New Jersey Administrative Code
Title - EXECUTIVE ORDERS
Title 55 - CHRIS CHRISTIE
Section - Executive Order No. 3 (2018)

Current through Register Vol. 56, No. 6, March 18, 2024

An Order Mandating that the Office of the State Comptroller Complete a Performance Audit on the GrowNJ and the Economic Redevelopment and Growth Grant Program from 2010 to the Current Date

Issued: January 19, 2018.

Effective: January 19, 2018.

WHEREAS, creating good-paying jobs for New Jerseyans is a central focus of my administration; and

WHEREAS, New Jersey enjoys many natural advantages that other states cannot match, including our location, labor force, transportation networks, public education system, and research and development, that provide powerful incentives for any company looking to operate a successful business; and

WHEREAS, tax incentives are only one factor in businesses' decisions on where to locate; and

WHEREAS, studies have consistently demonstrated that New Jersey's current economic incentive programs have proven less effective than those in other states; and

WHEREAS, one study showed that New Jersey spends $ 162,000 in economic incentives for each job, while Massachusetts spends only $ 22,000 per job; and

WHEREAS, while the amount of economic incentives provided by the State of New Jersey has increased dramatically over the last decade, these incentives have gone primarily to large companies while the number of small businesses in the State has declined from 2010 to 2015; and

WHEREAS, despite the dramatic increase in tax incentives, New Jersey's economic recovery from the recession caused by the financial crisis has lagged behind competitor states; and

WHEREAS, it is important to ensure that our economic development programs benefit both large and small companies, and that their benefits are fairly distributed among all regions of our State; and

WHEREAS, under the Economic Opportunity Act of 2013, the Economic Development Authority ("EDA") has the power to issue large tax incentive packages and create end-year obligations; and

WHEREAS, the EDA's discretion in approving tax incentive packages is limited by strict statutory guidelines; and

WHEREAS, from a financial perspective, EDA's award of a dollar in tax incentives has the same effect as spending a dollar of taxpayer money, and therefore the EDA must be accountable to the taxpayers of this State; and

WHEREAS, the Office of the State Auditor found that the EDA needed to improve its efforts to verify several aspects of applications submitted by businesses, including: (1) the difference in cost between staying in New Jersey and moving out of the state, and (2) the existence of at-risk jobs; and

WHEREAS, the Office of the State Auditor also found that the EDA needed to strengthen procedures designed to ensure compliance with the terms of the EDA grants; and

WHEREAS, a comprehensive performance audit of the EDA's two primary tax incentive programs, the Grow New Jersey Assistance Program and the Economic Redevelopment and Growth Grant Program, will both inform the public about the EDA's operations and assist lawmakers in their deliberations as to whether these programs should be reauthorized when they expire on July 1, 2019;

NOW, THEREFORE, I, PHILIP D. MURPHY, Governor of the State of New Jersey, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and by the Statutes of this State, do hereby ORDER and DIRECT: