Implementation of GROW NJ Accommodations to Address COVID-19 Impacts

Allows for timeline extensions, voluntary award terminations, and amendments to employment requirements

On Feb 11, 2021

The New Jersey Economic Development Authority (NJEDA) board of directors approved the implementation of new accommodations for businesses that had previously been approved for Grow New Jersey (Grow NJ) awards. These accommodations were created by the Economic Recovery Act of 2020 (ERA), signed by Governor Phil Murphy on January 7, 2021, which amended the Grow NJ Act to provide flexibility to businesses that had been impacted by the changed economic and health circumstances due to the COVID-19 Health Emergency. A copy of the Economic Recovery Act of 2020 is available at https://njleg.state.nj.us/2020/Bills/S3500/3295_R1.PDF.

“Businesses of all sizes have endured innumerable challenges caused by the COVID-19 outbreak. Governor Murphy’s holistic, proactive response has addressed many of those challenges, but businesses still need flexibility to adapt to the new circumstances the pandemic has created,” said NJEDA Chief Executive Officer Tim Sullivan. “Providing businesses that were approved for Grow NJ tax credits that have had to adjust their plans to comply with public health guidance some additional flexibility will enable them to follow through on their commitments to New Jersey’s workers and communities without jeopardizing the incentives for which they were approved.”

The amendments to Grow NJ included in the ERA include:

• A business may choose to waive its obligations under the incentive agreement for the 2020 and 2021 tax periods and instead extend the incentive agreement by a corresponding period of time.
• A business may terminate its Grow New Jersey agreement due to the COVID-19 pandemic any time before Dec. 31, 2022 without the NJEDA recapturing previously distributed tax credits.
• A business may amend its Grow NJ agreement to reset its employment requirements starting with 2020 provided the incentive award is recalculated and reduced to reflect the lower employment.

To verify that companies requesting to terminate their Grow NJ awards under the new COVID-related provision are doing so due to the COVID-19 public health emergency, NJEDA staff will require the applicant to submit an explanation of the impact of the public health emergency. Additionally, for all these new ERA provisions, the CEO or an equivalent officer must certify that no events of default have occurred prior to EO 103 (Health Emergency) in March 2020 and that the facility that was approved for tax credits remains operational. Fees for these amendments will follow existing Grow NJ program regulations.

Applicants seeking additional information about the Grow NJ modifications should contact NJEDA Customer Care at [email protected].

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