Before adjourning for the year, the US Senate and House of Representatives extended a wide array of probusiness tax credits and tax deductions that were set to expire or had not been renewed. The provisions were included as part of a $38 billion omnibus bill that would fund federal government operations into next year, when Democrats will officially take over as the majority in both houses. President Bush signed the measure on December 20.

Among the important provisions that were enacted:

• An extension and strengthening of the R&D tax credit, which provides incentives for private-sector innovation and experimentation (this was made retroactive to January 2006 and will be in place throughout all of 2007);

• changes on Health Savings Accounts (HSAs) that will allow more employers to offer cost-saving HSAs as part of their health benefits packages;

• extension of tax credits for solar energy purchases and alternative energy producers;

• extension of the Welfare to Work tax credits and other incentives for hiring those who struggle to find work;

• An offshore energy measure that will increase oil supplies by permiting environmentally responsible energy production in deep waters beyond 100 miles from the Florida coast; and

• prevention of a 5 percent cut in Medicare payments to doctors from taking effect on January 1.

New Civil Union Law Gives Same Sex Couples Same Rights as Heterosexual Married Couples—New Jersey on December 21 became the fourth state in the nation to legally recognize same-sex couples when Governor Jon Corzine signed legislation creating civil unions. S-2407 (Weinberg, Codey)/A-3787 (Caraballo) allows same-sex couples to enter into civil unions that grant them the same rights and benefits enjoyed by heterosexual married couples.

Beginning February 19, 2007, employers will be required to provide couples who have entered into civil unions with the same health insurance, family leave benefits and other benefits afforded heterosexual married couples under State law. The measure was in response to an October New Jersey State Supreme Court ruling that the New Jersey State Constitution requires equal legal rights for married heterosexual and same-sex couples. For more information, contact Christine Stearns at ext. 260.

IRS Offers Telephone Tax Rebates—Businesses, tax-exempt organizations and individuals are eligible for refunds of past Telephone Excise Taxes on their 2006 tax returns, according to the federal Internal Revenue Service. All are eligible for refunds of the full amount of telephone taxes paid between March 2003 and July 2006, but would have to submit 41 months of phone records to get them. Alternatively, businesses and tax-exempt organizations could calculate an estimate based on two phone bills, with the refund capped at 2 percent of their total telephone expenses. Individuals can request a standard refund of between $30 and $60, depending on the number of deductions on their 2006 tax returns. For forms and more information, visit the IRS Web site.

Proposed ELEC Regulations to Require Government Contractors to Disclose Political Contributions—Businesses with State or local government contracts would have to disclose political campaign contributions of $300 or more, under proposed Election Law Enforcement Commission (ELEC) regulations. The State regulations are aimed at implementing the so-called "pay to play" laws enacted in 2005, which are designed to prevent contracts from being awarded in return for campaign contributions. The regulations would require businesses to disclose contributions prior to being awarded a government contract worth $17,500 or more with a public entity. The disclosure must include the names of each political party committee, legislative leadership committee, continuing political committee, and candidate or joint candidate committee, as well as the date and amount of the contribution. The list of contributions must be provided to the entity awarding the contract at least 10 days prior to the award.

The regulations also would require a business that has received multiple government contracts totaling $50,000 or more to file an annual report with ELEC. The annual report must include the name of the business entity, the name of each public entity from which the business received a contract, the amount of the contract, the date of the contract, and a description of the goods, services, equipment or property sold to the public entity. In addition, the annual report must also provide a list of the campaign contributions attributed to the business.

• a person or other business entity having an interest in the business entity;

• a principal, partner, officer, director, or trustee of the business entity;

• the spouse of a principal, partner, officer, director, or trustee of the business entity;

• a subsidiary directly or indirectly controlled by the business entity; or

• a continuing political committee organized under section 527 of the Internal Revenue Code that is directly or indirectly controlled by the business entity.

ELEC will accept written comments on the proposed regulation until January 5, 2007. For more information, contact John Rogers at ext. 209.

New Good Neighbor Call for Nominations, Deadline February 5—The 47th Annual New Good Neighbor Awards competition recognizes companies that have worked to bring about an improved business climate in New Jersey by building or renovating a commercial facility. Winners will be chosen based on economic benefit and job creation, architectural merit, and community involvement. The nominating deadline is February 5. Go here for more information.

Raise Your Visibility. Become an Event Sponsor—The Awards for Excellence Dinner. NJBIA's Public Policy Forum. First-rate events like these offer your company an excellent opportunity to reach their target audiences and heighten their visibility as an event sponsor. You can learn more about becoming an NJBIA sponsor online or contact Sherry Esteves at 609-393-7707, ext. 219.