Business leaders hoping for a state-created stimulus package to kick-start the New Jersey economy are watching to see if Governor Corzine will start the process by signing a bill that would extend approvals for stalled real estate projects.

The Permit Extension Act, which is sitting on the governor's desk, would stop the clock on the expiration of building approvals granted after Jan. 1, 2007. In some cases, the expiration date of approvals could be extended to 2012.

The bill is one of several that business groups hope to see enacted in the fall, including several new tax cut proposals and existing legislation that would enhance the Business Employment Incentive Program (BEIP) in urban areas.

Jim Leonard, a lobbyist for New Jersey Chamber of Commerce, said the weak economy, and the apparent success of neighboring states in persuading companies to either leave, or bypass, New Jersey has created an urgent need for a stimulus package.

"There is a commonly held belief in the business community that more needs to be done to help grow jobs, and grow the economy," he said. "The quicker that we come up with ways to stimulate our economy, the farther ahead we will be compared to our neighbors."

Business concerns were heightened in July by reports that New York-based Blackrock Inc., a major investment fund, planned to move 1,200 employees from Plainsboro to Philadelphia. New Jersey had sought to lure the company to New Brunswick by creating a program that enables companies that spend $75 million on new construction, renovations or equipment to recoup most or all of the money through tax credits.

In another blow to the state, Hoffmann-La Roche Inc. last month said it will move its U.S. headquarters from Nutley to California if the company succeeds in acquiring San Francisco-based Genentech.

The demand for a stimulus package comes as the state's economic development structure is unclear. Gary Rose, Corzine's top economic adviser, stepped down in June and business leaders said last week they are waiting to hear details on how the state's economic development apparatus will work. Corzine dismantled the state Commerce, Economic Growth and Tourism Commission earlier this year and transferred most of its functions to the state Economic Development Authority.

Corzine's office said it is still reviewing the permit extension bill, which was passed by both legislative house in June with large majorities. The governor has until Sept. 15, when the Assembly comes back into session, to veto or sign the bill, which becomes law if he does nothing.

The state's biggest business advocacy groups vigorously pushed the bill, saying it would allow developers to restart construction projects quickly once the economic slowdown is over.

Even a leading environmental activist, who argued that the bill would allow developers to bypass recently enacted environmental restrictions, expects the bill to pass.

But Jeff Tittel, executive director of the New Jersey Chapter of the Sierra Club, said he is still lobbying to get the bill modified so that only newly issued permits can be extended. The law as currently written is retroactive, allowing the extension of permits issued since January 2007.

"It brings back a lot of bad projects that hurt the environment," he said. "Some of these projects are the worst projects in New Jersey environmentally," he added, citing the bankrupt Encap golf and housing project.

The bills backed by the New Jersey Business and Industry Association, a Trenton-based trade group, include one that would expand the BEIP in urban areas.

The program returns a portion of worker income tax paid by companies for jobs created in the state. And the bill would remove the $50,000-per-worker cap over 10 years on the total incentives that a company can receive. The bill would also allow a company to get the incentives for up to 15 years, instead of 10.

"In a time of economic slowdown, you want to stimulate as much investment as you can to help build incomes, help sustain the economy," said Arthur Maurice, an association lobbyist, saying the BEIP is the state's "premier" program to do that.

The group also supports a bill repealing a 2002 law, the "throwout" rule, which allows New Jersey to tax a company's out-of- state sales not claimed by other states, often because they don't tax such items.

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E-mail: morley@northjersey.com

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