The New Jersey Business & Industry Association lobbied more extensively on COVID-19 related bills than any other state advocacy group, according to a report released this week by the New Jersey Election Law Enforcement Commission (ELEC).
ELEC accounted the number of limited or broad contacts made between lawmakers and lobbying groups over the past year – which could range from meetings with elected officials to mass emails.
NJBIA led all groups with 97 contacts on COVID-related bills, followed by the New Jersey Hospital Association (73), the New Jersey Education Association (66), Chamber of Commerce of Southern New Jersey (59) and New Jersey Bankers Association (57).
In a statement, NJBIA President and CEO Michele Siekerka thanked her Government Affairs staff, led by Chief Officer Chrissy Buteas, for their commitment to the business community and advocating for or against COVID-related bills impacting businesses positively or negatively.
“It has really been important for us to be out there in front on anything COVID-related because of the obvious impacts on the business community, which is why we’ve done a lot of coalition-building on a lot of issues over the past year-and-a half,” Siekerka said.
“Even legislation that isn’t directly COVID-related can have a consequence in a COVID environment — so it’s important that we maintain this focus,” she said.
For more on the ELEC report, click here.
