(TRENTON) – A bipartisan measure led by Assembly Democrats Wayne P. DeAngelo, Bonnie Watson Coleman, Pamela Lampitt, Valerie Vainieri Huttle, Herb Conaway, Jr., M.D., and Dan Benson to help small businesses establish and flourish by cutting through red tape when applying for financial assistance has been signed into law.
“Starting a business can be a daunting task, and in this economic climate, it may be even more of a challenge,” said DeAngelo (D-Mercer/Middlesex). “This law will make it simpler for these businesses to reach the financial assistance that could get them closer to a grand opening, and that not only benefits our business owners, but out economy. This bipartisan effort will hopefully promote entrepreneurship and spur further economic activity in New Jersey.”
The measure will cut red-tape by requiring the Department of State to create a uniform application for businesses to determine which state financial assistance programs they might qualify for.
“This is one of the simplest and most effective ways we can help small businesses get established in New Jersey,” said Watson Coleman (D-Mercer). “In this tumultuous economy businesses are in need of every bit of assistance to get up and running, but often times the red tape can be so overwhelming for a small operation.”
“It’s important that we work together to create common sense proposals that can provide financial incentives for small businesses to establish and flourish,” said Lampitt (D-Camden). “Cutting through bureaucratic redundancies and red-tape will mean healthier small businesses creating more and better jobs for New Jerseyans.”
According to the U.S. Small Business Administration, there were 27.5 million small businesses in the country in 2009.
“State programs often require the same information about the small business which makes applying for various programs far too time consuming. This measure will help direct small business owners to the programs they should be eligible for and free them up to focus their time on running their business,” said Vainieri Huttle (D-Bergen).
“Considering that nearly two-thirds of the new jobs created in the U.S. between 1993 and 2009 were from small businesses, this is a smart way to trigger job creation in New Jersey,” said Conaway (D-Burlington/Camden).
“This streamlined application will enable small businesses to more easily access state financial assistance programs, in turn helping to stimulate the economy as these businesses are then able to invest in their development, workforce, and facility,” said Benson (D-Mercer/Middlesex).