (2) Placing the employer, for a period of time determined by the commission, on a list of employers debarred from receiving economic development assistance from any agency of that state; or

    (3) Placing the employer, for a period of time determined by the commission, on a list of employers debarred from having investments made in them of assets of any pension or annuity funds, cash management funds and other funds which any agency of that state is authorized to invest, except that the commission may not recommend that any concurring state impose a bar on investment pursuant to this paragraph until the total amount of investment assets of all concurring states is $150 billion or more. To comply with this recommendation, a state shall:

    (a) Prohibit any new investment of fund assets in the employer subsequent to the date that the employer is placed on the list; and

    (b) Take appropriate action to sell, redeem, divest or withdraw any investment held in the employer not later than one year after the employer is placed on the list.

    f. Of the employers who are determined during any one year to be responsible for a detrimental net relocation of employment:

    (1) Not less than 50% shall be subject to a recommendation that concurring states take the action indicated in paragraph (1) of subsection e. of this section;

    (2) Not less than 75% shall be subject to a recommendation that concurring states take the action indicated in paragraph (2) of subsection e. of this section; and

    (3) Not less than 25% shall be subject to a recommendation that concurring states take the action indicated in paragraph (3) of subsection e. of this section.

    g. In determining whether to recommend one or more of the actions permitted pursuant to subsection e. of this section to be taken against an employer determined to be responsible for a detrimental net relocation of employment, the commission shall consider the following factors:

    (1) The seriousness of the impact of the net relocation on the workers and other citizens of the concurring state and whether the employer has been responsible for other detrimental net relocations of employment;

    (2) How likely it is that the action or actions will have an impact on the employer sufficient to deter the employer from carrying out the detrimental net relocation of employment, or, if the relocation has already occurred, subsequent net relocations; and

    (3) Any likely negative impact that the action or actions may have on the concurring states and their citizens.

    If an employer reverses its decision to undertake a significant transfer or termination of operations and rehires any employees who have lost employment as a result of the transfer or termination, the commission may withdraw its recommendation.

    h. Any decision to recommend any of the actions against an employer pursuant to subsection e. of this section or withdraw a recommendation shall require an affirmative vote of not less than two thirds of all of the votes of the members of the commission. Each commissioner shall be entitled to one vote on any decision to recommend any of the actions or withdraw a recommendation, except that, in the case of a decision regarding the placement of the employer on the list of employers barred from investment pursuant to paragraph (3) of subsection e. of this section, each commissioner shall be given one additional vote for each $10 billion in assets of any pension or annuity funds, cash management funds and other funds which that commissioner's concurring state or any agency of that state is authorized to invest.

    i. The commission shall make available to each concurring state all information at its disposal that is necessary or useful to enable the state to implement any recommendation of the commission. The commission and each concurring state shall make available to the public a list of all employers who are determined by the commission to be responsible for a detrimental net relocation of employment and a list of all employers who are subject to each of the recommendations indicated in subsection e. of this section.

 

    6. All meetings and hearings of the commission shall be open to the public, except for deliberations involving the consideration of documents and information which is confidential pursuant to this section. The minutes of the public meetings and hearings of the commission shall be public records open to inspection and copying at its offices during regular business hours, subject to the law relating to public records of the concurring states in which such minutes are located.

    Any information obtained from any person by the commission which would adversely affect the competitive position of the person if made public shall be retained solely for the use of the commission and the concurring states in the implementation of this act, and shall not be disclosed for any other purpose without the written consent of the person.

 

    7. If an establishment located in a concurring state is subject to a significant transfer or termination of operations, the employer who operates the establishment shall provide, not later than the time at which the first termination of employment occurs in connection with the transfer or termination of operations, notification of the transfer or termination of operations to the designated agency in the concurring state, the political subdivision where the establishment is located, the affected employees and any collective bargaining unit of the employees. The subdivision, employees or collective bargaining unit may file a request that the designated agency request the commission to conduct an investigation of the transfer or termination of operations pursuant to section 5 of this act. The notification shall be in writing on a form provided by the commission and shall include:

    a. A statement of the number of employees whose employment will be terminated, when the terminations will occur, any employment available to employees at any other establishment operated by the employer, and information regarding the terms, conditions and location of that employment;

    b. A statement of the reasons for the transfer or termination of operations; and

    c. A statement which describes: the right of the designated agency to request an investigation of the transfer or termination of operations; the right of the political subdivision, the employees or their collective bargaining unit to file a request to have the agency make the request; and the actions that the commission may recommend pursuant to section 5 of this act if the commission determines that the employer is responsible for a detrimental net relocation of employment.

