A recent audit by the New Jersey Office of the State Comptroller offered a scathing review of the New Jersey Economic Development Authority tax incentive programs incentive programs, finding that at least 20% of the jobs promised from the incentive programs have not been created.

On Monday, February 11, the NJ Legislature will hold a joint hearing of the Assembly Commerce and Economic Development Committee and the Senate Economic Growth Committee concerning the oversight and effectiveness of EDA’s tax incentive program.  The committee invited more than 20 guests to testify before the committee.  Unfortunately, the overwhelming majority of invitees are from companies with a vested interest in maintaining the incentive programs, and absolutely no public testimony is being sought.  Missing from the committee’s agenda is any input about the impact on state budgets, impact on communities, or how much of an outlier New Jersey has become in this area.

Since any meaningful community input is being shut out, residents of Camden and other interested parties will hold a press conference prior to the hearing.

Who: Community activists, Camden workers and residents, clergy, small business owners, union leaders, and policy experts.

Where: State House Annex courtyard

When: Monday, February 11, 9:30 a.m., (immediately before joint legislative hearing)

EDA’s incentive programs are projected to cost New Jersey nearly $3.5 billion dollars in lost revenue over the next three years alone.  Legislation was passed in 2013 that led to an explosion of incentive packages being awarded, as well as the elimination of caps on incentive awards and any meaningful oversight.  In particular, Camden is being held out as an example of the success of the incentives, but Camden residents note that 90% of the jobs created or retained in Camden are not going to city residents, and executives of companies receiving awards in Camden have made a string of racist comments about the city’s workers.  New Jersey is now a national outlier—awarding larger incentive packages and handing out more awards per job created than any state in the region, several times larger than the national average.