ASSEMBLY, No. 1063

 

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

 

Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative Counsel

 

PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 1996 SESSION

 

 

By Assemblymen AZZOLINA and GARRETT

 

 

An Act authorizing the Commissioner of Commerce and Economic Development to establish an Economic Development Empowerment Group to monitor and coordinate business retention, attraction and investment in the State.

 

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

 

    1. This act shall be known and may be cited as the "New Jersey Economic Development Empowerment Group Act."

 

    2. The Legislature finds and declares that:

    a. Testimony taken during the extensive hearings of the Assembly Task Force on Business Retention, Expansion and Export Opportunities revealed that New Jersey businesses are subject to a constant barrage of marketing and promotional materials such as direct mail, telemarketing and other efforts designed to lure businesses from this State to other states, especially the southern and the midwestern states;

    b. An effective strategy to counter such efforts, and to retain existing businesses and attract new businesses, is to establish a centralized empowerment group responsible for leveraging all available resources to promote business retention and attraction efforts in the State;

    c. While specific State departments are responsible for conveying relevant departmental information to businesses, this fragmented approach tends to be a disincentive to businesses which generally prefer to work with a single office that provides an "incentive package" incorporating multiple assistance programs that can be quickly reviewed to determine the costs and benefits of doing business in a particular area;

    d. The development of a single empowerment group to establish a more effective coordination of the information provided by various State agencies concerning State business attraction and retention programs and services will improve the State's ability to improve its marketing efforts through benchmarking of outcomes and coordinated follow-up of the State's overall performance; and

    e. In order to remain competitive with what other states are doing to retain and attract businesses, and to establish a more effective coordination of the State's resources, it is in the public interest to authorize the Commissioner of Commerce and Economic Development to establish an Economic Development Empowerment Group within the Department of Commerce and Economic Development which shall be responsible for coordinating information across departmental lines, coordinating the development of customized "incentive packages" to specifically promote business retention and expansion efforts, and coordinating the allocation of public-private resources to maximize the State's business retention and attraction strategy.

 

    3. As used in this act:

    a. "Advisory board" means the Economic Development Empowerment Group Advisory Board authorized pursuant to section 5 of this act;

    b. "Commissioner" means the Commissioner of Commerce and Economic Development;

    c. "Department" means the Department of Commerce and Economic Development;

    d. "Economic master plan commission" means the New Jersey Economic Master Plan Commission established pursuant to Executive Order No. 1 issued by the Governor on January 18, 1994; and

    e. "Empowerment group" means the Economic Development Empowerment Group authorized pursuant to section 4 of this act.

 

    4. a. The Commissioner of Commerce and Economic Development is authorized to establish an Economic Development Empowerment Group. The empowerment group shall consist of nine members who may be designated by the commissioner from among the employees of the Division of Economic Development and the Division of International Trade within the department. Each member of the empowerment group shall be a person of recognized ability and experience in one or more of the following areas: finance, business management, economics, marketing, international trade, and international investment. Action may be taken and motions and resolutions may be adopted by the empowerment group at a meeting by an affirmative vote of not less than five members. As soon as practicable, the commissioner shall appoint a director and assistant director from among the members of the empowerment group.

    b. The purpose of the empowerment group shall be to assemble, coordinate and disseminate information about State governmental programs and services to assist in the retention, attraction and expansion of businesses, and to implement the recommendations and proposals made by the Economic Development Empowerment Group Advisory Board authorized pursuant to section 5 and section 6 of this act. The empowerment group shall be responsible for developing customized "incentive packages" utilizing all the available resources and services of the State, as well as other ancillary resources that may exist at the local level, to encourage existing businesses to remain and expand in the State, to attract businesses from other states to relocate to the State and to stimulate investment in the State by businesses from foreign countries.

    c. In order to achieve the centralized coordination necessary for the development of successful, innovative and uniquely designed "incentive packages," the empowerment group shall consult with private sector organizations, the advisory board and other State agencies and departments involved with business retention and expansion matters. The empowerment group shall direct the formulation of all components of the incentive package. All officers, departments, boards, agencies, divisions and commissions of the State are hereby authorized and empowered to render any and all such services to the empowerment group as may be within the area of their respective governmental functions as established by law, rule, or regulation, and as may be requested by the empowerment group.

    d. The empowerment group shall also be responsible for soliciting information from such regional field offices as may be designated by the commissioner pursuant to P.L. , c. (C. ) (now before the Legislature as Assembly Bill No. 12 of 1994), establishing and maintaining more effective coordination of the information provided by various State agencies concerning State business attraction and retention programs and services, thus providing a single source of information about relevant programs and services to assist businesses, and identifying the factors that influence business decisions to remain and expand in the State, to leave the State or to invest in or relocate to the State. The empowerment group shall assign rankings to the factors so identified and provide annual reports containing a written description of the changes in strategies, procedures and incentive programs which it finds have been most successful in retaining existing businesses in or attracting new businesses and investment to the State. The report shall also include any recommendations for changes in strategies, procedures or incentive programs which the empowerment group believes will produce additional gains for economic development in the State. The report shall be made available to the members of the Legislature and the Governor.

    e. In implementing the provisions of this section, the empowerment group shall consult with experts and authorities in the fields of business investment, venture capital investment, commercial banking and other comparable financial institutions involved in the financing of business; other states' economic development teams that employ similar strategies; and individuals in the private sector with regulatory, legal, economic, or financial expertise, including members of the academic community, and individuals who generally represent the business community in the State.

