Kean: NJGOP Continues Focus On Jobs

New Jersey Senate Republican Leader Tom Kean issued the following statement today following the Senate President's announcement that the Legislature will spend the next several months seeking to implement a series of economic measures that will help jumpstart the state’s sagging economy:

"Republicans continue to be willing and ready to work at a moment's notice on any legislation that creates permanent, private sector jobs in the state. We must reignite our state's competitive advantage and attract businesses and create jobs. Unemployed workers deserve a government that works across party lines to consider every responsible proposal to improve our economy and get residents working again."

Below are a list of several bills Republicans asked Democrats to consider, nine months ago, that would have helped jumpstart New Jersey's economy and create much-needed jobs.

S-543 (Kean, T., Introduced 1/12/10) — Economic Development Promotion Act

Goal: Seeks to promote economic development by: overhauling an inefficient economic development bureaucracy, eliminating antiquated statutes, providing low-cost assistance to prospective employers and entrepreneurs, and revamping New Jersey’s tourism marketing strategy.

S-1850 (Kyrillos, Introduced 3/22/10) — Requires the Director of the Division of Taxation to study impact of State business income taxes on business out-migration, business formation, and employment.

Goal: To provide legislators an understanding of which policies, past and present, contribute to job losses in New Jersey.

S-1865 (Kyrillos, Introduced 3/22/10) — Provides a corporation business tax credit for certain investments in manufacturing equipment and manufacturing facility renovation, modernization, and expansion.

Goal: To stop the manufacturing job losses, and encourage the cutting edge companies to stay and expand in New Jersey.

S-761 (Beck/Kyrillos, Introduced 1/12/10) — Revise Business Employment Incentive Program (BEIP) to remove grant caps for each new employee hired and give equal treatment to all businesses under the program.

Goal: Provide strong incentives for employers to hire new workers.

S-976 (Allen, Introduced 2/1/10) — Allows free access to certain job training courses for employees affected by plant closings, mass layoffs, or transfer of operations.

Goal: To help improve the employment prospects of workers laid off in declining industries.