NJ Spotlight published the following article on January 13, 2014. To read the full article, click here.
THE ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITY ACT: WHAT’S IN IT FOR SOUTH JERSEY?
TARA NURIN | JANUARY 13, 2014
When state Sen. Ray Lesniak (D-Union) introduces a bill early in the next legislative session to tweak his Economic Opportunity Act — which overhauled the state’s corporate incentive programs — north Jersey developers and politicians will be watching carefully. What they’ll want to know is whether the new measure adds any concessions to those they begrudgingly made to South Jersey when they negotiated the original act.
Though Lesniak’s new bill doesn’t touch the exclusive business attraction and retention packages allotted to South Jersey last year, he does hope to push through a few revisions. These are chiefly intended to further assist depressed residential real estate markets in Camden, Trenton, and elsewhere.
As he shepherds the bill through Trenton, Lesniak will be watching for pushback from North Jersey. The negotiations are likely to be a balancing act that provides for residential rehabilitation in blighted urban areas across the state, while respecting existing commercial and industrial tax credits and bonuses that give South Jersey a competitive edge in the fierce battle to win new and relocating businesses that could opt for other parts of the state.