S2862

An Act concerning New Jersey businesses and supplementing P.L.1974, c.80 (C.34:1B-1 et seq.).

Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:

1. a. The New Jersey Economic Development Authority, created pursuant to section 4 of P.L.1974, c.80 (C.34:1B-4), shall create the JerseySource Supply Network, an Internet-based information database of New Jersey suppliers of goods and services.

b. This database shall provide New Jersey businesses with the opportunity to become members of the network in order to share information about their products or services in order to inform businesses, particularly businesses within the State, of the availability of New Jersey-based sources of supply and to encourage the use of these sources. The authority shall publicize the JerseySource Supply Network in its promotional and informational materials and encourage its use by New Jersey based businesses.

c. The JerseySource Supply Network shall be operated as a subscription-based program for suppliers interested in making the availability of their products or services known to other businesses. The businesses subscribing to this service shall be listed by category and shall provide information with respect to the nature of the products or services available, the location of the business, transportation and shipping information, and contact information. The cost of the subscription shall defray the cost of establishing, promoting and maintaining the network.

2. a. The New Jersey Economic Development Authority, created pursuant to section 4 of P.L.1974, c.80 (C.34:1B-4), shall establish a business visitation program. The program shall consist of regular visitations by the authority of targeted New Jersey-based businesses, as determined by the authority pursuant to subsection b. of this section, to ascertain their ongoing needs, including, but not limited to, infrastructure issues, financing, and workforce development and training issues, and to identify areas in which State, regional, or local governments or local economic development programs may be of assistance to the business. The authority may establish the visitation program in connection with regional and local economic development agencies, volunteer associations of retired executives, or other qualified persons, and may permit these qualified agencies, volunteers, or persons to conduct visitations on behalf of the authority.

b. The Economic Development Authority shall identify targeted New Jersey-based businesses for periodic visitation in conjunction with the Council of Economic Advisors, established pursuant to section 2 of P.L.1993, c.149 (C.52:9H-35), local officials and local economic development agencies. Identification of the targeted New Jersey-based businesses shall be made on the basis of pertinent factors, including, but not limited to: core industries; former clients of the New Jersey Economic Development Authority; businesses that have received either State or local assistance previously; the economic importance of the business or industry to the State, a region, or a locality; or the economic importance of the business or industry to an identified industry cluster as classified in accordance with the North American Industry Classification System.

c. The visitation program shall provide for the prompt referral to a contact person within an appropriate government agency of any issue identified, as the result of a visit to a business, for ongoing monitoring until the issue is resolved, and for periodic follow-up visits at a business where an issue was identified.

d. The Economic Development Authority shall prepare an annual report on the visitation program, which shall be submitted to the Governor, the Secretary of State, the New Jersey Council of Economic Advisors and, pursuant to section 2 of P.L.1991, c.164 (C.52:14-19.1), to the Legislature.

3. This act shall take effect on the first day of the third month next following enactment, except the New Jersey Economic Development Authority may take any anticipatory administrative action in advance as shall be necessary for the implementation of this act.

STATEMENT

This bill would require the New Jersey Economic Development Authority (EDA) to establish the JerseySource Supply Network, an Internet-based information database of New Jersey suppliers of goods and services. Under this bill, the EDA would publicize the database in its promotional and informational materials and encourage its use by New Jersey based businesses.

The database would be operated as a subscription-based program, so that businesses subscribing to the program would be listed by category and would provide information with respect to the nature of the products or services available, the location of the business, transportation and shipping information, and contact information. The cost of the subscription would defray the cost of establishing, promoting and maintaining the database.

This bill would establish a business visitation program in which the EDA sends its employees or approved volunteers to visit targeted businesses for the purpose of ascertaining their ongoing needs, including infrastructure issues, financing, and workforce development requirements, and to identify areas in which State, regional, or local governments or local economic development programs may be of assistance. The visitations would be undertaken in connection with regional and local economic development agencies, associations of retired executives, or other qualified persons not necessarily employed by the EDA.