The following words and terms, when used in this chapter, shall have the following
meanings unless the context clearly indicates otherwise.
"Act" means the New Jersey Urban Enterprise Zones Act, P.L. 1983, c. 303, as
amended (N.J.S.A. 52:27H-60).
"Administrator" means the Executive Director of the Urban Enterprise Zone Program
in, but not of, the New Jersey Department of Community Affairs.
"Authority," "Zone Authority" or "UEZA" means the New Jersey Urban Enterprise Zone
Authority.
"Certification" means the application process by which a qualified business
operating within a zone becomes eligible for zone business benefits for three years, subject to maintaining tax clearance.
"Certified business" or "certified qualified business" is a qualified business that
has applied for certification or recertification and that application has been approved by the Administrator.
"Coordinator" means the person, designated by the mayor of the municipality and
supported by a resolution of the municipal council, who shall report directly to municipal business administrator and manage the Urban Enterprise
Zone office including all matters relating to the application by qualified businesses to enter the program, marketing and promoting the Urban
Enterprise Zone program to businesses operating or about to operate within that zone, and such other program related activities as the Administrator
shall direct.
"Enterprise zone," "UEZ" or "zone" means an urban enterprise zone designated by the
New Jersey Urban Enterprise Zone Authority pursuant to the Act.
"Executive Director" means the title of the person delegated by the Board of the
UEZA to managed the operation of the Urban Enterprise Zone Authority, whether by that title or another. Throughout this chapter, the Executive
Director is referred to by the functional title of the "Administrator" for consistency with the statute.
"Full-time employee" of a qualified business means an employee subject to tax
withholding who works a consistent 30 hours or more per week. (See the definition of "part-time employee" below.)
"NJEDA" or "EDA" means the New Jersey Economic Development Authority, established
pursuant to P.L. 1974, c. 80 and amendments thereto.
"Part-time employee" means an employee working a consistent 15 hours or more per
week but fewer than 30 hours per week; therefore, for all purposes, one-part time employee shall be considered as one-half full-time employee in all
calculations under the program. (See the definition of "full-time employee" above.)
"Qualified business" means any entity authorized to do business in the State of New
Jersey which, at the time of designation as an enterprise zone, is engaged in the active conduct of a trade or business in that zone or an entity
which, after that designation but during the designation period, becomes newly engaged in the active conduct of a trade or business in that zone, and
for which at least 25 percent of its full-time employees (see the definition of "25 percent factor" below), newly hired during the three years after
the business becomes initially certified as a UEZ business, meet one or more of the following criteria:
1.
Resident within the zone or within the municipality which the zone is located; or
2. Unemployed for at
least six months prior to being hired and residing in New Jersey, or recipients of New Jersey public assistance programs for at least six months
prior to being hired; or
3. Determined to be low-income individuals pursuant to the Workforce Investment
Act of 1998,
Pub. L. 105-220 (29 U.S.C. §§
2811 et seq.).
Approval as a certified qualified business shall be conditioned upon the qualified
business meeting all outstanding tax obligations, and may be withdrawn by the Authority if a business is continually delinquent in meeting its tax
obligations. A certified business must annually provide, on a form determined by the Division of Taxation and the Administrator, an authorization to
verify tax compliance and which form also certifies that the business is a "qualified business."
A qualified business which is a closely-held entity does not cease to be a
qualified business due to a change in ownership provided that at least 51 percent or more of the ownership in the successor business continues to be
held by the same persons holding an interest in the original business. The successor firm will not have to apply for initial certification and will
be permitted to apply for recertification in accordance with its existing schedule.
"Qualified small business" is defined as follows:
1. For purposes of distinguishing business size by number of employees, means any entity authorized to do business
in the State of New Jersey which, at the time of designation of the enterprise zone, had been engaged in the active conduct of a trade or business in
that zone for at least one year prior to that designation and which employs fewer than 50 full-time employees.
