NJBIA recently held a Government Affairs Policy meeting with the following guest speakers:
- Senior Director of Legislative Affairs, Gov. Mikie Sherrill, Jay Redd
- NJBIA Chief Government Affairs Officer Christopher Emigholz
- NJBIA Deputy Chief Government Affairs Officer Ray Cantor
- NJBIA Vice President of Government Affairs Althea Ford
- NJBIA Policy Analyst Jack Kelly
Here are some excerpts from the meeting:
Redd on engaging with Gov. Mikie Sherrill and her administration:
“The governor is a big believer in constituent responsiveness — whether it's for legislators, whether it's for the business community, or whether it's just in general, because it's got to work.
“I know that sometimes folks will reach out because you have a client working on an issue, but you can't get a response. We're doing our part to make sure we're being responsive, letting folks know you can actually get in touch with someone, and that we're being accountable and following through. And where we can be helpful — if you used to work with someone at a department and don't know who the new contact is — we're happy to help make that connection.
“If you're running into issues getting a response, reach out and let's see what I can do to figure out where the blockage is and at least get you some attention to the matter. That responsiveness is a frustration point for the governor, and it carries all the way down through my office to the department. Please reach out and do it — that is a role I'm here to play."
Emigholz on Sherrill’s FY27 Budget proposal:
"BIA commends the governor for holding the line on spending. I've had a number of legislative meetings where legislators are not happy that we're saying Governor Sherrill's doing a good job holding the line — because it's not popular to cut a lot of the good programs that were cut.
“But over the eight years of the Murphy administration, we had $6 billion of stuff added after the governor proposed his budget, before he signed the budget. And that $6 billion was done in a way that was not cohesive, not thoughtful, not comprehensive, and certainly not transparent and accountable.
“Governor Sherrill was looking at a budget that was supposed to have grown $3 billion this year from the one she inherited, and she's only growing it by a billion dollars. Some people are critical, saying she's still growing it, but that extra spending has grown to a level that's not sustainable.
“We're saying thank you, Governor Sherrill, for trying to hold the line — and if there's any new spending, it should be in the areas of workforce development, innovation, or infrastructure, because those all support the growth of the economy, create jobs, and ultimately create more organic revenue for the state so we can get out of the budget mess we're in."
Cantor on the Climate Superfund Act:
“The environmental community is out there in full force holding rallies, getting local governments to pass resolutions, getting more sponsors for the bill — because they are making the argument that this will be $50 billion of free money and no one is going to pay at all at the pump.
“We are arguing against why it's not free money and how it's going to harm the New Jersey economy, and of course, the business community as a whole. Nothing is going on on those bills at the moment, officially. That is good. But we are always being very vigilant to make sure that those bills do not come up."
Ford on Surveillance Pricing:
“We're wanting to ensure that at the end of the day, retailers are not pointed out or singled out for practices that are part of normal business operations.
“The current legislation seems to conflate that issue with just utilizing technology in a more efficient manner. We believe that there are some amendments the legislature should consider — basically separating out the bill's language around electronic shelving labels, which they are assuming has some sort of surveillance quality to it.
"We are also trying to make sure the legislation doesn't go after certain opportunities for retailers to offer price savings to consumers — for example, loyalty programs and coupons — all under the guise of trying to ensure that bad actors are not acting bad."
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