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Issues & Info
The Somerset County Business Partnership
(SCBP) is committed to providing assistance
for your businesses growth.
We understand that needs of each business are
unique, and we seek to provide you with a
customized level of service. Therefore, we
encourage you to
contact our
Economic Development staff for
a confidential discussion
via email
or at (908) 218-4300 x25.
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ARCHIVED ISSUES &
INFO
click here for
most recent issues and info
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First Energy Export Trade Mission:
FirstEnergy’s Economic Development
Department will be leading an export
trade mission to Chile and Brazil during
the week of September 22, 2008 with
stops made in Santiago, Chile and Sao
Paulo, Brazil. FirstEnergy customers can
receive financial and expert assistance
to participate in this trip. If your
company has interest in traveling with
FirstEnergy, complete
this form and fax it to (610)
921-6526 by the end of the business day,
July 11, 2008.
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Business Recycling:
Due to the recent passage of the
“Recycling Enhancement Act”, New Jersey
business should anticipate an increase
in recycling enforcement efforts at a
local level. The Recycling Enhancement
Act will provide funds to counties and
municipalities for recycling program
implementation, including enforcement of
recycling ordinances, as well as the
requirement that counties update their
recycling plans to include specific
recycling enforcement strategies.
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Incentives for Higher Density
Development?
The Smart Housing for Economic
Prosperity (SHEP) task force, organized
by New Jersey Future, is proposing that
the State of New Jersey offer
municipalities incentives for higher
density development. The proposed
program would provide municipalities
with three specific financial
incentives: planning and visioning
grants; financial payments for new
housing units zoned; and financial
payments for new housing units built.
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NJ Falls 5 Places in Technology Index
In the updated 2008 edition of the
Milken Institute’s State Technology and
Science Index New Jersey fell five spots
to an overall ranking of 12th. The
report takes inventory of the technology
and science assets that can be leveraged
to promote economic development in each
state. The overall ranking is comprised
of five composite indexes, Research and
Development Inputs, Risk Capital and
Entrepreneurial Infrastructure, Human
Capital Investment, Technology and
Science Work Force, and Technology
Concentration and Dynamism. New Jersey
lost ground in all five composite
indexes; Human Capital Investment was
the largest change with New Jersey
falling nine spots.
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Unemployment Insurance Fund
Appropriation:
Governor Corzine signed into
law, S-1698(Buono, T.
Kean)/A-2801(Greenwald, Milam). This
legislation prevents an automatic $350
million payroll tax increase on
employers, adding $260 million to the
Unemployment Insurance fund, so it can
continue to pay claims. Payroll taxes
would have automatically increased by 15
percent on July 1st if this legislation
was not signed into law.
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Returning Combat Veterans
Any Operation Enduring Freedom or
Operation Iraqi Freedom Veteran is
eligible to apply for the Veterans
Individual and Business Grants. The
grants provide relief for a range of
veteran/family emergencies and business
assistance. Follow the links for a list
of
grant categories and a
grant application.
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Verizon Wireless to Acquire Alltel
Verizon Wireless has entered into an
agreement to acquire Alltel Corporation
in a cash merger. The companies are
targeting completion of the merger by
the end of the year which once completed
will make the merged companies the
largest U.S. wireless operator.
Together, Verizon Wireless and Alltel
will have 80.2 million subscribers,
surpassing AT&T’s 71.4 million customer
base.
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New Jersey
Energy Master Plan
Public hearings on the proposed New
Jersey Energy Master Plan have been
scheduled as follows:
- Thursday, July 10, 2008 – Board
of Public Utilities (BPU) office, 2
Gateway Center, Newark
- Thursday, July 17, 2008 – South
Jersey, at a location to be
announced
- Tuesday, July 22, 2008 – State
Department of Environmental
Protection, 1st floor hearing room,
401 East State Street, Trenton
Release of the final draft of the New
Jersey Energy Master Plan is scheduled
for the fall, 2008.
Read More
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LifeCell
Corporation Acquired:
The Somerset County based,
biotechnology company, LifeCell
Corporation will be aquired by Texas
based Kinetic Concepts, Inc. LifeCell
will operate as a new global biosurgery
division with Kinetic Concepts, Inc. The
combined companies will employ more than
7,000 people and generate approximately
$2 billion in revenue for 2008.
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Private Sector
Employment
According to the April 2008 Rutgers
Regional Report, “Reversal of Economic
Fortune, Regional and State Prosperity
at Risk,” New Jersey’s private sector
employment growth is “flat-lining.” From
2006 to 2007 private sector employment
increased by 3700 employees (0.1 percent
increase). In a comparison of the
percent change of private sector
employment from 2006 to 2007 of the 50
states New Jersey ranks 41st. Wyoming
ranks 1st with a 3.3 percent increase
and Michigan ranks 50th with a 1.6
percent decrease.
Read More |
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Municipal State
Aid
The New Jersey Department of Community
Affairs released the proposed municipal
state aid figures. The posting is
advisory in nature, as the final
allocation rests with the State
Legislature and final passage of the
State’s Fiscal 2009 budget.
The proposal would ensure that no
community faces an increase in the
average residential property tax bill of
more than $100, as a result of the
Consolidated Municipal Property Tax
Relief Aid (CMPTRA) Program reduction
that was proposed for small communities
with populations of fewer than 10,000.
Read More
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Colombia Free
Trade Agreement:
As congress debates the Columbia Free
Trade Agreement, here are some
statistics to consider:
- It has been 533 days since the
U.S. – Colombia Free Trade Agreement
was signed and is still awaiting
congressional approval.
