On Monday, several leading business groups participated in a hearing at the State House in Trenton. The meeting of the Senate Economic Growth Committee sought perspective on the recent disparity study in public contracts, as well as the state’s post-pandemic economic landscape.

In the leadup to the March 4 committee hearing, Chairwoman Sen. Nilsa Cruz-Perez, D-5th District, stressed the critical nature of these subject matters.

“The recent release of a comprehensive statewide study examining disparities in public contracting necessitates a serious discussion with our state’s business community so that we can take action to create more equitable opportunities for our state’s businesses,” said Cruz-Perez. “Details on how our state’s businesses have fared in the economic recovery following COVID-19, too, will be important to determining how to best aid them in the post-COVID economy.”

The hearing included testimony from a number of chambers of commerce and other top business advocacy groups who shared the view from their organizations and offered recommendations.

“At the beginning of the new session, I decided to have hearings – and the main purpose of the hearings is to obtain the perspective and recommendations from various Chambers of Commerce on disparity,” said Cruz-Perez at the opening of the hearing. “A study that was released in January 2024 to explore how the Legislature can help address the disparities highlighted in the report. Additionally, some of the chambers will testify on how businesses have recovered from the COVID pandemic and any outstanding issues. We are discussing the budget. We’re not the budget committee, but we’re definitely going to discuss the issues that are affecting the Chambers of Commerce and our businesses in the State of New Jersey.”

“Since the disparity study came out, we created the Diverse Business Advisory Council – because as you can see from the disparity study, all the disparaged groups did not get their fair share of contracts in the State of New Jersey,” said Jeff Cantor, founder and CEO of the New Jersey State Veterans Chamber of Commerce. “All the information you are going to hear today can be found on the website DiverseChambers.com, which is representative of all the diverse chambers that are here today.”

Sounding an alarm

Luis De La Hoz, chairman of the Statewide Hispanic Chamber of Commerce of New Jersey (SHCCNJ), said he was testifying with a sense of urgency and determination regarding the recent study, which he described as alarming.

“As we delve into the implications of this report, it is imperative to recognize the gravity of these findings and the urgent need for corrective actions,” he said. “We seek no handout, but rather a fair and equitable chance to participate in the procurement process reflective of the taxes we contribute to the state’s coffers.”

John Harmon, founder, president and CEO of the African American Chamber of Commerce of New Jersey (AACCNJ), testified that the study provides a look at how Black businesses were forbidden to participate equitably in taxpayer-funded public contract opportunities for years.

“From our vantage point, the number one priority is to ensure that Black people in New Jersey are equitably participants in the state’s economy, particularly given our taxpayer dollars,” said Harmon.

Unemployment insurance

Mike Egenton, executive vice president of the New Jersey Chamber of Commerce, opened his testimony by echoing sentiments from the other groups who had appeared on the panels earlier in the hearing.

“I just wanted to re-emphasize, the two panels that you heard from previously, the State Chamber embraces and agrees in tandem with those chambers and certainly look forward to continuing that very important conversation on this very important matter,” said Egenton, who went on to detail the post-pandemic landscape.

“During the time of the pandemic and the American Rescue Plan money, many of us that are seated up here had asked the Legislature for some financial help on the unemployment insurance because the UI Fund was utilized ad nauseum because of what was going on,” said Egenton. “And as that depletes, it automatically triggers the payroll taxes supplement – that was not done. It’s in the category of it is what it is. We also had asked for some grant funding for small businesses – and to date, in general terms, that was not followed through.”

Egenton went on to call for the re-energization of the state’s Government Efficiency and Regulatory Review (GEARR) Commission to identify inefficiencies and overly burdensome regulations that hurt businesses and stifle economic growth.

Middle ground

Christopher Emigholz, chief government affairs officer, New Jersey Business & Industry Association (NJBIA), voiced his support for the previous testimony on the diversity study before discussing the broader post-COVID landscape.

“NJBIA firmly believes that lifting up these diverse businesses lifts up the entire business community,” said Emigholz. “So, it’s important to follow through on that.”

He said that the state needs to better capitalize on opportunities for pro-growth investment, while reducing taxes and regulatory burdens to improve its economic landscape post pandemic. Emigholz stressed an unrelenting tax environment and too many regulation mandates.

“We’ve got to find a balance with taxes and regulations. Let’s be in the middle. Let’s not make New Jersey an outlier where we’re worse than other states,” said Emigholz. “If we find that right balance, we’re going to get that bang for our buck with the investments we make. And if we’re not making those investments, then it doesn’t matter what we’re doing because we’re not leveling the playing field for New Jesey businesses.”

Work to do

Cruz-Perez closed out the hearing by thanking the business groups for their input and noting that the report was devastating. Echoing some of the testimony, now that the report is out there, Cruz-Perez asked what we are going do next?

“We got work to do. We are going to do it together as a team. And my commitment to you and from this team – is that we are going to work and address some of those issues,” said Cruz-Perez. “So, thank you so much for taking time and giving us the information you have given us today.”

You can listen to the full hearing here.