Gov. Phil Murphy has signed legislation to reinstate Urban Enterprise Zones in Bridgeton, Camden, Newark, Plainfield and Trenton through 2023.Those UEZs had expired during the Christie administration.

“NJBIA has supported this legislation because it encourages businesses to either start up or continue in urban areas, where private sector job creation is so critical,” New Jersey Business & Industry Association CEO Michele Siekerka said after the move was announced Wednesday. “The UEZ program has helped the downtown areas of some of our most economically challenged cities and many of our small businesses continue to utilize and rely on the program.”

Said Assemblywoman Eliana Pintor Marin, D-29^th District, who was one of the sponsors of the bill: “The UEZ rewards businesses that continue to invest in urban communities, like Newark, while providing a break on sales tax for shoppers who support those businesses. It’s a win-win, common-sense, fiscally sound program that has helped revive struggling urban areas throughout the state.”

The legislation requires the Department of Community Affairs to conduct a comprehensive analysis of the program.

“The results of that study will hopefully lead to more efficiencies or improvements in the program,” Sierkerka said.

The UEZ Program began in 1983. In addition to the five restored UEZs, New Jersey has 27 UEZs in 32 communities.