ASSEMBLY TO CONTINUE ADVANCING BILLS TO HELP N.J. EMERGE STRONG FROM GLOBAL ECONOMIC STORM

ASSEMBLY TO CONTINUE ADVANCING BILLS TO HELP N.J. EMERGE STRONG FROM GLOBAL ECONOMIC STORM

(TRENTON) – The Assembly Monday will continue focusing on the global economic crisis by considering more bills to help New Jerseyans and the businesses that employ them emerge stronger from the worldwide financial meltdown.

The session will be the third since late September focused heavily on combating economic woes. The Assembly has so far approved nearly 30 bills and on Monday will consider bills that would:

• Create and retain jobs by revamping business taxes and enhancing business grants and incentives.

• Help prevent home foreclosures.

• Assist the poor and disabled and senior citizens pay winter fuel bills and obtain food and legal aid.

• Boost property tax relief.

“We’ve already moved swiftly to help New Jerseyans and our business weather this economic storm, but we’re not done yet,” said Assembly Speaker Joseph Roberts Jr. (D-Camden). “This is an ongoing effort to create and retain jobs, keep people in their homes, assist our most vulnerable neighbors and help where we can to pay the bills.”

The session is scheduled to begin 1 p.m.

Bills to be considered Monday would:

• Increase from $55,000 to $80,000 over three years income eligibility for the senior freeze property tax reimbursement program. The bill (A-3460) is sponsored by Assemblyman Paul D. Moriarty (D-Gloucester) and Assemblywomen Joan M. Voss (D-Bergen), Linda Greenstein (D-Middlesex/Mercer), Sandi Love (D-Camden/Gloucester) and Nellie Pou (D-Passaic/Bergen).

“Seniors and disabled residents on fixed incomes are bearing the brunt of higher costs on everything from utilities to groceries to gas,” said Moriarty. “Providing more fixed-income households a property tax cut is the right thing to do to ensure they can stay in their homes.”

• Provide $22.5 million to provide food, energy and legal aid assistance to individuals and families under the New Jersey Economic Assistance and Recovery Plan. The bill (A-3374) is sponsored by Assemblywomen Connie Wagner (D-Bergen), Sheila Oliver (D-Essex/Passaic), Pou and Assemblyman John Burzichelli (D-Gloucester).

• Provide $10 million for foreclosure mediation, $2.5 million for mortgage counseling and $51 million in federal housing funds. The bill (A-3459) is sponsored by Assembly Majority Leader Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-Mercer) and Assemblymen Gerald Green (D-Middlesex/Somerset/Union), Ralph Caputo (D-Essex) and Burzichelli.

“Nothing in the current crisis is as frightening as the specter of thousands of New Jerseyans losing their homes to foreclosure in the midst of winter,” said Watson Coleman. “We need to provide this lifeline to the countless families who might otherwise find themselves homeless at the worst possible time.”

• Create the “Invest in New Jersey Business Grant Program” program to help small and mid-size businesses by providing grants of $3,000 for each job created or retained. Sponsored by Assembly members Nelson Albano (D-Cumberland), Matt Milam (D-Cumberland), Joseph Vas (D-Middlesex), Louis Greenwald (D-Camden) and Linda Greenstein (D-Middlesex/Mercer), the measure would expand upon the state’s Business Retention & Relocation Assistance Grants.

“Consumers and employers both need confidence that they will be able to remain in New Jersey,” said Albano. “With these measures in place, we can ensure they will.”

“Businesses need this comprehensive program to both spur job development and help retain their employees here in the Garden State,” said Milam.

• Allow New Jersey businesses with at least $3 million in annual gross receipts and located in Urban Enterprise Zones to receive sales tax exemptions on certain purchases at the point of sale. Current law requires qualified businesses to pay the sales tax and then apply for a refund through the state Division of Revenue. The bill (A-2720) is sponsored by Vas, Burzichelli and Pou.

“Making this change will help businesses retain access to more of their money and will help encourage economic growth in the private sector,” Vas said.

The Assembly is also set to consider several other measures, including legislation (A-2116) sponsored by Assemblymen Reed Gusciora (D-Mercer) and Ruben J. Ramos (D-Hudson) that would ban the sale of .50-caliber rifles – powerful battlefield-styled weapons that would be devastatingly lethal in the hands of terrorists.

It will also consider legislation (A-769) sponsored by Assembly members Jack Conners and Herb Conaway (both D-Burlington/Camden), Nilsa Cruz-Perez (D-Camden), Linda R. Greenstein (D-Middlesex/Mercer), Cleopatra G. Tucker (D-Essex) and Anthony Chiappone (D-Hudson) that would expand eligibility for veterans’ civil service preferences and create additional benefits.

On the Net: www.assemblydems.com