(TRENTON) – Assembly Commerce and Economic Development Chairman Albert Coutinho on Monday released the following statement as the Assembly Budget Committee heard testimony on the governor’s plan to continue to divert funding away from Urban Enterprise Zones:
“The governor’s continued neglect of our Urban Enterprise Zones is severely impairing job creation efforts here in New Jersey, and that’s unfortunate news for working class New Jersey families and businesses that call our state home.
“The governor’s budget recommends that the sales tax collected in Urban Enterprise Zones again be diverted to the general fund. This would raid about $102.8 million from the UEZs for state use, and this would mean roughly $300 million that should have gone to the zones to make them more attractive to businesses has been taken away by the governor.
“That quite simply flies in the face of the governor’s supposed commitment to economic development.
“Enough is enough. It’s time for the governor to do the right thing and invest in these 32 job creation zones located in 37 municipalities throughout our state. Our families and our businesses deserve that consideration.”