Zwicker on New Jersey Innovation Evergreen Fund

(NORTH BRUNSWICK) – Assemblyman Andrew Zwicker (D-Somerset, Mercer, Middlesex, Hunterdon) issued the following statement Wednesday on today’s press conference on the New Jersey Innovation Evergreen Fund:

“The Evergreen Fund is an innovative approach to reclaiming New Jersey’s high-tech economy. New Jersey has historically been a hub of innovation, from the manufacturing of textiles and silk in Paterson, to Trenton’s steel cables, to the transistor, radar, and fiber optics, to Edison’s invention of the telephone, to one of our State’s true unsung heroes, Beatrice Hicks, who invented a gas density switch used by NASA on the Apollo mission to the Moon.
“Times, however, have changed, and many of the transformative laboratories where history was made are no longer standing. Other states have already begun to adjust to these changes and we must not fall too far behind.
“By auctioning tax credits to large companies and using those proceeds to provide matching funds that directly invest in emerging companies in our State, we will create a thriving innovation economy that is a win-win for everyone involved.
“Our goal is to once again make New Jersey a true national leader of innovation by developing new public-private partnerships that create technological and economic advancements that improve our lives.
“I’m incredibly excited to help New Jersey reemerge as the premier destination for entrepreneurs and innovators in the world.”