2. For purposes of determination of eligibility for a small business exemption from sales and use taxes at time of
purchase of qualifying items, rather than by rebate, status as a "qualified small business"
shall be based on total gross receipts of all related
business activity in New Jersey, wherever situated. That limit is set pursuant to
P.L. 2008, c. 118, as it may be amended from time to time, and, as of
November 2, 2009, is set at $ 10 million.
"Qualifying municipality" means any municipality in which there was, in the last
full calendar year immediately preceding the year in which application for enterprise zone designation is submitted pursuant to section 14 of the
Act, an annual average of at least 2,000 unemployed persons, and in which the average annual unemployment rate for that year exceeded the State
average annual unemployment rate; except that a municipality which qualifies for State aid pursuant to P.L. 1978, c.14 (N.J.S.A. 52:27D-178 et seq.) shall qualify if its municipal average
unemployment rate for that year exceeds the State average annual unemployment rate. The annual average of unemployed persons and the average annual
unemployment rates shall be estimated for the relevant calendar year by the Office of Labor Statistics, Division of Planning and Research of the
State Department of Labor and Workforce Development.
"Recertification" means the process for applying every three years to continue to
be eligible for zone business benefits, but the business must submit to tax clearance annually.
"25 percent factor" refers to the requirement that 25 percent of the new employees
of a qualified business must meet certain criteria, as stated under the definition "qualified business" above.
"Zone boundary expansion" means a change in the zone boundaries that represents a
net increase in the total area within the zone.
"Zone boundary modification" means a change in the zone boundaries that represents
no net increase in the area within the zone boundaries.
"Zone boundary revision" means any change in the boundaries of the zone, whether by
Zone boundary expansion or by Zone boundary modification.
"Zone business benefits" means those benefits as defined by
N.J.S.A. 52:27H-75 to
N.J.S.A. 52:27H-79.
"Zone development corporation" means a nonprofit corporation or association created
by the governing body of a qualifying municipality to formulate and propose a preliminary zone development plan pursuant to section 9 of the
Act.
"Zone development plan" means a plan adopted by the governing body of a qualifying
municipality for the development of an enterprise zone therein, and for the direction and coordination of activities of the municipality, zone
businesses and community organizations within the enterprise zone toward the economic betterment of the residents of the zone and the
municipality.
"Zone neighborhood association" means a corporation or association of persons who
either are residents of, or have their principal place of employment in, a municipality in which an enterprise zone has been designated pursuant to
the Act; which is organized under the provisions of Title 15 of the Revised Statutes; and which has for its principal purpose the encouragement and
support of community activities within, or on behalf of, the zone so as to:
1. Stimulate economic
activity;
2. Increase or preserve residential amenities;
3.
Otherwise encourage community cooperation in achieving the goals of the zone development plan.
Notes
N.J. Admin. Code §
5:120-1.2
Amended by R.2004 d.101, effective
3/15/2004.
See: 35 N.J.R. 4816(a), 36 N.J.R. 1357(c).
Rewrote
"Administrator"; in "Zone neighborhood association", substituted "Statutes" for "Statues" following "Revised".
Amended by R.2009 d.331,
effective 11/2/2009.
See: 41 N.J.R. 2372(a), 41 N.J.R. 4071(b).
In the
introductory paragraph, substituted "chapter" for "subchapter"; in definition "Act" substituted "c. 303, as amended," for "ch. 303"; in definition
"Administrator", inserted ", but not of,"; substituted definition " 'Authority,' 'Zone Authority' or 'UEZA' " for definition " 'Authority' or 'UEZA'
"; added definitions "Certification", "Certified business", "Coordinator", "Executive Director", "Full-time employee", "NJEDA", "Part-time employee",
"Qualified small business", "Recertification", "25 percent factor", "Zone boundary expansion", "Zone boundary modification", "Zone boundary revision"
and "Zone business benefits"; substituted definition " 'Enterprise zone,' 'UEZ' or 'zone' " for definition " 'Enterprise Zone' or 'Zone' "; and
rewrote definition "Qualified business".
