Timing is everything department – When New Jersey’s new Republican Governor Chris Christie joined the state’s mostly Democratic Congressional delegation and environmental organizations in voicing strong opposition to President Obama’s decision to open up sections of the Atlantic coast to exploratory oil drilling, the decision may have appeared puzzling to some in Congress’s ‘drill baby drill’ population. Today, it looks absolutely prescient as 42,000 gallons of oil leak daily
into the Gulf of Mexico from a collapsed drilling rig.    Oh great, another study of flooding in northern New Jersey
No, wait, this one’s different, proponents promise
Delaware River dredging opponents suffer another dunking Federal judge rejects implied "judge shopping" attempt by foes of Delaware River deepening project
Editorial: New York’s natural-gas drilling decision “King Solomon-like”

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Jerold L. Zaro, chief of the New Jersey Office of Economic Growth under former Governor Jon Corzine, will join the law firm of Sills Cummis & Gross effective May 1 and work out of the firm’s New York and New Jersey offices.
Zaro, who continued in his state position for several months under the administration of present Governor Chris Christie, said:

“Working in the public sector truly has been one of the highlights of my career. I am fortunate to have had the rare privilege of serving under outstanding governors from both parties. I look forward to returning to practicing law and am extremely proud to join Sills Cummis & Gross, one of the premier firms in the New York metropolitan area.”
In a news release, the law firm credited Zaro with playing a “pivotal role in the decision of the Depository Trust and Clearing Corporation (DTTC) to move to Jersey City, bringing 1600 jobs to the State.”  It also  said that he was “instrumental in laying the groundwork for the New Jersey Nets eventual decision to move from the Izod Arena to the Prudential Center Arena in Newark.”

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Businesses are going to see meaningful changes to New Jersey’s regulatory system and see them quickly, according to top members of Governor Chris Christie’s Red Tape Review Group.

The bipartisan group, which has spent 90 days reviewing New Jersey’s regulatory system,  will release its report April 19 .

Speaking April 6 at a New Jersey Business and Industry Association briefing, Lt. Governor Kim Guadagno, State Senator Steven Oroho, and Assemblymen John Burzichelli and Scott Rumana said the State will become an easier place in which to do business. 

Guadagno told the audience that the report would recommend eliminating 8,000 civil service classifications and 200 of the State’s 700 independent boards and commissions.

It would also recommend pushing what should be local regulation issues back to the towns and counties. Guadagno cited a multi-million dollar project in Wildwood that has been held up for five years because it lacks two parking spaces.

The report would also recommend streamlining the State’s rule-making process to make it easier to change proposed regulations based on public comment.

NJBIA’s Capitol Memo reported today that the legislative members of the Red Tape Review Group echoed Guadagno’s sentiments.

Burzichelli, chairman of the newly formed Assembly Regulatory Oversight Committee, said he was particularly concerned about the use of guidance documents by the NJ Department of Environmental Protection. The documents are supposed to give applicants compliance advice, but often they are enforced by agency officials as if they had the force of law. 

"People (at the DEP) were essentially setting up a second tier of regulations," Burzichelli said.

Burzichelli is sponsoring legislation, A2464,  that would clarify that guidance documents are voluntary. The measure has passed the Assembly.  He also is the sponsor of A2486 , a bill that  that would limit the circumstances under which a State agency could adopt regulations or standards that exceed comparable federal standards.

Oroho pointed out that regulations have a direct impact on the State’s private-sector economy. He noted there are 26,000 pages of regulations in New Jersey, all of which have a five-year sunset provision so they can be periodically reviewed to determine if they are still needed. Yet, almost no regulations ever go away; they simply keep being renewed.

————————————————————————– Our most recent posts:
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New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) Commissioner Bob Martin told lawmakers on Monday that, while the environment is still Mission #1, he sees a second, important role for the agency—helping to revitalize the state’s economy.
In testimony before the Assembly Budget Committee, Martin said he’s planning to name a new Assistant Commissioner for Economic Growth and Green Economy.  Among other duties, that person will oversee a new “one-stop-shop” for businesses and individuals seeking environmental permits.

The change comes in response to the business community’s experience of the DEP as the place where permits go to die. Or, at least, to languish for periods so long  that the original business opportunity that prompted the application is lost.
This way of conducting state business has been just fine with a number of environmental groups who cling to the sophomoric notion that all business is evil and all growth is sprawl.
But it’s had the unintended (to be charitable) consequence of  discouraging businesses from expanding in New Jersey. In some cases, frustrated business owners have chosen to abandon New Jersey altogether, moving their operations (and tax revenues and jobs) to more business-supportive states, like Pennsylvania.   Martin’s efforts to “change the culture” at the DEP were generally applauded by members of the Budget committee, Republicans and Democrats alike. One legislator confessed to once flirting with the idea of  moving his own business out of state. 

We checked yesterday with the DEP’s Press Office and learned that Commissioner Martin is “considering several strong candidates” for the Assistant Commissioner’s post and is expected to announce his selection in a couple of weeks. ————————————————————————– Our most recent posts:
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