M E M O R A N D U M

TO:                      Members of the Senate Labor Committee 

FROM:               Hilary Chebra, Manager, Government Affairs CCSNJ

RE:                      Support of S-1958 (Cruz-Perez)

DATE:                 December 8, 2020

The Chamber of Commerce of Southern New Jersey (CCSNJ), would like to respectfully request your support for S-1958 (Cruz-Perez) the “New Jobs for New Jersey Act”. 

This bill would establish a New Jobs for New Jersey tax credit program to be administered by the Commissioner of the New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development. The purpose of the program is to provide incentives to small private sector employers who increase their workforce by hiring unemployed workers.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, New Jersey has seen unprecedented unemployment numbers. More than 1.8 million New Jersey workers have sought unemployment benefits since the COVID-19 pandemic first impacted the state in March, which forced mandated business shutdowns to control the spread of the virus. Over the course of this year, New Jersey’s unemployment rate reached 16.2 percent, the highest level since record keeping began in 1976.

As New Jersey continues its economic recovery, this bill can assist businesses as they attempt to recover while also providing an avenue for unemployed New Jerseyans to re-enter the workforce. The bill makes an employer of 100 or fewer full-time employees eligible for a refundable New Jobs for New Jersey tax credit against the corporation business tax or the gross income tax, for each eligible individual employed by the employer on a full-time basis during a tax year. The New Jobs for New Jersey tax credit an innovative program that will allow New Jersey business to recover and equally important, get the unemployed back to work in sustainable jobs.

The CCSNJ appreciates the Legislature’s attention to assisting the businesses and residents of the state in coping with the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic.

We respectfully urge you to vote yes on S-1958 (Cruz-Perez).