ASSEMBLY APPROVES 5-BILL PACKAGE TO CUT THROUGH RED TAPE IMPAIRING N.J.'S BUSINESSES.

TRENTON, NJ -- The following information was released by the New Jersey General Assembly, Majority Office:

Legislation Assembly Democrats sponsored to revise burdensome rules and regulations that impair New Jersey's business climate was approved Monday by the Assembly as part of its effort to create jobs and economic development throughout New Jersey.

The 5-bill package was variously sponsored by John Burzichelli and Celeste Riley (both D-Gloucester/Salem/Cumberland), Ralph Caputo (D-Essex), Annette Quijano (D-Union), Wayne DeAngelo (D-Mercer/Middlesex), Thomas Giblin (D-Essex/Passaic), Nelson Albano and Matthew Milam (both D-Atlantic/Cape May/Cumberland), Paul Moriarty (D-Gloucester/Camden) and Craig J. Coughlin (D-Middlesex).

The bill's are part of the Legislature's Back to Work NJ job creation and economic development initiative.

Burzichelli served on the governor's red tape review panel and is chairman of the Assembly Regulatory Oversight and Gaming Committee that released the bills and was created to help implement legislation to streamline burdensome business regulations.

"New Jerseyans have been waiting for too long for us to find ways to reduce the mountains of regulation affecting their daily lives, while still honoring our responsibility to protect the environment and citizens," said Burzichelli (D-Gloucester/Cumberland/Salem). "The Assembly has already taken steps to ease burdensome regulations, and these bills will help us get even more reform accomplished for the betterment of our state."

The bills would:

* Establish new procedures in the Administrative Procedure Act to allow substantial changes to agency rule-making upon adoption (A-2720). It's sponsored by Burzichelli, Caputo and Quijano. It was approved 78-0.

* Amend current law concerning state agency rule-making by changing the chapter expiration dates of rules from five years to 10 years and establishing a new procedure for the re-adoption of rules without substantive changes (A-2721). It's sponsored by Burzichelli, Quijano and Caputo. It was approved 75-2.

"These reforms will go a long way toward less bureaucracy and more productivity for our businesses, boosting our economy and creating jobs," said Quijano (D-Union).

"Streamlining these regulations is a key step toward creating jobs and a better business environment for our state," said Caputo (D-Essex).

* Require the Board of Public Utilities to issue every order in written form and post them on the Internet (A-2849). It's sponsored by Burzichelli, Quijano, Riley and DeAngelo. It was approved 78-0.

"This is a sensible bill that will go along way toward making our state more business friendly," Burzichelli said.

"We've heard time and again from our businesses on how it would be helpful to them to get clearer guidelines from the state, and a written order should help provide the clarity needed to ensure everyone is on the same page," Quijano said.

"Commonsense legislation like this that helps improve our business environment and create jobs is clearly the right direction for our state and for hard-working New Jersey families who benefit from a strong business environment," DeAngelo said.

"BPU orders can be among the most important yet complex directives for our businesses, and it's important to make sure they're clear so our businesses can spend more time creating jobs and less time cutting through red tape," Riley said.

* Streamline the process by which the state issues economic development permits (A-2853). It's sponsored by Burzichelli, Milam, Albano, Moriarty and Giblin. It was approved 75-2.

"Businesses devoted to economic development and creating jobs that benefit this state shouldn't have to run through an obstacle course to get the permits they need," Burzichelli said. "It makes no sense to obstruct economic development, so we need a streamlined system that makes creating jobs as easy as possible."

"We should not be standing in the way of economic development and job creation," Milam said. "The last thing we should do to a business looking to expand is put roadblocks in front of it."

"Promoting economic development and job creation is a top priority," Albano said. "Businesses have told us repeatedly that our system is a burden to achieving those goals, so change is needed and that's just what this bill would accomplish."

"A thriving business environment clear of unnecessary red tape is also good news for New Jersey's working class residents," Moriarty said. "Good jobs go hand-in-hand with a strong business environment."

"Job-creating New Jersey businesses and our hard-working residents are the ones who will benefit most from this initiative," Giblin said. "This change will bring us a modern system that will help position our economy to thrive and compete in the years ahead."

* Establish a new procedure for resolving conflicts or inconsistencies in adopted rules and regulations (A-2922). It's sponsored by Burzichelli and Coughlin. It was approved 77-0.

"A better business climate means better jobs for working New Jersey families, which is especially important is this difficult economy," said Coughlin (D-Middlesex).

The Assembly had already approved legislation (A-2464) sponsored by Burzichelli and Quijano to require all state agency rules to be published in the New Jersey Register.