Assemblyman Albert Coutinho (D-Essex) released the following statement Monday after the Assembly voted 70-6 to approve the New Jersey Economic Opportunity Act of 2013:
“This is a long-awaited big step in the right direction toward creating more jobs throughout our state and boosting our economy.
“Job creation and economic growth are shared priorities for all New Jerseyans, so this progress is good news for everyone. I look forward to this version getting final legislative approval and finally becoming law. This is after all the most comprehensive overall of the state’s economic incentive programs.
“We’ve spent a lot of time crafting this bill, and while no bill is perfect, when all is said and done we’ll have reformed economic development incentives to make them more effective, kept jobs in the state, helped small businesses, set in motion plans to bring more jobs into New Jersey and ensured economic growth occurs in all areas of the state, including places where development has been stagnant for years.
“We will continue the fight for a living wage for all New Jerseyans, but with this bill we will be creating more jobs in the meantime. That is something we can all support.”