New NJBIA leader sets agenda

Philip Kirschner has his work cut out for him.

By: George Frey
   As new president of the New Jersey Business & Industry Association, Philip Kirschner has his work cut out for him. He must lead the nation’s largest statewide employer association through both a recession and cuts in business-generating state programs.
   Mr. Kirschner, who has been with the association for over 12 years, became the organization’s new president April 1. The NJBIA currently comprises over 19,000 state companies including manufacturers, service providers, retailers, wholesalers, builders and engineers.
   Located in Trenton, the organization boasts a lobbying staff responsible for tracking a number of bills each year affecting businesses and employers.
   A priority of the association now, says Mr. Kirschner, is saving two important state programs at risk due to the state’s budget shortfalls — the Business Employment Incentive Program and the New Jersey Commission on Science and Technology.
   The BEIP offers financial incentives to companies who add jobs to the state, either by expanding or relocating to New Jersey. The BEIP has attracted about 300 companies to the state that pledged to bring in a total of about 75,000 jobs. Grants are given to participating employers only if they hire the minimum number of workers to qualify (25 in the cities, 75 in other areas). Most of the incentives, advocates argue, come from the payroll taxes for the newly employed workers, and the program, therefore, pays for itself.
   The New Jersey Commission on Science and Technology, which provides roughly $15 million annually in seed capital for R&D programs in the state, is a smaller budget item, Mr. Kirschner says. "We’re working very hard with the legislature to avert the demise of those organizations," he says. "We think it’s a terrible message if the state lures companies into New Jersey and then doesn’t keep up its part of the deal. A deal is a deal."
   The NJBIA serves as an educational and networking source to its members, keeping them abreast of new legislation and how it affects them. "Our lobbying force is working on everything from economic regulations to environmental policies," says Mr. Kirschner. The NJBIA is currently working in the areas of healthcare reform, a common sense approach in the enforcement of environmental laws and balancing labor laws, Mr. Kirschner says.
   The organization was very vocal in the reform of Governor McGreevey’s Corporate Business Tax plan last year that aimed at cutting loopholes from tax law the administration said corporations used to avoid paying taxes. Through the work of the NJBIA and its members, the CBT plan was scaled back a great deal from the governor’s initial proposal, Mr. Kirschner said.
   The association also produces publications, offers business seminars and provides benefits, such as eligibility to receive workers’ compensation and commercial auto insurance through New Jersey Manufacturers Insurance Co.
   As new president, Mr. Kirschner plans on crisscrossing the state to conduct surveys. "We’re very active in the business community," he says. "We are very vocal and pro-business in the Legislature. We want to expand and provide the network and meeting seminars that give employers information they need and try to meet the needs of our members."
   Before becoming president, Mr. Kirschner served as the director of the government affairs department and as executive vice president. He currently serves as the executive director of the employer legislative committee.
   For more information about the NJBIA, call (609) 393-7707, or visit the Web site at www.njbia.org.