NJ Business Matters: The Blog of the CIANJ

Keeping It Real

CIANJ Board Members John Smith (Director, Corporate Responsibility, PSEG), Kevin Luing (Chairman of the Board, Berkeley College) and Debroah Zastocki (President & CEO, Chilton Memorial Hospital) recently appeared on Steve Adubato's Democracy Works to discuss the challenges and opportunites faced by businesses operating in the Garden State. The 30-minute program will re-air throughout the week, but below is a 6 minute clip of what real business leaders think about doing business in Jersey.

Only in New Jersey: Adding Costs and Paperwork to Cleaning the Environment

Your trusty blogger joins you from the road this morning, as we await a presentation by Dr. Patrick Moore (co-founder of Greenpeace) on ways to improve our environment while producing the energy necessary to meet our 21st Century needs.

Of other environmental importance is a story in today's Record regarding proposed new Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) regulations that would create additional notification requirements for site cleanup. The proposed new mandate states that those cleaning the site must notify neighbors within 200' of the property about the removal of contaminated materials in very specific ways. It's another idea that seems benign on the surface, but will actually make it more difficult to clean contaminated sites and therefore lessen the probability they will be cleaned.

Our friends at the Sierra Club ask,

In California, for instance, remediators must notify the public with a 4-foot-by-8-foot sign, he said. "Why are the businesses complaining?" he said. "What are they trying to hide? People should know what's happening in the neighborhood."

It's tough to have an honest discussion when one group's default position is that businesses must be attempting to hide something. Remember, these are the same businesses who clean contaminated areas with regularity.

The DEP already has adequate notification requirements. To make businesses notify those who are unaffected by the cleanup (in their native languages) goes beyond what is necessary. Then, if there are public places within 200', a business would have to notify the users of an area such as a park that something is about to be cleaned (again, in the native language of park goers). Furthermore, the regulations require notification for those within 200' of the property line, not 200' of the clean-up area. A large property with a small clean-up would have to notify those well outside the boundary of any potential impact.

CIANJ members have weighed in and continue to do so with the Department of Environmental Protection. Sometimes, issues are more complicated than the rhetorical questions asked about them.

Immigration "Reform" and Red Tape

Here at NJ Business Matters, we have given scarce attention to the immigration debate, but the issue of employer document verification significantly impacts New Jersey's businesses.

New immigration regulations have employers spending more of their time complying with federal regulations, taking away from little things like running a business and trying to make payroll. Today's Record features multiple CIANJ members as they discuss the lenghthier visa process for new hires and the additional time needed to meet new government requirements.

The gist of the federal legislation was to make employers more responsible for hiring legal workers (something we have no objection to). However, CIANJ has called for altering the documentation process to something more dependable before making employers part of the enforcement mechanism.

Immigration attorney, and CIANJ member, David Nachman noted many of his clients find social security numbers mismatched with names for far-from-sinister reasons,

[T]he reason an employee's Social Security number doesn't match the federal records may have nothing to do with the worker's immigration status. For instance, the person may have changed her name due to marriage and not informed authorities, or the name may not have been input correctly in the federal database, he said.

That's particularly problematic with Hispanic employees, who often use several surnames, Nachman said. He said one of his clients, which employed a lot of Hispanics, was informed that a third of the company's workforce had names that did not match the federal records.

And that's before the underground market of document forgers goes to work. Ensuring a legal workforce may be a worthwhile goal, but putting an inequitable burden on employers is not the best way to get there. 

"Government Exists to Preserve Freedom"

An interview with Judge Andrew Napolitano is one of the featured pieces in the Summer edition of COMMERCE Magazine. Conducted by Ramapo College professor, CIANJ Member, pundit, and blogger extraordinaire Dr. Murray Sabrin, Napolitano expresses his positions on free enterprise and the need for the government to resist interference into our everyday and business lives. The Napolitano interview has been republished on USA Daily. Click here to read the article in its entirety.

The summer edition is chock full of compelling stories that reflect the philanthropy, challenges and opportunities dealt with by New Jersey's business community. Other stories from this month's COMMERCE Magazine include,

• NJ Office of Economic Growth Chief Gary Rose Addresses CIANJ Board
• In Session with Retired Chief Justice Deborah T. Poritz
• Super Sports Agent Scott Boras Helps His Clients Monetize Their Baseball Talents
• General Electric Vice Chairman Bob Wright Lends His Powerful Voice to Autism Speaks
• Healthcare Mandates are Bad Medicine

For all of our featured stories, click here.

Congressman Garrett Meets with the CIANJ

A special thanks to Congressman Scott Garrett who met with about 30 members of the Commerce and Industry Association of New Jersey early this morning to discuss issues important to New Jersey's businesses. Some of the more interesting facts that were brought up by the Congressman and our membership were:

The ever-expanding federal budget. For most of our history, the federal government has spent 20% of our Gross Domestic Product (GDP). This year, that number is up slightly. However, if entitlement programs are not altered the federal government will spend 33% of our GDP within a generation.

The need for a comprehensive approach to energy policy. Alternative fuels are going to be a necessary part of our future, but they do not yet represent a significant source of energy. The government can help change that by providing incentives and lifting regulations, but ultimately the free market will provide the greatest incentive. In the interim, we must increase energy output here at home. That includes exploration of the Outer-Continental Shelf (OCS), ANWR and actually building a refinery from time to time. If we fail to, it's going to get pretty cold and dark around here.

Thanks again to Congressman Garrett.

John Corio to Head NJSCPA

Congratulations to John Coiro, board member of the Commerce and Indsutry Association of New Jersey and Totowa Mayor, who was named President of the New Jersey Society of Certified Public Accountants.

The Commerce and Industry Association is proud of its long working history with the NJSCPA. They will be well-led, as always, during the next year.

Record coverage here.   

Economic Growth Chief Meets with Those Who Do the Growing

This morning, the CIANJ Board of Directors met to discuss matters around the CIANJ corral, the state budget, paid family leave and the many ways our Association is growing. Joining us was Gary Rose, Chief, Office of Economic Growth.

After telling the board the many structural improvements the Corzine Administration has made in the way government attracts and serves business (and there have been many), members had the opportunity to discuss the issues most pressing to their business. One of the most cogent points was the duality of messages coming from the Front Office and the legislature. While the governor is selling all of the positives about New Jersey, the legislature has moved forward measures such as health mandates, a plant closing notification bill and a proposal to have New Jersey offer the most generous paid leave program in America.

Politics and policy are messy endeavors, but at least today, the message from the business community was clear.

Photo courtesy Miles Epstein

Labels: CIANJ Board of Directors, Gary Rose