 

     5. a. The Commissioner of Commerce and Economic Development is authorized to establish an Economic Development Empowerment Group Advisory Board. The advisory board shall have eleven members as follows: the Commissioner of Commerce and Economic Development, ex officio, or the commissioner's designee, who shall be chairperson of the advisory board, the Commissioner of Labor, ex officio, or the commissioner's designee, the Commissioner of Environmental Protection, ex officio, or the commissioner's designee, the Secretary of Agriculture, ex officio, or the secretary's designee, the Chairman of the Economic Development Authority, ex officio, or the chairman's designee, and six public members who shall be appointed by the Governor with the advice and consent of the Senate for terms of three years, except that of the six public members first appointed by the Governor, three shall be appointed for three years and three shall be appointed for two years. Not more than three of the public members appointed by the Governor shall be of the same political party. The public members appointed by the Governor shall include individuals with experience in business and economic development and with investment or financial experience in major industry sectors with the greatest presence in the State's economy including, but not limited to, manufacturing, telecommunications, pharmaceuticals, retail and financial. Each member shall hold office for the term of appointment and until his successor is appointed and qualified. A member appointed to fill a vacancy occurring in the membership of the advisory board for any reason other than the expiration of the term shall have a term of appointment for the unexpired term only. All vacancies shall be filled in the same manner as the original appointment.

    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. Members of the advisory board shall serve without compensation. Action may be taken and motions and resolutions may be adopted at a board meeting by an affirmative vote of not less than three members. As soon as practicable, the members of the advisory board shall select from among themselves a vice-chairman.

    b. It shall be the duty of the advisory board to:

    (1) Review proposals of the empowerment group and advise the empowerment group with regard to issues of business retention and expansion, attraction of new businesses to the State, business investment and economic development generally;

    (2) Call upon the Governor to become involved in the active recruitment of new businesses to and the retention and expansion of existing businesses in the State;

    (3) Review proposed changes in business retention, attraction and investment strategies made by the empowerment group pursuant to this act and advise the empowerment group concerning the proposed changes; and

     (4) Study and make recommendations concerning the activities undertaken by the empowerment group to implement the purposes of the act.

 

    6. The commissioner is authorized to designate a non-profit entity such as a non-profit corporation organized to implement the recommendations of the economic master plan commission as the appropriate body in which the empowerment group shall be located in order to minimize the cost to the State and to enhance the State's business retention and attraction strategies.

    If the commissioner elects to designate a non-profit entity as the appropriate body in which to locate the empowerment group, the "incentive packages" authorized to be developed under section 4 of this act shall be submitted in the form of proposals to the advisory board which shall evaluate the proposals. If the proposals are approved by the advisory board, the empowerment group may proceed with such actions as may be approved by the advisory board to implement the goals of this act.

 

    7. Within 18 months of the date of designation of the empowerment group, and on or before February 15 of each succeeding year, the department shall submit a report to the Governor and the Legislature. The report shall include, but need not be limited to, an assessment of the effectiveness of the empowerment group in meeting the goals of this act and any recommendations for legislation to improve the effectiveness of the empowerment group.

 

    8. The commissioner shall, pursuant to the "Administrative Procedure Act," P.L.1968, c.410 (C.52:14B-1 et seq.), adopt any rules and regulations necessary to effectuate the purposes of this act.

 

    9. This act shall take effect on the 90th day following enactment.

 

 

STATEMENT

 

     The bill authorizes the Commissioner of Commerce and Economic Development to establish a nine-member Economic Development Empowerment Group within the Department of Commerce and Economic Development or within a non-profit economic development corporation. The empowerment group members may be designated by the Commissioner of Commerce and Economic Development from among the employees of the department. The members shall have substantive knowledge of and experience in finance, business management, economics, marketing, international trade, and international investment.

    The bill provides that the empowerment group is responsible for development of individually designed "incentive packages" utilizing all available programs and services to promote business retention, expansion and attraction efforts in New Jersey. The bill also makes the empowerment group responsible for coordinating information provided by State agencies concerning State business attraction and retention programs and services.

    The bill authorizes the commissioner to establish an Economic Development Empowerment Group Advisory Board consisting of eleven members including the Commissioners of Commerce and Economic Development, Labor, and Environmental Protection, the Secretary of Agriculture, and the chairman of the Economic Development Authority, or their designees, and six public members to be appointed by the Governor. The board is to monitor the progress of the empowerment group and to make recommendations concerning changes which it finds are needed to enhance economic activity in the State, and to improve the activities of the empowerment group.

    The bill also provides that if the commissioner elects to establish the empowerment group within a non-profit entity, the "incentive packages" developed by the empowerment group must be submitted in the form of proposals to the advisory board for approval. The department is required to report annually to the Legislature and the Governor on the effectiveness of the empowerment group in meeting the goals of the bill.

 

 

 

Authorizes Commissioner of Commerce and Economic Development to establish an Economic Development Empowerment Group and Economic Development Empowerment Group Advisory Board.