NJ governor, business leaders launch business-attracting venture

Christie announces effort to spur NJ businesses

TRENTON, N.J. — Gov. Chris Christie on Tuesday announced the creation of a nonprofit corporation that he hopes will help invigorate New Jersey’s business community, which he said has shrunk after a decade of bad policies.

The privately funded intiative, called Choose New Jersey, is described as an aggressive marketing campaign and will work in tandem with the office of Lt. Gov Kim Guadagno, Christie told an audience of nearly 300 employees of the New Jersey Manufacturers Insurance Co.

Christie said he hopes the state can shed an image that it’s unfriendly to business.

“The forces of government in Trenton have not understood the great basic principle that we need to get out of your way and let you create economic growth and vitality,” Christie said.

Lawmakers last week learned that income tax collections — the state’s largest revenue source — were off by roughly $300 million from projections earlier this year.

When the governor proposed his $29.3 billion budget, sales tax revenues came in $58 million less than expected, and corporate business taxes were $44 million short.

Verizon New Jersey president Dennis Bone, named Choose New Jersey’s interim chairman by its governing board of more than 15 business leaders, expressed confidence in its partnership with the Christie administration.

“How many times in the past has the business community tried to partner with an administration and sometimes it didn’t work out so well?” Bone said. “In this case, we are very confident that we can make a difference in this state.”

The initiative comes on the heels of “The Red Tape Review,” a report by Guadagno outlining rules and regulations that companies must satisfy to do business in New Jersey.

The 65-page report recommends policy changes to make the state more business-friendly. Christie could implement some of them by executive order; others require legislative approval.

Critics say the proposed changes could erode residents’ rights to public notice and comment. Environmental groups expressed concerns that a spur in development could harm New Jersey’s environment.

“We believe in economic development, but we want to make sure that when we grow we are not trying to weaken environmental protections,” Sierra Club president Jeff Tittle said of the proposal to revise the Department of Environmental Protection’s rule-making process, which business leaders have argued slows development.

Christie pledged that he and Guadagno would continue making weekly calls to out-of-state business heads to spur interest in New Jersey.