 

    8. a. No person shall obstruct, withhold requested information or in any other way interfere with a commissioner or officer, employee or agent of the commission engaged in the conduct of an investigation deemed necessary by the commission to implement the purposes of this act or engaged in the performance of any other duty pursuant to the provisions of this act.

    b. In addition to any other penalty provided by law, if the commission determines that an employer has violated or attempted or conspired to violate any provision of section 7 of this act or subsection a. of this section, the commission shall recommend that the employer be placed on all of the debarment lists provided for pursuant to the subsection e. of section 5 of this act until the violation has ceased. Prior to making a determination regarding a violation pursuant to this subsection, the commission shall conduct a hearing to provide an opportunity for the employer to present its views with respect to the violation.

    c. Any action, recommendation or determination of the commission shall be subject to judicial review in any court of competent jurisdiction as provided by the law of a concurring state. Court costs related to the judicial review shall be paid by the party which does not prevail. Any subpoena issued by the commission shall be enforced by any court of competent jurisdiction of the concurring states, according to the practice and procedure of the court applicable to subpoenas issued in proceedings pending before it.

 

    9. The commission shall provide for an annual independent audit of its accounts and financial transactions by a certified public accountant, and for the publication of the report of the audit. The commission shall also make an annual report of its activities to the governors and legislatures of the concurring states.

 

    10. The commission shall annually adopt a current expense budget for each fiscal year, and shall apportion the amount required to balance the expenditures therein, less estimated revenues from all sources, to the concurring states in accordance with equitable cost-sharing formulae adopted by the commission, except that the annual share for each concurring state shall be an amount equivalent to not less than $0.03 per each member of the state's total population. Following the adoption of its annual budget, the commission shall transmit certified copies of the budget to the budget officers of the concurring states at the time and in the manner required under their respective budgetary procedures. The budget shall include the amount apportioned for the support of the commission's current expense budget in their respective budgets next to be adopted, subject to the review and approval required by the budgetary processes of the respective concurring states. The amounts shall be due and payable to the commission in equal quarterly installments during the commission's fiscal year.

 

    11. Amendments and supplements to this act may be adopted by legislative action of all the concurring states. A concurring state may withdraw from its concurrence with this act by repealing its concurring legislation. The provisions of this act shall not be operative during any time that the total number of concurring states is reduced to less than five.

 

    12. The provisions of this act shall be severable, and if any provision of the act is declared to be unconstitutional or the applicability thereof to any concurring state, agency, person or circumstance is held invalid, the constitutionality of the remainder of the act and its applicability to any other concurring state, agency, person or circumstance shall not be affected. The provisions of this act shall be reasonably and liberally construed.

 

    13. The commissioners are hereby authorized to apply to the Congress of the United States for its consent and approval of this act or any provision of this act, if that consent and approval is required under federal law, but in the absence of the consent and approval of the Congress, the commission shall have all of the powers that the concurring states may confer upon it without that consent and approval.

 

ARTICLE II

 

EFFECTUATION

 

    14. For the purposes of sections 14 through 26 of this act, "board" means the Industrial Retention Board established pursuant to section 15 of this act.

 

    15. There is established in the Executive Branch of the State Government the Industrial Retention Board. For the purposes of complying with the provisions of Article V, Section IV, paragraph 1 of the New Jersey Constitution, the board is allocated within the Department of Treasury, but notwithstanding this allocation, the commission shall be independent of any supervision or control by the department or by any agency or officer thereof.

 

    16. The board shall consist of 13 members as follows:

    a. The State Treasurer, the Commissioner of Labor and the Commissioner of Commerce and Economic Development, each of whom shall serve ex officio; and

    b. Ten members, appointed by the Governor with the advice and consent of the Senate, including: four representatives of local government or community organizations from municipalities which have been subject to significant plant closings and mass layoffs; four representatives of labor organizations which represent workers in industries which have been subject to significant plant closings and mass layoffs; and two representatives of labor organizations which represent employees covered by the pension plans of the State or any agency of the State. The ten members appointed pursuant to this subsection shall be appointed for terms of five years, except that of the ten members first appointed, four shall be appointed for five years, three shall be appointed for three years, and three shall be appointed for two years. Of the members appointed pursuant to this subsection, not more than five shall be of the same political party, and each shall hold office for the term of appointment and until his successor is appointed and qualified. Any member may be removed from office by the Governor, for cause, after a hearing and may be suspended by the Governor pending the completion of the hearing. A member appointed to fill a vacancy occurring prior to the expiration of the term shall have a term of appointment for the unexpired portion of the term only. All vacancies shall be filled in the same manner as the original appointment. Members of the board shall serve without compensation, but shall be reimbursed for necessary expenses incurred in the performance of their duties as members.

