A5567

An Act creating an office to encourage creation of federal jobs and investment in the State, supplementing Title 52 of the Revised Statutes.

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

1. a. There is created in the Department of the Treasury an office to advocate for the establishment of permanent federal jobs in the State. Notwithstanding this allocation, the office shall be independent of any supervision or control by the State Treasurer, or the department, or by any division, board, office, or other officer thereof. The duties of the office shall be administered by an officer who shall be appointed by the Governor and who serves at the pleasure of the Governor.

b. The officer shall be qualified by training and experience to perform the duties of the office. The officer shall devote full time and attention to the duties of the office and shall not pursue any other business, occupation, or gainful employment.

c. It shall be the duty of the officer to:

identify, evaluate, and report on opportunities for the establishment of federal jobs in the State;

recommend strategies and best practices to improve the ability of the State to attract federal jobs;

seek to acquire civilian military missions for research, development, acquisition, test, and evaluation in the State, as well as to grow existing missions in the State;

advocate on behalf of the State in qualifying and applying for other federal investment in the State, including projects and offices with potential to be located in the State.

d. The officer may, within the limits of funds made available to the office, hire staff as necessary for performance of the duties of the office. The officer may, within the limits of funds made available to the office, hire consultants as necessary.

e. Data and information on economic investment in the State, and other similar resources of the New Jersey Economic Development Authority shall be available to the officer, as necessary. The officer shall be entitled to call upon and receive the assistance of any State, county, or municipal department, agency, board, bureau, or commission, as the officer may require and as made available to the officer.

f. If the duties of the officer overlap with the Council on Armed Forces and Veterans’ Affairs or the Military and Defense Economic Ombudsman in the Department of Military and Veterans’ Affairs, the duties of the officer shall focus on civilian missions, including research, development, acquisition, test, and evaluation. The officer shall consult with the Department of Military and Veterans’ Affairs regarding risk of mission loss or base closure.

g. The Officer shall report to the Governor, the Treasurer, the New Jersey Economic Development Authority, the Department of Military and Veterans’ Affairs, and the Legislature, pursuant to section 2 of P.L.1991, c.164 (C.52:14-19.1), via mid-year and end-of-year reports. The mid-year report shall include a summary of all current initiatives and their status. The end-of-year report shall include details on all job and infrastructure objectives, their status, and the benefits the State will realize if achieved. The end-of-year report shall also include a summary of New Jersey’s federal jobs lost, federal jobs gained and federal infrastructure investments resulting from the offices efforts over the previous five years, or since the office was created.

2. This act shall take effect immediately.

STATEMENT

This bill establishes an office in the Department of the Treasury through which the State encourage establishment of permanent federal jobs, as well as other federal investment, in the State. The federal government creates and maintains jobs and projects throughout the United States and often employs residents of the state in which the projects are located.

Under the bill, the officer’s duties include seeking to acquire civilian military missions for research, development, acquisition, test, and evaluation, as well as to grow existing missions. In performance of this duty, the officer will consult with the Department of Military and Veterans’ Affairs regarding risk of mission loss or base closure.

The governor will appoint an officer to administer the duties of the office, and the officer may hire necessary staff, including consultants. In addition to other resources made available to the officer, the New Jersey Economic Development Authority’s resources will be available to the officer for use in performance of the officer’s duties. The officer may also ask and receive assistance from any State or local government unit in performance of the officer’s duties.