An Act concerning urban enterprise zones and amending P.L.1983, c.303.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. Section 3 of P.L.1983, c.303 (C.52:27H-62) is amended to read as follows:
3. As used in P.L.1983, c.303 (C.52:27H-60 et seq.):
a. "Enterprise zone" or "zone" means an urban enterprise zone designated by the authority pursuant to P.L.1983, c.303 (C.52:27H-60 et seq.);
b. "Authority" or "UEZ Authority" means the New Jersey Urban Enterprise Zone Authority created by P.L.1983, c.303 (C.52:27H-60 et seq.);
c. "Qualified business" means any entity authorized to do business in the State of New Jersey which, at the time of designation as an enterprise zone or a UEZ-impacted business district, is engaged in the active conduct of a trade or business in that zone or district; or an entity which, after that designation but during the designation period, becomes newly engaged in the active conduct of a trade or business in that zone or district and has at least 25 percent of its full-time employees employed at a business location in an eligible block group as defined under section 12 of P.L.2021, c.197 (C.52:27H-99), and which employees meet one or more of the following criteria:
(1) Residents within the zone, the district, within another zone or within a qualifying municipality; or
(2) Unemployed for at least six months prior to being hired and residing in New Jersey, and recipients of New Jersey public assistance programs for at least six months prior to being hired, or either of the aforesaid; or
(3) Determined to be low income individuals pursuant to the Workforce Investment Act of 1998, Pub.L.105-220 (29 U.S.C. s.2811);
Approval as a qualified business shall be conditional upon meeting all outstanding tax obligations, and may be withdrawn by the authority if a business is continually delinquent in meeting its tax obligations;
d. "Qualifying municipality" means any municipality that was previously designated as a qualifying municipality prior to the effective date of P P.L.2021, c.197;
e. "Public assistance" means income maintenance funds administered by the Department of Human Services or by a county welfare agency;
f. "Zone development corporation" means a nonprofit corporation or association created or designated by the governing body of a qualifying municipality to formulate and propose a preliminary zone development plan pursuant to section 9 of P.L.1983, c.303 (C.52:27H-68) and to prepare, monitor, administer and implement the zone development plan;
g. "Zone development plan" means a plan adopted by the governing body of a qualifying municipality for the development of an enterprise zone therein, and for the direction and coordination of activities of the municipality, zone businesses and community organizations within the enterprise zone toward the economic betterment of the residents of the zone and the municipality;
h. "Zone neighborhood association" means a corporation or association of persons who either are residents of, or have their principal place of employment in, a municipality in which an enterprise zone has been designated pursuant to P.L.1983, c.303 (C.52:27H-60 et seq.); which is organized under the provisions of Title 15 of the Revised Statutes or Title 15A of the New Jersey Statutes; and which has for its principal purpose the encouragement and support of community activities within, or on behalf of, the zone so as to (1) stimulate economic activity, (2) increase or preserve residential amenities, or (3) otherwise encourage community cooperation in achieving the goals of the zone development plan;
i. "Enterprise zone assistance fund" or "assistance fund" means the fund created by section 29 of P.L.1983, c.303 (C.52:27H-88);
j. "UEZ-impacted business district" or "district" means an economically-distressed business district classified by the authority as having been negatively impacted by two or more adjacent urban enterprise zones in which 50 percent less sales tax is collected pursuant to section 21 of P.L.1983, c.303 (C.52:27H-80);
k. "Block group" means statistical divisions of census tracts, that are generally defined by the United States Census Bureau to contain between 600 and 3,000 people and are used to present data and control block numbering;
l. "Municipal Revitalization Index" means the index developed, maintained, and updated from time to time, by the Department of Community Affairs ranking New Jersey's municipalities according to separate indicators that measure diverse aspects of social, economic, physical, and fiscal conditions in each locality;
m. "Qualified assistance fund expense" means any reasonable expense related to:
(1) a construction project improving, altering, or repairing the real property of a qualified business located in an enterprise zone;
(2) full or part time economic and community development positions in the municipality, other governmental, or not-for-profit organization, or marketing;
(3) loans, grants, and guarantees to businesses;
(4) payroll expenses, personnel, services, and equipment purchases primarily for the provision of law enforcement, fire protection, or emergency medical services within commercial and transportation corridors located exclusively in an enterprise zone;
(5) planning and other professional services related to economic and community development;
(6) cleaning and maintenance of commercial and transportation corridors;
(7) the improvement of [public] 1public infrastructure in a commercial or tra