 

    17. The board shall first organize itself upon the appointment of its members, and shall subsequently organize itself annually. In organizing itself, the board shall elect a chairperson and vice-chairperson from among its members. Each member shall be entitled to one vote on all matters which may come before the board. No determination, decision or action of the board shall be made or taken unless a majority of the members votes in favor of the action.

 

    18. The board shall annually appoint the commissioner to serve as New Jersey's member on the Multistate Industrial Retention Commission. The board shall also appoint an executive director of the board, who shall report to the chairperson of the board and be responsible for administering the daily operations of the board. The commissioner and the executive director shall serve in the State unclassified service. The board may also hire and employ, pursuant to Title 11A, Civil Service, of the New Jersey Statutes, other professional, technical, and clerical staff as may be necessary to perform the functions assigned to the board. The board shall have access to all files and records of the Department of the Treasury, the Department of Labor, the Department of Commerce and Economic Development and other relevant State agencies and may call to its assistance and avail itself of the services of the employees of those departments and agencies to provide whatever information the board deems necessary in the performance of its functions.

 

    19. The board shall work with appropriate agencies and seek the cooperation of businesses, labor organizations or other interested entities to collect relevant information regarding economic developments and to establish and foster early warning networks to assist in identifying establishments which are likely to experience future significant transfers or terminations of operations. The board shall also seek the collaboration of other concurring states in efforts to identify establishments likely to experience future significant transfers or terminations of operations.

 

    20. For the purposes of Article I of this act, the designated agency in this State shall be the board. If an establishment located in the State is subject to, or will be subject to, a significant transfer or termination of operations, a request that the board review the transfer or termination may be filed by the political subdivision where the establishment is located, the affected employees or any collective bargaining unit of the employees. The board shall conduct the review and if it determines that there is a reasonable likelihood that the employer at the establishment is responsible for a detrimental net relocation of employment in connection with the transfer or termination, the board shall request that the commission conduct an investigation of the transfer or termination pursuant to section 5 of this act. The board may also consider a request filed by any interested entity that the board review a likely future significant transfer or termination of the operations of an establishment located in the State, and if the board determines that there is a reasonable likelihood that the transfer or termination will occur and that the employer at the establishment is or will be responsible for a detrimental net relocation of employment, the board shall request that the commission conduct an investigation of the transfer or termination.

 

    21. a. The board shall review each recommendation made by the commission pursuant to sections 5 or 8 of this act.

    b. In the case of a recommendation made pursuant to section 8 of this act, if the board concurs with the commission that an employer has violated or attempted or conspired to violate the provisions of sections 7 or 8 of this act, the board is authorized, notwithstanding any other provision of the laws of this State, to direct all agencies of this State to comply with the recommendation, and each agency shall comply with any recommendation of the commission when so directed by the board.

    c. In the case of a recommendation made pursuant to section 5 of this act, if the board concurs with the commission's determination of fact that an employer is responsible for a detrimental net relocation of employment, and if the board finds the recommendation of the commission to be appropriate based on factors including those indicated in subsection g. of section 5 of this act, the board is authorized, notwithstanding any other provision of the laws of this State, to direct all agencies of this State to comply with the recommendation, and each agency shall comply with any recommendation of the commission when so directed by the board, except that in the case of a recommendation to place an employer on a list of employers barred from having investments made into them, the Director of the Division of Investment shall not comply with respect to investments of moneys from pensions or retirement funds over which he has authority to invest unless compliance with the recommendation is approved by the majority of the members of the State Investment Council who are elected by public employee members of those pension and retirement funds. The members of the State Investment Council who are elected by public employee members of those pension and retirement funds shall form a committee which shall review, in a timely manner and in consultation with the other members of the State Investment Council and the Director of the Division of Investment, all recommendations regarding pension and retirement fund investment for which the board has directed agency compliance and approve those recommendations which the committee deems appropriate.

    d. The board shall be responsible for identifying all relevant agencies of this State and implementing compliance by those agencies with the recommendation pursuant to this section.

 

    22. The board shall, in accordance with the "Administrative Procedure Act," P.L.1968, c.410 (C.52:14B-1 et seq.), promulgate whatever rules and regulations it deems necessary for the implementation and enforcement of the provisions of this act.

 

    23. The board shall prepare an annual budget and make an annual report of its activities to the Governor and the Legislature.

 

    24. The phrase "court of competent jurisdiction" as used in this act shall, with reference to this State, mean the Superior Court of the State of New Jersey and for the purposes of that jurisdiction the commission shall be deemed to be a State administrative agency. A subpoena duly issued by the commission may be enforced upon ex parte application pursuant to the Rules Governing the Courts of the State of New Jersey.

 

    25. There is appropriated from the general fund $250,000 to the Multistate Industrial Retention Commission and $250,000 to the Industrial Retention Board to implement the purposes of this act.

