Assembly Commerce and Economic Development Committee Statement to Assembly, No. 5062, Dated May 18, 2023

Summary

Statement of the Assembly Commerce and Economic Development Committee of the State of New Jersey, dated May 18, 2023, reporting Assembly Bill 5062 favorably. The bill requires the statutory definitions of women's business enterprise to include businesses owned, in whole or in part, by an irrevocable trust of which the majority of beneficiaries or trustees are women. Current law is interpreted as requiring direct ownership by a woman or women, generally a sole proprietorship, a partnership or joint venture at least 51 percent owned and controlled by women, or a corporation at least 51 percent owned by women. The addition accommodates indirect ownership through an irrevocable trust, and the bill waives any waiting period before re-application by an enterprise previously denied certification. The bill is identical to Senate Bill 3013.

Summary drafted by a model from the document's text below and checked by script against that text before publication. It is a navigation aid, not a reading of what the document proves. Where AI is used

Full text

ASSEMBLY COMMERCE AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE

STATEMENT TO

ASSEMBLY,
No. 5062

STATE
OF NEW JERSEY

DATED: MAY 18,
2023

The Assembly Commerce and Economic Development Committee
reports favorably Assembly Bill No. 5062.

This bill requires that the various statutory
definitions of women’s business enterprise include businesses owned, in whole
or in part, by an irrevocable trust of which the majority of beneficiaries or trustees
are women.

Under current law, a women’s business enterprise is
interpreted as requiring direct ownership by a woman or women. A women’s
business enterprise is generally defined as a business that has its principal
place of business in this State, is independently owned and operated, and is:

(1) a sole proprietorship owned and controlled by a
woman;

(2) a partnership or joint venture owned and
controlled by women in which at least 51 percent of the ownership is held by
women and the management and daily business operations of which are controlled
by one or more women who own it; or

(3) a corporation or other entity whose management
and daily business operations are controlled by one or more women who own it,
and which is at least 51 percent owned by women, or if stock is issued, at
least 51 percent of the stock is owned by one or more women.

This bill supplements the various definitions to
include a business that has its principal place of business in this State and
is owned, in whole or in part, by an irrevocable trust of which the majority of
trustees and beneficiaries are women. This addition would accommodate indirect
women ownership of the business through an irrevocable trust, an estate
planning tool often utilized to preserve family ownership of a business over
the course of multiple generations.

This bill also waives any waiting period prior to
re-application by any enterprise which previously had been denied certification
or re-certification as a women-owned business that would now qualify for such
status.

As reported by the committee, this bill is identical
to Senate Bill No. 3013, which was also reported by the committee on this date.

File and source

File: 2023-05-18_ACE_A5062_S1.htm
Size: 6,499 bytes
SHA-256: 987a23512d52a69c05daf7ccc179ee074e3f6495756af51a0d1f04b66889138f
Our copy: 2023-05-18_ACE_A5062_S1.htm
Original: No public link identified.