- Colombia is our largest export
market for U.S. agriculture products
in South America
- Colombia is the United States
fourth largest trading partner in
Latin America
- More than 9,000 U.S. companies
export to Colombia, of which 8,000
are small and medium- sized firms.
- Businesses in New Jersey
exported $131.5 million in goods to
Colombia in 2007.
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Lawsuit Climate
According to the “2008 State
Liability Systems Ranking Study,”
conducted by U.S. Chamber Institute for
Legal Reform, a national sample of
in-house general counsel or other senior
corporate litigators ranks the state of
New Jersey 35th out of the 50 states in
perception by U.S. businesses of the
state’s tort liability system. The State
Liability Systems Ranking Study aims to
quantify how corporate attorneys view
the state systems. 63 Percent of the
attorneys surveyed report that the
litigation environment in a state is
likely to impact important business
decisions.
Read More
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A New Law
affecting BEIP and BRRAG recipients and
applicants will take effect in the State
of New Jersey on, April 29, 2008.
Companies receiving Business Employment
Incentive Program (BEIP) grants and/or
Business Relocation and Retention
Assistance Grants (BRRAG) will now be
required to submit annual reports. The
Annual Reports will compare the specific
number of jobs the company has created
to the goals stated on their grant
applications. Businesses applying for
grants will now be required to submit
more detailed information regarding the
jobs they expect to create.
BEIP and BRRAG are grant programs,
provided by the State of New Jersey,
designed to create jobs in New Jersey.
BEIP grants are designed to attract
companies to New Jersey. BRRAG grants
are designed to prevent New Jersey
companies from moving outside of the
State.
Click Here For more information
regarding these two incentive programs.
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Business
Employment Incentive Program Grants
In 2006 the New Jersey Economic
Development Authority awarded 10
Somerset County, New Jersey companies
with a Business Employment Incentive
Program Grant (BEIP Grant) that will
create an estimated 1728 new jobs.
Click
here for a BEIP Grant Fact Sheet .
|
Company |
Estimated
New Jobs |
| Appliedinfo
Partners, Inc. (Franklin Twp.) |
25 |
| Chugai Pharma
USA (Bedminster Twp.) |
50 |
| DOV
Pharmaceutical, Inc (Franklin
Twp.) |
105 |
| Gain Capital
Group, LLC (Bedminster Twp.)
|
26 |
| Infosys
Technologies Ltd. (Bridgewater
Twp.) |
135 |
| King
Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
(Bridgewater Twp.) |
91 |
| Magnolia
Broadband, Inc. (Bedminster Twp)
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24 |
MetLife Group
Inc. and MetLife Bank
(Bridgewater Twp.) |
400 |
Sanofi-Aventis
U.S., LLC and Sanofi-Aventis
U.S.
(Bridgewater Twp.) |
850 |
| iBiquity
Digital Corp. (Bernards Twp.) |
22 |
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The New Jersey
Economic Development Authority,
in consultation with the New Jersey
Commission on Higher Education and the
New Jersey Commission on Science and
Technology, is responsible for managing
the $150-million Edison Innovation Fund,
which will leverage $350 million in
private capital and increase access to
early-stage capital and provide
specialized assistance to existing
mid-sized and large technology and life
sciences and technology. A recent NJEDA
a $1 million investment assisted in the expansion and growth of Velox Semiconductor Corporation, a
Franklin Township, Somerset County-based company. More
information about the Edison Innovation
Fund can be found at
www.edisoninnovationfund.com
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Route 22
Sustainable Corridor Update:
We are pleased to report that
Congressman Rodney Frelinghuysen and
Congressman Mike Ferguson have
secured $3,920,000 for the Route 22
Sustainable Corridor project. These
funds were given final approval to the
Omnibus Appropriations bill and signed
into law by the President of the United
States. These funds will be used in
conjunction with the $9.4 million
already secured by the Congressmen to
reduce congestion and improve safety
along the Route 22 Business Corridor in
Somerset County. This proposal will
provide real improvements in the quality
of life for the people of Central New
Jersey. The Somerset County
Business Partnership is grateful for the
strong leadership and commitment by our
Members of Congress to improve the
quality of life for the citizens of
Somerset County. This level of funding
for the Route 22 improvement project is
especially significant given an
environment where both the number of
projects and overall funding for
Member-requested projects was cut by
fully half from last year’s level.
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County Offering
Reduced-Cost Radon Testing Kits
The Somerset County Board of
Freeholders, along with the Somerset
County Health Department, and in
conjunction with the NJDEP, is
recognizing January as Radon Action
Month in Somerset County. The
Department of Health is providing radon
testing kits to residents at a reduced
cost again in 2008. The kits will be
distributed on a first-come,
first-served basis for $10 beginning in
January,” said Freeholder Peter S.
Palmer, health department liaison.
Read More.
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Montgomery
Township, Synchronist Business Retention
Outreach Program
The Somerset County Business
Partnership met with the Montgomery
Township Economic Development Commission
(EDC) at the EDC’s monthly meeting in
November. As a result we will continue
partnering into 2008 in our efforts to
reach out to Montgomery’s business
community. Since October, 2007 we have
met with 13 Montgomery Township
Businesses.
If you are a business in Somerset
County, and would like to participate in
our Synchronist Business Retention
Outreach Program, you can click on “Share
Your Business Views” found under the
Business and Municipal Resources section
of the website.
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