 

    26. This act shall take effect immediately but shall remain inoperative until the enactment of concurring legislation by any four other states.

 

 

STATEMENT

 

    This bill creates, with the concurrence of not less than four other states, the Multistate Industrial Retention Commission as an instrumentality of the concurring states.

    Article I of the bill (sections 1 through 13) represents the portion of the bill which would be adopted by all concurring states.

    Article I provides that the commission would consist of one commissioner from each concurring state to be appointed and serve in the manner determined by the legislature of that state.

    The purpose of the commission is to provide information, analysis and recommendations to concurring states which will assist them in making informed decisions when they act in their roles as market participants to prevent the harm caused to the welfare of their citizens by net relocations of employment associated with closings or relocations of workplaces in those states.

    To implement its purpose, the commission is required to investigate any significant closing or relocation of a workplace located in a concurring state upon the request of the designated agency of that state. The commission may also investigate possible future closings or relocations.

    The goal of each investigation is to determine whether the employer at the establishment is responsible for a detrimental net relocation of employment in connection with the closing or relocation. The employer is required to report all changes in the location, during the preceding period of not less than ten years, of all employment and production of the employer and his affiliates related to products produced at the affected workplace, including changes related to the outsourcing or contracting out of production. The bill regards the employer as responsible for a detrimental net relocation of employment if the commission finds that the employment actually has been or is being transferred to another location and that the transfer undermines labor, health, environmental, human rights, civil rights or other standards, based on a demonstrable worsening of the pay and conditions of employees, of the funding of education or other public services required for the general welfare, or of other circumstances affecting employees and their communities.

    If the commission determines that the employer is responsible for a detrimental net relocation of employment, the commission is required to decide which, if any, of the following actions to recommend that each concurring state take against the employer:

    1. Barring the employer from entering into public contracts with any agency or subdivision of the state;

    2. Barring the employer from receiving economic development assistance or incentives in the state; or

    3. Barring the employer from having investments made into it of assets of any public pension or other funds under the control of the state or its instrumentalities, except that the commission is not permitted to recommend a bar on investment until the total amount of investment assets of all concurring states is at least $150 billion.

    The bill requires that, of the employers who are determined during any one year to be responsible for a detrimental net relocation of employment: not less than 50% be subject to a recommendation barring the employer from contracting; not less than 75% be subject to a recommendation barring the employer from receiving economic development assistance; and not less than 25% be subject to a recommendation barring the employer from receiving investments of public funds.

    In determining whether to recommend one or more of the actions to be taken against an employer, the commission is required to consider: the seriousness of the impact of the detrimental net relocation of employment on the workers and other citizens of the concurring state and whether the employer has been responsible for other net relocations; how likely the action or actions are to deter the employer from carrying out the relocation or subsequent relocations; and any likely negative impact that the action or actions on the concurring states and their citizens.

    If an employer halts the plant closing or relocation and rehires any laid off employees, the commission may withdraw its recommendation.

    Any decision regarding the recommendations requires an affirmative vote of at least two thirds of all of the votes of the members of the commission. Each commissioner is entitled to one vote, except that, in the case of a recommendation to bar the employer from pension investments, each commissioner is given one additional vote for each $10 billion in assets of any pension or other funds which that commissioner's concurring state or its instrumentalities are authorized to invest.

    The bill gives the commission the authority to use subpoenas when conducting an investigation. An employer who obstructs the investigation is also subject to the indicated recommendations of debarment until the obstruction ceases.

    The commission is authorized to submit budget requests equivalent to not less than $0.03 per capita for each concurring state.

    Article II of this bill (sections 14 through 26) concerns the effectuation of the bill in New Jersey and does not require the concurrence of any other state. Article II establishes an Industrial Retention Board consisting of three representatives from relevant State departments, and eight members representing local communities and workers adversely affected by closings and layoffs, and two members representing workers covered by public employee pensions.

    As the State's designated agency, the board is directed to review actual and anticipated plant closings and relocations and decide which closings or relocations to request the commission to investigate. The board is also directed to:

    1. Appoint the State's member on the commission;

    2. Collaborate with appropriate agencies to collect relevant economic information and develop early warning networks to assist in identifying likely future closings or relocations; and

    3. Review each commission recommendation and decide whether to require the State and its agencies to comply with the recommendation, except that a recommendation to bar an employer from pension investments would not be carried out without the approval of the majority of the members of the State Investment Council who are elected public employee members of those pension and retirement funds.

    The bill appropriates $250,000 from New Jersey's General Fund to the commission and $250,000 to the board.

 

 

 

Creates the Multistate Industrial Retention Commission; appropriates $500,000.