Assembly Commerce, Economic Development and Agriculture Committee Statement to Assembly, No. 6306 (2026)

Summary

An Assembly Commerce, Economic Development and Agriculture Committee statement to Assembly, No. 6306, State of New Jersey, dated January 5, 2026, reporting the bill favorably. The bill authorizes $2.5 billion in tax credits, including up to $300 million for sports and entertainment projects and the rest for the New Jersey Aspire and Emerge Programs. A sports and entertainment project could receive a total award of 80 percent of eligible project cost or $300 million, whichever is less, with no more than $95 million for any single phase. Developers would need a community benefits agreement, a workforce development agreement and prevailing wages, and must show a gross economic benefit of at least 150 percent of the public assistance. The bill raises the total tax credit limit for the nine-year period from $11.5 billion to $14 billion.

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ASSEMBLY COMMERCE, ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AND AGRICULTURE
COMMITTEE

STATEMENT TO

ASSEMBLY,
No. 6306

STATE
OF NEW JERSEY

DATED: JANUARY
5, 2026

The Assembly Commerce, Economic Development and
Agriculture Committee reports favorably Assembly Bill No. 6306.

This
bill authorizes $2.5 billion in tax credits for certain economic development
purposes, including up to $300 million in tax credits to support the
development of certain sports and entertainment projects and the remaining
amount of additional tax credits for the New Jersey Aspire (Aspire) Program and
Emerge Program.

Specifically,
the bill would make available up to $300 million in tax credits for sports and
entertainment projects. Under the bill, a developer seeking tax credits for a
sports and entertainment project, as that term is defined in the bill, would
generally be subject to the same requirements and conditions as apply to
redevelopment projects under the Aspire Program, except as otherwise specified
in the bill.

The
bill requires a developer seeking tax credits for a sports and entertainment
project to submit an application to the New Jersey Economic Development
Authority (authority) before June 30, 2027. Under current law, the deadline to
submit applications under the Aspire Program is March 1, 2029.

Additionally,
the bill provides that any fees imposed by the authority for a sports and
entertainment project, including application fees, are required to be equal to
the amount of the fees imposed for a transformative project under the Aspire
Program.

Under
the bill, a sports and entertainment project may be completed in a maximum of
five phases. If the project is completed in phases, the bill requires the
developer of the project to enter into a sports and entertainment project phase
agreement with the authority for each phase. The bill provides that a sports
and entertainment project phase agreement is a sub-agreement of the incentive
award agreement that governs the timing, capital investment, and other
applicable details concerning each respective phase of a sports and
entertainment project.

Additionally,
the bill provides that for a sports and entertainment project completed in
phases, each phase is required to have a separate eligibility period, and the
developer is required to contribute capital of no less than 20 percent of the
project costs for each phase. Under the bill, the developer of the project may
elect a separate eligibility period for each phase of no less than five years.
After completing each phase, the bill requires the developer to submit a
certification to the authority attesting that the phase is completed. If the
authority approves the certification, the bill provides that the tax credit
certificate allowed to the developer would be increased by the tax credit
amount corresponding to that phase.

However,
notwithstanding the different eligibility periods for each phase, the bill
provides that all conditions and requirements applicable during an eligibility
period for any phase of the project would apply to the entire sports and
entertainment project until the end of the eligibility period for the last
phase.

The
bill also requires that a sports and entertainment project is required to be
completed, and the developer is to have completed its expenditure of eligible
project costs, within six years of executing the incentive award agreement,
except that the authority may, in its discretion, extend this deadline by up to
one additional year.

The
bill also provides that for a sports and entertainment project completed in
phases, the final phase of the sports and entertainment project is required to
be completed, and the developer is required to have completed its expenditure
of eligible project costs, within 10 years of executing the incentive award
agreement or the sports and entertainment phase agreement corresponding to the
first phase of the sports and entertainment project, whichever was executed
later.

Additionally,
as required under the Aspire Program, the bill requires the developer of a
sports and entertainment project to demonstrate a project financing gap, as
that term is defined in the bill, subject to review by the authority.

The
bill requires the authority to conduct an analysis of the developer's project
financing gap in lieu of determining whether the developer’s actual rate of
return on investment exceeds the reasonable and appropriate rate of return on
investment at the time of board approval. The bill requires this analysis to
be conducted in the same manner as the analysis conducted under the Aspire
Program, except as otherwise provided in this bill, including the guidelines
developed by the authority under this bill.

The
bill also requires the developer of a sports and entertainment project to
undergo a State fiscal impact analysis, conducted by the authority, to ensure
that the gross economic benefit of the sports and entertainment facility to the
State over the duration of the commitment period, as that term is defined in
the bill, is at least 150 percent of the overall public assistance provided to
the sports and entertainment project. In determining the gross economic
benefits of the sports and entertainment facility, the bill requires the
authority to consider the direct and indirect benefits to the State, including
local taxes that may benefit the State, as well as all such benefits to the
State that result from the sports and entertainment facility over the duration
of the commitment period. The authority may include induced benefits to the
State in its analysis, including benefits derived from construction. Under the
bill, the requirement to undergo this economic benefit analysis is imposed in
lieu of the requirement for the developer of the project to undergo the net
positive benefit test, as otherwise required under the Aspire Program.

