Legislation creating a Licensed Site Professional (LSP) program to expedite cleanups at thousands of contaminated properties across the State was signed into law by Governor Jon Corzine on May 7.

The bill, S-1897 (Smith)/A-2962 (McKeon, Cryan), was a major initiative backed by NJBIA, which worked closely with the Administration, the NJ Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), and the chairs of the Senate and Assembly Environment Committees to craft a workable plan to tackle the backlog of contaminated sites in need of remediation.

Under the LSP program, private-sector environmental engineers and consultants will be licensed and given the authority to clean up many contaminated sites without seeking approval from the DEP every step of the way. This will dramatically lessen the time spent dealing with government red tape, which in turn will make cleanups more financially feasible and attract greater private-sector investment. More sites will get cleaned up more quickly and be brought back to productive use, which in turn will create jobs and generate tax revenues.

NJBIA believes the LSP program is the key to reducing the huge backlog of 20,000 contaminated sites in New Jersey. DEP's staff is overwhelmed, and if the private sector was not given a bigger role, the problem would only get worse. For more information, contact David Brogan.

2. NJ Well Positioned for National Healthcare Reform, Top Policymakers Say

New Jersey's leading healthcare policymakers expect health insurance reforms to come from Washington, but believe New Jersey is well positioned to benefit from whatever reforms are enacted.

That was the assessment at NJBIA's May 6 briefing, Meet the Decision Makers: Healthcare Policy. The program featured a panel discussion with Heather Howard, commissioner of the Department of Health; Steven Goldman, commissioner of the Department of Banking and Insurance; Joseph Vitale, chair of the Senate Health Committee; Gary Schaer, chair of the Assembly Insurance Committee; and Louis Greenwald, chair of the Assembly Budget Committee.

One of the biggest reasons New Jersey is well positioned is a recently enacted law sponsored by Vitale and Greenwald. It requires parents to obtain health insurance for their children and expands the existing NJ FamilyCare program (which provides health insurance subsidies for lower income children) to help them do it. "While people were campaigning on universal healthcare nationwide, we were taking the lead in New Jersey," Assemblyman Greenwald said.

Senator Vitale said he fully endorsed the "kids first" approach to universal health insurance coverage and believes it would be a good strategy for the federal government to pursue in its health insurance reform efforts. But he added that an employer mandate (where employers would be required to provide health benefits to employees or pay a fee to the government) would be a mistake. "The cost will eventually find its way down to the employee," Vitale said. "It will impact the people we're trying to help."

Commissioner Howard believes that federal health insurance reform will be enacted quickly, probably by the end of the year. In the meantime, New Jersey has to cope with a growing number of uninsured residents because of the economic downturn. Howard noted that for every 1 percent increase in unemployment nationally, 1.1 million people lose their health insurance. "Our goal at the Department of Health and Senior Services has been to preserve access to healthcare," she said.

Schaer, who recently became chairman of the Assembly Insurance Committee, said all parties will need to compromise. In order for health insurance reform to be successful, he noted, everyone in the debate is going to have to understand that they will not get everything they want. "We understand full well that it's going to be a long road ahead," Schaer said.

Commissioner Goldman said his department (Banking and Insurance) was already working on the electronic medical records portion of healthcare reform. Greater use of electronic medical records, which NJBIA supports, would reduce costs by preventing unnecessary and duplicative tests. It's a priority of Governor Corzine, Goldman said. "Our goal is to find a site to beta test our electronic medical records platform, and then roll that platform out."

3. NJBIA Honored with Silver Gull Award by Monmouth-Ocean Development Council

The Monmouth-Ocean Development Council (MODC) presented the New Jersey Business & Industry Association with its prestigious "Silver Gull" award at its annual awards dinner May 7. NJBIA received the award in the economic development category because of its effective advocacy on behalf of the business community in Monmouth and Ocean counties, and the State.

The award was presented by State Senator Robert Singer and John Szeliga of Verizon. Singer said NJBIA is one of the most effective organizations in the State in making sure its members' voices are heard. In accepting the award, NJBIA President Philip Kirschner said that the organization was proud of what it has been able to accomplish. "This economic development award is a tremendous honor for us at NJBIA. Our top goal every year is to be the voice of business in the State Legislature," Kirschner said. "That means we want to make sure that what's important to you as business owners is given due consideration by the people who make the laws we all have to live by."