Designates Hackensack City as urban enterprise zone.
Summary
This bill adds Hackensack City in Bergen County as a new Urban Enterprise Zone (UEZ) under New Jersey’s UEZ program. The bill amends the UEZ statutes to include Hackensack among the municipalities eligible for designation, and it directs the New Jersey Urban Enterprise Zone Authority to designate the zone within 90 days after the city submits an application and zone development plan. The bill is written as an immediate effective-date measure and is tied to population and poverty criteria, reflecting an effort to target economic development assistance to a municipality meeting specified distress indicators.
Once designated, businesses operating in the Hackensack UEZ would be eligible for the program’s tax and financing benefits, including the reduced sales tax rate on qualifying retail sales and access to UEZ-related assistance and certification programs. The bill also updates the broader UEZ framework by increasing the maximum number of enterprise zones in effect at one time from 32 to 33 and by revising the statutory list of priority-designation criteria in the UEZ laws to account for the new zone.
Impact
The bill amends P.L.1983, c.303 and P.L.1995, c.382 to expand the Urban Enterprise Zone program and to formally reserve one additional zone for Hackensack City. Its practical effect is to authorize a new zone designation, increase the statewide cap on active UEZs to 33, and make Hackensack businesses potentially eligible for reduced sales tax collection, tax-free purchasing certifications, and access to UEZ assistance funds for development, infrastructure, and related economic revitalization activities. The bill would affect the UEZ Authority, qualifying municipalities, local zone development corporations, and businesses located in the designated area.
Sentiment
Based on the bill text and the absence of recorded committee testimony or votes, the overall sentiment appears supportive and development-oriented. The measure is framed as an economic revitalization tool for a municipality meeting poverty and population thresholds, and the sponsor’s statement emphasizes the expected benefits for local businesses and the city’s commercial activity. There is no evidence in the provided materials of organized opposition, amendments, or divided voting.
Contention
The main policy issue is the use of tax incentives and a new UEZ designation to promote economic development in Hackensack, which may raise concerns about foregone sales tax revenue and the fairness of expanding zone-based tax benefits. Another point of potential contention is the bill’s specificity: it singles out one municipality and increases the statewide cap on enterprise zones, which could prompt questions about whether other distressed municipalities should receive similar treatment. No direct objections or competing viewpoints are included in the provided transcripts or voting history.