Additionally,
under current law, the Aspire Program requires the developer of certain
projects with a project cost of at least $10 million to enter into a community
benefits agreement with the authority and the county or municipality in which
the redevelopment project is located, with certain exceptions. Instead, this
bill requires the developer of a sports and entertainment project, without
exception, to enter into a community benefits agreement with the authority and
the municipality in which the project is located, following at least one
previously advertised public hearing held by the municipality. The bill
requires the community benefits agreement to provide for the creation of a
community advisory committee to oversee the implementation of the agreement,
monitor successes, ensure compliance with the terms of the agreement, and
produce an annual public report. Under the bill, the community advisory
committee is required to be comprised of representatives of diverse community
groups and residents of the municipality in which the project is located.

The
bill also authorizes the authority to rescind an award or recapture all or part
of any tax credits awarded if: (1) the community advisory committee's annual
report determines that the developer of a sports and entertainment project is
not in compliance with the terms of the community benefits agreement; or (2)
the developer of a sports and entertainment project fails to provide a
certification at the time the developer submits its annual report to the
authority, as required under the Aspire Program, under the penalty of perjury,
that it is in compliance with the terms of the community benefits agreement.

In
addition to the requirements imposed under the Aspire Program, the bill also
requires the developer of a sports and entertainment project to enter into a
workforce development agreement that includes the provision of opportunities
for workforce hiring, training, or apprenticeship, or other measures determined
appropriate by the authority.

Under
the bill, a workforce development agreement is defined as a contractual
relationship, as approved by the authority, over the term of the commitment
period, which may be renewed annually, between a developer and a New
Jersey-based: public or private university or college; public or private high
school; workforce development organization; vocational or technical school or
institution; labor organization, business, or employer association, or
nonprofit organization that provides workforce training, apprenticeship, and
career development services; entities or consortia consisting of any of the
aforementioned entities that develop and deliver workforce training programs;
or any combination thereof.

However,
the bill provides that a co-applicant may execute the workforce development
agreement on behalf of the developer. Under the bill, a co-applicant may
include any entity that: (1) is exempt from federal taxation pursuant to
section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, or is a governmental
entity; (2) contributes or contributed capital, real property, or services
related to the project that directly affect and serve the anticipated
residents, tenants, or customers of the tenants of the project; and (3) enters
into an agreement with the developer that specifies the co-applicant's
participation in the redevelopment project.

The
bill also provides that during the commitment period, each worker employed to
perform construction work at the sports and entertainment facility is required
to be paid not less than the prevailing wage rate for the worker's craft or
trade. In addition, the bill provides that during the commitment period, each
worker employed to perform building services work at the sports and
entertainment facility, whether pursuant to contract by the developer or a
commercial tenant, commercial subtenant, or other commercial occupant, is
required to be paid not less than the prevailing wage rate for the worker's
craft or trade.

In
addition to the requirements imposed under the Aspire Program, the bill
provides that a sports and entertainment project is required to exceed the
standards established by the authority in accordance with the green building
manual prepared by the Commissioner of Community Affairs regarding the use of
renewable energy, energy-efficient technology, and non-renewable resources to
reduce environmental degradation and encourage long-term cost reduction. The
bill also provides that the replacement or retrofitting of existing components
and infrastructure at the sports and entertainment facility as part of the
sports and entertainment project is required to result in a material reduction,
as determined by the authority, of the energy usage, greenhouse gas emissions,
and co-pollutant emissions for the components and infrastructure replaced.

Under
the bill, the developer of a sports and entertainment project may receive a
total tax credit award equal to 80 percent of the eligible project cost of the
project or $300 million, whichever is less. However, the bill provides that
for a sports and entertainment project that is completed in phases, the value
of tax credits awarded for any single phase may not exceed $95 million,
provided that any eligible project costs, including the corresponding developer
contributed capital, that could not be included in a phase due to the
limitations of this bill may be included in a subsequent phase.

Under
current law, the total value of tax credits that may be awarded under the
Aspire Program, Emerge Program, and certain other economic development programs
is limited to $11.5 billion over a nine-year period. The law also limits the
amount of tax credits that may be annually awarded under each program during
certain years within that nine-year period. This bill increases the maximum
total value of tax credits that may be awarded during this period to $14
billion.

The
bill authorizes an additional $1.25 billion in tax credits for the Aspire and
Emerge Programs during each of the seventh and eighth years of the nine-year
period, of which a total of up to $300 million is authorized for sports and
entertainment projects, and which tax credits are authorized in addition to any
amounts otherwise available for these purposes. The bill also provides that
after the nine-year period, any uncommitted balance of tax credits available
from this authorization may be available to be deployed by the authority in
subsequent years for projects under those programs until all tax credits have
been committed.

In
addition, the bill amends current law to clarify that if a transfer of tax
credits is made to transformative projects approved under the Aspire Program,
from the amounts otherwise available under the Aspire Program or Emerge
Program, the limitations based on location of a transformative project in
certain counties are independent of the restrictions that apply to the award of
tax credits otherwise available under the Aspire Program and Emerge Program.

Under
current law, the Director of the Division of Taxation in the Department of the
Treasury (director) is required to purchase unused tax credits awarded under
certain specified economic development programs. This bill also requires the
director to purchase unused tax credits awarded for sports and entertainment
projects. Specifically, the bill requires the director to pay an amount equal
to 85 percent of the credit amount, provided that the issuance date of the tax
credit certificate or tax credit transfer certificate to the developer or the
holder of such certificate occurred at least one year prior to the date of
application to the director.

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