Speaking March 15 before a group of about 100 business people, four legislative leaders from central New Jersey said they opposed extending the Corporation Business Tax alternative minimum assessment (AMA) beyond the end of the fiscal year. Senate Health Committee Chairman Joseph Vitale, Senate Republican Leader Leonard Lance, Assistant Assembly Majority Leader Pat Diegnan, and Assemblyman Bill Baroni also offered their views on balancing the State budget, reforming healthcare, and keeping the Unemployment Insurance (UI) fund solvent. They participated in an hour-long panel discussion moderated by NJBIA Vice President Frank Robinson as NJBIA kicked off the first of its three Meet the Legislative Leaders breakfasts.
The clearest agreement came on the AMA. The AMA was instituted as part of the $1.5 billion Corporation Business Tax (CBT) hike in 2002. It taxes the gross receipts of many C corporations without allowing deductions for legitimate business expenses, like wages, health benefits and utility bills. The AMA is set to expire July 1 (the end of the State’s fiscal year), and NJBIA is pushing hard to keep lawmakers from extending it as part of a plan to balance the State budget. “Yes,” Diegnan said, when asked if he would let it expire. “It never really made sense to me from the beginning.” Lance noted that the Senate Republicans opposed the AMA from the beginning, while Vitale and Baroni said eliminating the AMA would have a positive impact on business.
When it came to healthcare reform, the four leaders focused on different aspects of the problem. Vitale said he supported a British-style, single-payer system that could be supplemented with private health insurance, but noted “that is not going to happen.” He indicated that big companies have a responsibility to provide adequate health insurance for all their employees. “I can’t support a company where 900 employees—even if 30,000 have health insurance—get their health insurance from FamilyCare (a State program that provides health insurance to low-income families).” Baroni called a single-payer system “the last thing New Jersey wants” and added “there is no way we are going to do anything about the cost of healthcare…without reforming medical malpractice.” Lance said he was focusing on the soaring cost of Medicaid and wants to establish an auditing process. Diegnan added that while the State can step up with some reforms, the most meaningful reforms would have to be done nationally.
On the UI fund, all four said that continuing the practice of diverting UI tax revenues to pay for non-UI expenses was a bad idea. Lance said he “remained 100 percent opposed to continuing UI raids” and Baroni said “just stop raiding it.” Vitale added that raiding the fund was a mistake, but he and Diegnan pointed out that the UI diversions went to pay for charity care (payments to hospitals for people who cannot pay the bills for their treatment) and that without these diversions, funding charity care will be difficult.
The central New Jersey Meet the Legislative Leaders breakfast was sponsored by AT&T, Jersey Central Power and Light, MyWireless.org, and NJM Insurance Group.
Missed the First Meet the Legislative Leaders Breakfast? Don’t Worry. There’s Two More—NJBIA’s Meet the Legislative Leaders breakfast series will give you a unique opportunity to speak directly to the legislative leaders who pass the laws that impact your business. There are two more breakfasts scheduled. The cost per breakfast is $69 per person for NJBIA members, $105 for nonmembers. For more information or to register, contact Stacy Wichner at 609-393-7707, ext. 213. For information on sponsorship, contact Sherry Esteves at ext. 219. Here is the schedule:
- South
Jersey
Friday, March 31
Clarion Hotel
Cherry Hill
- North
Jersey
Friday, April 7
Doubletree Hotel
Newark Airport, Elizabeth
Transportation Trust Fund Bill Ready for Final Legislative Approval—Legislation to replenish the State’s fund for road repair and construction without raising the gas tax received Assembly approval March 16 and is scheduled for a final vote on March 20 in the Senate. The legislation, S-1470 (Lesniak)/A-2813 (Wisniewski), would refinance the trust fund’s existing debt, freeing up about $105 million a year. It would also add another $78 million a year by constitutionally dedicating all of the existing 10.5-cents-per-gallon gas tax to pay for Transportation Trust Fund (TTF) projects (right now, only 9 cents is dedicated). Also, more toll road revenues would be dedicated, adding another $12 million a year. On the spending side, the measure would increase the statutory minimum to be sent to local governments for local road projects to $175 million, a $25 million increase. To ensure fiscal discipline, the measure would create a Financial Policy Review Board, consisting of five people with expertise in transportation financing and policy, to prepare annual certifications of TTF expenditures. NJBIA supports the bill. For more information, contact Frank Robinson at ext. 225.
Meet the Decision Makers Series Starts April 12—When a new Governor is elected, a whole new group of players comes to Trenton. That’s why NJBIA is sponsoring four Meet the Decision Makers breakfasts so you can get to know the key members of Governor Jon Corzine’s cabinet and staff. Each breakfast will begin with registration at 7:45 a.m. and be held at Forsgate Country Club, Monroe Township, just off of Turnpike exit 8A. The cost to attend each breakfast is $69 per person for NJBIA members and $105 for nonmembers. For more information, contact Stacy Wichner at 609-393-7707, ext. 213. To become a sponsor, contact Sherry Esteves at ext. 219. The events are:
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