Sponsored by:
Assemblyman GARY S. SCHAER
District 36 (Bergen and Passaic)
SYNOPSIS
Restores and revises Urban Enterprise Zone program.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act concerning urban enterprise zones, amending P.L.2001, c.347 and P.L.1989, c.207, amending and supplementing P.L.1983, c.303, and repealing various parts of the statutory law.
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 [this act] 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 [this act] 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 [this act] 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%] 25 percent of its full-time employees employed at a business location in the zone or district, [meeting] which zone or district meets the criteria set forth in section 12 of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill), or is an industrial business located in an industrial hub, 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Approval as a qualified business shall be conditional upon meeting all outstanding tax obligations, and may be withdrawn by the authority if a business is continually delinquent in meeting its tax obligations;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 [in which there was, in the last full calendar year immediately preceding the year in which application for enterprise zone designation is submitted pursuant to section 14 of P.L.1983, c.303 (C.52:27H-73), an annual average of at least 2,000 unemployed persons, and in which the municipal average annual unemployment rate for that year exceeded the State average annual unemployment rate; except that any municipality which qualifies for State aid pursuant to P.L.1978, c.14 (C.52:27D-178 et seq.) shall qualify if its municipal average annual unemployment rate for that year exceeded the State average annual unemployment rate. The annual average of unemployed persons and the average annual unemployment rates shall be estimated for the relevant calendar year by the Office of Labor Planning and Analysis of the State Department of Labor and Workforce Development. In addition to those municipalities that qualify pursuant to the criteria set forth above, that municipality accorded priority designation pursuant to subsection e. of section 7 of P.L.1983, c.303 (C.52:27H-66), those municipalities set forth in paragraph (7), paragraph (8) of section 3 of P.L.1995, c.382 (C.52:27H-66.1), and paragraph (9) of section 3 of P.L.1995, c.382 as amended by section 3 of P.L.2004, c.75 (C.52:27H-66.1), and the municipalities in which the three additional enterprise zones, including the joint enterprise zone, are to be designated pursuant to criteria according priority consideration for designation of the zones pursuant to section 12 of P.L.2001, c.347 (C.52:27H-66.7) shall be deemed qualifying municipalities] :
(1) that was previously designated as a qualifying municipality prior to the effective date of P.L. , c. (pending before the Legislature as this bill); or
(2) that is among the top 20 percent of the most distressed New Jersey municipalities according to the most recent Municipal Revitalization Index, and:
(a) in which the share of parcels accounted for by commercial and industrial property exceeds the Statewide average of commercial and industrial parcels according to the most recently released Property Value Classification prepared by the Department of the Community Affairs, and
(b) which has an unemployment rate that exceeds the most recent annual Statewide unemployment rate;
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 im