New Jersey Administrative Code
Title 5 - COMMUNITY AFFAIRS
Chapter 120 - URBAN ENTERPRISE ZONE AUTHORITY
Subchapter 1 - URBAN ENTERPRISE ZONE PROGRAM
Section 5:120-1.2 - Definitions
Current through Register Vol. 56, No. 18, September 16, 2024
The following words and terms, when used in this chapter, shall have the following meanings unless the context clearly indicates otherwise.
"Act" means the New Jersey Urban Enterprise Zones Act, P.L. 1983, c. 303, as amended (52:27H-60) .
"Administrator" means the Executive Director of the Urban Enterprise Zone Program in, but not of, the New Jersey Department of Community Affairs.
"Authority," "Zone Authority" or "UEZA" means the New Jersey Urban Enterprise Zone Authority.
"Certification" means the application process by which a qualified business operating within a zone becomes eligible for zone business benefits for three years, subject to maintaining tax clearance.
"Certified business" or "certified qualified business" is a qualified business that has applied for certification or recertification and that application has been approved by the Administrator.
"Coordinator" means the person, designated by the mayor of the municipality and supported by a resolution of the municipal council, who shall report directly to municipal business administrator and manage the Urban Enterprise Zone office including all matters relating to the application by qualified businesses to enter the program, marketing and promoting the Urban Enterprise Zone program to businesses operating or about to operate within that zone, and such other program related activities as the Administrator shall direct.
"Enterprise zone," "UEZ" or "zone" means an urban enterprise zone designated by the New Jersey Urban Enterprise Zone Authority pursuant to the Act.
"Executive Director" means the title of the person delegated by the Board of the UEZA to managed the operation of the Urban Enterprise Zone Authority, whether by that title or another. Throughout this chapter, the Executive Director is referred to by the functional title of the "Administrator" for consistency with the statute.
"Full-time employee" of a qualified business means an employee subject to tax withholding who works a consistent 30 hours or more per week. (See the definition of "part-time employee" below.)
"NJEDA" or "EDA" means the New Jersey Economic Development Authority, established pursuant to P.L. 1974, c. 80 and amendments thereto.
"Part-time employee" means an employee working a consistent 15 hours or more per week but fewer than 30 hours per week; therefore, for all purposes, one-part time employee shall be considered as one-half full-time employee in all calculations under the program. (See the definition of "full-time employee" above.)
"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, is engaged in the active conduct of a trade or business in that zone 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, and for which at least 25 percent of its full-time employees (see the definition of "25 percent factor" below), newly hired during the three years after the business becomes initially certified as a UEZ business, meet one or more of the following criteria:
1. Resident within the zone or within the municipality which the zone is located; or
2. Unemployed for at least six months prior to being hired and residing in New Jersey, or recipients of New Jersey public assistance programs for at least six months prior to being hired; or
3. Determined to be low-income individuals pursuant to the Workforce Investment Act of 1998, Pub. L. 105-220 ( 29 U.S.C. §§ 2811 et seq.).
Approval as a certified qualified business shall be conditioned upon the qualified business meeting all outstanding tax obligations, and may be withdrawn by the Authority if a business is continually delinquent in meeting its tax obligations. A certified business must annually provide, on a form determined by the Division of Taxation and the Administrator, an authorization to verify tax compliance and which form also certifies that the business is a "qualified business."
A qualified business which is a closely-held entity does not cease to be a qualified business due to a change in ownership provided that at least 51 percent or more of the ownership in the successor business continues to be held by the same persons holding an interest in the original business. The successor firm will not have to apply for initial certification and will be permitted to apply for recertification in accordance with its existing schedule.
"Qualified small business" is defined as follows:
"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 the Act, an annual average of at least 2,000 unemployed persons, and in which the average annual unemployment rate for that year exceeded the State average annual unemployment rate; except that a municipality which qualifies for State aid pursuant to P.L. 1978, c.14 (52:27D-178 et seq.) shall qualify if its municipal average unemployment rate for that year exceeds 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 Statistics, Division of Planning and Research of the State Department of Labor and Workforce Development.
"Recertification" means the process for applying every three years to continue to be eligible for zone business benefits, but the business must submit to tax clearance annually.
"25 percent factor" refers to the requirement that 25 percent of the new employees of a qualified business must meet certain criteria, as stated under the definition "qualified business" above.
"Zone boundary expansion" means a change in the zone boundaries that represents a net increase in the total area within the zone.
"Zone boundary modification" means a change in the zone boundaries that represents no net increase in the area within the zone boundaries.
"Zone boundary revision" means any change in the boundaries of the zone, whether by Zone boundary expansion or by Zone boundary modification.
"Zone business benefits" means those benefits as defined by 52:27H-75 to 52:27H-79.
"Zone development corporation" means a nonprofit corporation or association created by the governing body of a qualifying municipality to formulate and propose a preliminary zone development plan pursuant to section 9 of the Act.
"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.
"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 the Act; which is organized under the provisions of Title 15 of the Revised 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:
