New Jersey Administrative Code › Title 19 - OTHER AGENCIES › NEW JERSEY ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY › Chapter 31U - EMERGE › Subchapter 1 - EMERGE › Section 19:31U-1.2 - Definitions

Current through Register Vol. 56, No. 14, July 15, 2024
The following words and terms, as used in this subchapter,
					 shall have the following meanings, unless the context clearly indicates
					 otherwise.
"Act" means the Emerge Program Act,
					 sections
					 68 through
					 81 of
					 P.L.
					 2020, c. 156.
"Affiliate" means an entity that directly or indirectly
					 controls, is under common control with, or is controlled by, the business.
					 Control exists in all cases in which the entity is a member of a controlled
					 group of corporations, as defined pursuant to section
					 1563 of the Internal Revenue Code
					 of 1986 (26 U.S.C. § 1563.), or the entity is an organization in a group
					 of organizations under common control, as defined pursuant to subsection (c) of
					 section 414 of the Internal Revenue Code
					 of 1986 (26 U.S.C. § 414.). A taxpayer may establish, by clear and
					 convincing evidence, as determined by the Director of the Division of Taxation
					 in the Department of the Treasury, that control exists in situations involving
					 lesser percentages of ownership than required by sections
					 1563 and
					 414 of the Internal Revenue Code
					 of 1986 (26 U.S.C. §§ 1563. and 414). An affiliate of a business may
					 contribute to meeting either the capital investment or full-time employee
					 requirements of a business that applies for a credit under
					 section
					 71 of
					 P.L.
					 2020, c. 156.
"Approval letter" means the letter sent by the Authority to
					 the eligible business awarded tax credits under the program and countersigned
					 by the eligible business pursuant to
					 N.J.A.C.
					 19:31-22.9(a), which sets
					 forth the conditions that must be met by the eligible business before the
					 execution of a commitment agreement.
"Authority" means the New Jersey Economic Development
					 Authority established by section 4 of P.L. 1974, c. 80 (N.J.S.A.
					 34:1B-4).
"Aviation district" means all areas within the boundaries
					 of the Atlantic City International Airport, established pursuant to section 24
					 of P.L. 1991, c. 252 (N.J.S.A. 27:25A-24),
					 and the Federal Aviation Administration William J. Hughes Technical Center and
					 the area within a one-mile radius of the outermost boundary of the Atlantic
					 City International Airport and the Federal Aviation Administration William J.
					 Hughes Technical Center.
"Board" means the Board of members of the New Jersey
					 Economic Development Authority, established pursuant to section 4 of P.L. 1974,
					 c. 80 (N.J.S.A. 34:1B-4).
"Building services" means any cleaning or routine building
					 maintenance work, including, but not limited to, sweeping, vacuuming, floor
					 cleaning, cleaning of rest rooms, collecting refuse or trash, window cleaning,
					 securing, patrolling, or other work in connection with the care or securing of
					 an existing building, including services typically provided by a door-attendant
					 or concierge. "Building services" shall not include any skilled maintenance
					 work, professional services, or other public work for which a contractor is
					 required to pay the "prevailing wage" as defined at section 2 of P.L. 1963, c.
					 150 (N.J.S.A. 34:11-56.26).
"Business" means an applicant proposing to own or lease
					 premises in a qualified business facility that is: a corporation that is
					 subject to the tax imposed pursuant to section 5 of P.L. 1945, c. 162
					 (N.J.S.A.
					 54:10A-5); sections 2 and 3 of P.L. 1945, c.
					 132 (N.J.S.A. 54:18A-2 and
					 54:18A-3); section 1 of P.L. 1950,
					 c. 231 (N.J.S.A. 17:32-15); or
					 N.J.S.A.
					 17B:23-5, or is a partnership, S corporation,
					 limited liability company, or non-profit corporation. If the business or tenant
					 is a cooperative or part of a cooperative, then the cooperative may qualify for
					 credits by counting the full-time employees and capital investments of its
					 member organizations, and the cooperative may distribute credits to its member
					 organizations. If the business or tenant is a cooperative that leases to its
					 member organizations, the lease shall be treated as a lease to an affiliate or
					 affiliates. After approval by the Board of the award, if the business transfers
					 the project, in whole or in part, or the business merges into another company,
					 a business shall include a successor, as determined by the Authority in its
					 sole discretion, to the business and a successor, as determined by the
					 Authority in its sole discretion, to an affiliate of the business if the
					 business applied for a credit based upon any capital investment made by
					 full-time employees of the affiliate, provided any successor must execute the
					 commitment agreement, which shall include: the obligation to not reduce the
					 number of full-time employees in the successor's Statewide employment in the
					 last tax period prior to the approval of the award; an agreement that all
					 parties to the commitment agreement are jointly and severally liable under the
					 commitment agreement; and an acknowledgment that the tax credit will be
					 allocated to each party to the commitment agreement in accordance with the
					 number of full-time employees that each employs.
"Capital investment" means expenses that a business or an
					 affiliate of the business incurs, or is incurred, on behalf of the business or
					 affiliate by its landlord, which may be demonstrated through an executed letter
					 of intent or lease, following the submission of a complete application to the
					 Authority pursuant to
					 section
					 72 of
					 P.L.
					 2020, c. 156 and
					 N.J.A.C.
					 19:31-22.5, but prior to the project
					 completion date, as shall be defined in the project agreement, for:
1. Site preparation and construction, repair, renovation,
					 improvement, equipping, or furnishing on real property or of a building,
					 structure, facility, or improvement to real property, site-related utility,
					 including, but not limited to, water, electric, sewer, and stormwater, and
					 transportation infrastructure improvements, plantings, solar panels and
					 components, energy storage components, installation costs of solar energy
					 systems, or other environmental components required to attain the level of
					 silver rating and gold rating standards or above in the LEED building rating
					 system, but only to the extent that such capital investments have not received
					 any grant financial assistance from any other State funding source, including
					 N.J.S.A.
					 52:27H-80 et seq., but does not include site
					 acquisition;
2. Obtaining and installing furnishings and machinery,
					 apparatus, or equipment, including but not limited to, material goods subject
					 to bonus depreciation under sections 168 and 179 of the Federal Internal
					 Revenue Code (26 U.S.C. §§ 168. and 179), for the operation of a
					 business on real property or in a building, structure, facility, or improvement
					 to real property; or any combination of the foregoing. Vehicles and heavy
					 equipment not permanently located in the building, structure, facility, or
					 improvement shall not constitute a capital investment. Capital investment shall
					 include the value of a capital lease, as defined by generally accepted
					 accounting practices (GAAP), of furnishings and machinery, apparatus, or
					 equipment, based on the shorter of the useful life of the leased property or
					 the commitment period; and
3. Associated soft costs, which shall not exceed 20 percent
					 of all capital investment.
"College or university" means a county college, an
					 independent institution of higher education, a public research university, or a
					 State college.
"Commitment agreement" means the contract between an
					 eligible business and the Authority pursuant to
					 N.J.A.C.
					 19:31-22.9, that the parties execute after
					 the conditions in the approval letter are met.
"Commitment period" means a period that is 1.5 times the
					 eligibility period specified in the project agreement entered into pursuant to
					 section
					 73 of
					 P.L.
					 2020, c. 156 and
					 N.J.A.C.
					 19:31-22.9, rounded up, for each applicable
					 phase agreement.
"Community benefits agreement" means the agreement between
					 the eligible business, the municipality or county, and the Authority pursuant
					 to N.J.A.C.
					 19:31-22.9(c).
"Complex of buildings" means buildings that are part of
					 the same financing plan and operational plan. The buildings comprising a
					 complex of buildings may be non-contiguous and in geographical locations with
					 different factors that affect the tax credit calculation.
"County college" means an educational institution
					 established by one or more counties, pursuant to Chapter 64A of Title 18A of
					 the New Jersey Statutes.
"Director" means the Director of the Division of Taxation
					 in the Department of the Treasury.
"Distressed municipality" means a municipality that is
					 qualified to receive assistance pursuant to P.L. 1978, c. 14 (N.J.S.A.
					 52:27D-178 et seq.), a municipality under the
					 supervision of the Local Finance Board pursuant to the provisions of the Local
					 Government Supervision Act (1947), P.L. 1947, c. 151 (N.J.S.A. 52:27BB-1 et
					 seq.), a municipality identified by the Director of the Division of Local
					 Government Services in the Department of Community Affairs, to be facing
					 serious fiscal distress, an SDA municipality, or a municipality in which a
					 major rail station is located.
"Doctoral university" means a university located within
					 New Jersey that is classified as a doctoral university under the Carnegie
					 Classification of Institutions of Higher Education's Basic Classification
					 methodology on August 7, 2017, the effective date of
					 P.L.
					 2017, c. 221.
"Eligibility period" means the period in which an eligible
					 business may claim a tax credit under the program for a given project phase,
					 beginning with the tax period in which the Authority accepts certification of
					 the eligible business that it has met the capital investment, employment, and
					 other eligibility requirements of the program for the respective project, or
					 the respective project phase, pursuant to
					 N.J.A.C.
					 19:31-22.9(d), and extending
					 thereafter for a term of not more than seven years. The term shall be
					 determined at the discretion of the applicant at application, provided that the
					 term of the eligibility period may consist of nonconsecutive tax years if the
					 applicant elects, at any time after the end of the first tax period of the
					 eligibility period, to defer the continuation of the eligibility period to a
					 subsequent tax period. The applicant must be, at the time of the deferral
					 election, in compliance with the requirements of the program. The Authority may
					 extend the eligibility period one additional tax period to accommodate a
					 prorated payment pursuant to paragraph (2) of subsection a. of
					 section
					 77 of
					 P.L.
					 2020, c. 156 and
					 N.J.A.C.
					 19:31-22.10(d).
"Eligible business" means any business that satisfies the
					 criteria set forth at
					 section
					 71 of
					 P.L.
					 2020, c. 156 and
					 N.J.A.C.
					 19:31-22.3 at the time of application for tax
					 credits under the program.
"Eligible position" or "full-time job" means a full-time
					 position in a business in this State that the business has filled with a
					 full-time employee. An eligible position shall not include an independent
					 contractor or consultant, unless the independent contractor or consultant meets
					 the definition of a full-time employee in the Act and this section. An eligible
					 position may not include a position that is engaged in final point-of-sale
					 retail, unless the position is located at a qualified business facility used in
					 connection with the operation of a tourism destination project located in the
					 Atlantic City Tourism District, as established pursuant to
					 section
					 5 of
					 P.L.
					 2011, c. 18
					 (N.J.S.A.
					 5:12-219).
"Employment and Investment Corridor" means the portions of
					 the qualified incentive area that are not located within a distressed
					 municipality and which:
1. Are designated pursuant to the State Planning Act, P.L.
					 1985, c. 398 (N.J.S.A. 52:18A-196 et seq.), as
					 Planning Area 1 (Metropolitan), Planning Area 2 (Suburban), a designated center
					 under the State Development and Redevelopment Plan, or a designated growth
					 center in an endorsed plan, or until the State Planning Commission revises and
					 readopts New Jersey's State Development and Redevelopment Plan and adopts rules
					 to revise this definition;
2. Intersect with portions of: a port district, a qualified
					 incentive tract, or Federally owned land approved for closure under a Federal
					 Commission on Base Realignment and Closure action;
3. Are the proposed site of a qualified incubator facility,
					 a tourism-destination project, or transit-oriented development; or
4. At the time of application, contain:
i. A vacant commercial building or campus having over
					 400,000 square feet of office, laboratory, or industrial space, or any
					 combination of office, laboratory, or industrial space, available for occupancy
					 for a period of over one year, provided that "employment and investment
					 corridor" shall no longer include the building or campus when there is less
					 than 400,000 square feet of vacant space; or
ii. A site that has been negatively impacted by the
					 approval of a "qualified business facility," as defined pursuant to
					 section
					 2 of
					 P.L.
					 2007, c. 346
					 (N.J.S.A.
					 34:1B-208).
"Enhanced area" means a municipality that contains an urban
					 transit hub, as defined at
					 section
					 2 of
					 P.L.
					 2007, c. 346
					 (N.J.S.A.
					 34:1B-208); the five municipalities with the
					 highest poverty rates according to the 2017 Municipal Revitalization Index; and
					 the three municipalities with the highest percentage of Supplemental Nutrition
					 Assistance Program recipients according to the 2017 Municipal Revitalization
					 Index.
"Full-time employee" means:
1. A person:
i. Who is employed by a business for consideration for at
					 least 35 hours a week and whose wages are subject to withholding as provided in
					 the New Jersey Gross Income Tax Act,
					 N.J.S.A.
					 54A:1-1 et seq.;
ii. Who is employed by a professional employer organization
					 pursuant to an employee leasing agreement between the business and the
					 professional employer organization for at least 35 hours a week and whose wages
					 are subject to withholding, as provided in the New Jersey Gross Income Tax Act,
					 N.J.S.A.
					 54A:1-1 et seq.;
iii. Who is a partner of a business who works for the
					 partnership for at least 35 hours a week and whose distributive share of
					 income, gain, loss, or deduction, or whose guaranteed payments, or any
					 combination thereof, is subject to the payment of estimated taxes, as provided
					 in the New Jersey Gross Income Tax Act,
					 N.J.S.A.
					 54A:1-1 et seq.;
iv. Who is a resident of another state, and would be
					 eligible pursuant to subparagraphs 1i, ii, or iii above, but whose income is
					 not subject to the New Jersey Gross Income Tax Act,
					 N.J.S.A.
					 54A:1-1 et seq., due to a reciprocity
					 agreement with the other state; or
v. The Authority may determine a different number of hours
					 a week or other standard of service generally accepted by custom or practice as
					 full-time employment for subparagraphs 1i, ii, or iii above. A "full-time
					 employee" shall include, but shall not be limited to, an employee who has been
					 hired by way of a labor union hiring hall, or its equivalent, provided that the
					 35 hours of employment per week in the State shall constitute one "full-time
					 employee," regardless of whether or not the hours of work were performed by one
					 or more persons;
2. A "full time employee" further means a person eligible
					 pursuant to paragraph 1 above who, as evidenced by documentation acceptable to
					 the Authority, is provided, by the business, no later than 90 days of hire,
					 employee health benefits under a health benefits plan authorized pursuant to
					 State or Federal law; provided, however, that with respect to a logistics,
					 manufacturing, energy, defense, aviation, or maritime business, excluding
					 primarily warehouse or distribution operations, located in a port district
					 having a container terminal, the requirement that employee health benefits are
					 to be provided shall be deemed to be satisfied if the benefits are provided in
					 accordance with industry practice by a third party obligated to provide such
					 benefits pursuant to a collective bargaining agreement; and
3. "Full-time employee" shall not include any person who
					 works as an independent contractor or on a consulting basis for the business or
					 a contract worker whose income is subject to withholding, as provided in the
					 New Jersey Gross Income Tax Act,
					 N.J.S.A.
					 54A:1-1 et seq., except that any person
					 working as an independent contractor or contract worker whose income is subject
					 to withholding, as provided in the New Jersey Gross Income Tax Act,
					 N.J.S.A.
					 54A:1-1 et seq., for the business shall be
					 deemed a full-time employee if the business demonstrates to the Authority
					 that:
i. The person working as an independent contractor or
					 contract worker for the business works at least 35 hours per week or renders
					 any other standard service generally accepted by custom or practice as
					 full-time employment;
ii. The person is provided, at the date of initial
					 engagement, as evidenced by documentation acceptable to the Authority, employee
					 health benefits under a health benefits plan authorized pursuant to State or
					 Federal law;
iii. The business provides documentation to the Authority
					 to permit the Authority to verify the compensation paid to, the withholdings
					 of, and the time worked by, the person working as an independent contractor or
					 contract worker; and
iv. The business shall provide to the Authority an annual
					 report that identifies the number of persons working as independent contractors
					 or contract workers for the business and their contractual or partnering
					 relationship with the business; and
4. "Full-time employee" shall not include any person who,
					 at the time of project application, works in New Jersey for consideration for
					 at least 35 hours per week for the business, or who renders any other standard
					 of service generally accepted by custom or practice as full-time employment,
					 but who, prior to project application, works under an employee leasing
					 agreement between the business and an employee leasing company that is not a
					 professional employer organization or who was not provided, by the business,
					 with employee health benefits under a health benefits plan authorized pursuant
					 to State or Federal law.
Government-restricted municipality" means a municipality in
					 this State with a municipal revitalization index distress score of at least 75,
					 that met the criteria for designation as an urban aid municipality in the 2019
					 State fiscal year, and that, on January 7, 2021, the effective date of
					 P.L.
					 2020, c. 156, is
					 subject to financial restrictions imposed pursuant to the Municipal
					 Stabilization and Recovery Act,
					 P.L.
					 2016, c. 4 (N.J.S.A.
					 52:27BBBB-1 et seq.), or is restricted in its ability to levy property taxes on
					 property in that municipality as a result of the State of New Jersey owning or
					 controlling property representing at least 25 percent of the total land area of
					 the municipality, or as a result of the Federal government owning or
					 controlling at least 50 acres of the total land area of the municipality, which
					 is dedicated as a national natural landmark.
"Incentive area" means:
1. An aviation district;
2. A port district
3. A distressed municipality or enhanced area;
4. An area designated pursuant to the State Planning Act,
					 P.L. 1985, c. 398 (N.J.S.A. 52:18A-196 et seq.), as
					 Planning Area 1 (Metropolitan), Planning Area 2 (Suburban), Planning Area 3
					 (Fringe Planning Area); or a Designated Center under the State Development and
					 Redevelopment Plan;
5. An area located within a smart growth area and planning
					 area designated in a master plan adopted by the New Jersey Meadowlands
					 Commission pursuant to subsection (i) of section 6 of P.L. 1968, c. 404
					 (N.J.S.A.
					 13:17-6), or subject to a redevelopment plan
					 adopted by the New Jersey Meadowlands Commission pursuant to section 20 of P.L.
					 1968, c. 404 (N.J.S.A. 13:17-21);
6. An area located within any land owned by the New Jersey
					 Sports and Exposition Authority, established pursuant to P.L. 1971, c. 137
					 (N.J.S.A.
					 5:10-1 et seq.), within the boundaries of the
					 Hackensack Meadowlands District, as delineated at section 4 of P.L. 1968, c.
					 404 (N.J.S.A. 13:17-4);
7. An area located within a regional growth area, rural
					 development area zoned for industrial use as of December 5, 2016, the effective
					 date of P.L.
					 2016, c. 75, or town,
					 village, or a military and Federal installation area designated in the
					 comprehensive management plan prepared and adopted by the Pinelands Commission
					 pursuant to the Pinelands Protection Act, P.L. 1979, c. 111 (N.J.S.A.
					 13:18A-1 et seq.);
8. An area located within a government-restricted
					 municipality;
9. An area located within land approved for closure under
					 any Federal Commission on Base Realignment and Closure action;
10. An area located within an area designated pursuant to
					 the State Planning Act, P.L. 1985, c. 398 (N.J.S.A.
					 52:18A-196 et seq.), as Planning Area 4A
					 (Rural Planning Area), Planning Area 4B (Rural/Environmentally Sensitive), or
					 Planning Area 5 (Environmentally Sensitive), so long as that area designated as
					 Planning Area 4A (Rural Planning Area), Planning Area 4B (Rural/Environmentally
					 Sensitive), or Planning Area 5 (Environmentally Sensitive) is located
					 within:
i. A designated center under the State Development and
					 Redevelopment Plan;
ii. A designated growth center in an endorsed plan until
					 the State Planning Commission revises and readopts New Jersey's State
					 Development and Redevelopment Plan and adopts rules to revise this definition
					 as it pertains to Statewide Planning Areas;
iii. Any area determined to be in need of redevelopment
					 pursuant to sections 5 and 6 of P.L. 1992, c. 79 (N.J.S.A.
					 40A:12A-5 and
					 40A:12A-6), or in need of
					 rehabilitation pursuant to section 14 of P.L. 1992, c. 79 (N.J.S.A.
					 40A:12A-14);
iv. Any area on which a structure exists or previously
					 existed, including any desired expansion of the footprint of the existing or
					 previously existing structure, provided the expansion otherwise complies with
					 all applicable Federal, State, county, and local permits and approvals;
					 or
v. Any area on which an existing tourism destination
					 project is located; or
11. An area located in a qualified opportunity zone.
"Independent institution of higher education" means a
					 college or university incorporated and located in New Jersey, which, by virtue
					 of law, character, or license is a nonprofit educational institution authorized
					 to grant academic degrees and which provides a level of education that is
					 equivalent to the education provided by the State's public institutions of
					 higher education, as attested by the receipt of, and continuation of regional
					 accreditation by, the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools, and
					 which is eligible to receive State aid under the provisions of the Constitution
					 of the United States and the Constitution of the State of New Jersey, but does
					 not include any educational institution dedicated primarily to the education or
					 training of ministers, priests, rabbis, or other professional persons in the
					 field of religion.
"Industrial premises" or "industrial space" means premises
					 or space in which at least 51 percent of the square footage will be, or has
					 been, used for the assembling, processing, manufacturing, or any combination
					 thereof, of finished or partially finished products from materials or
					 fabricated parts, including, but not limited to, factories or as a warehouse if
					 the business uses the warehouse as part of the chain of distribution for
					 products assembled, processed, manufactured, or any combination thereof, by the
					 business at the qualified business facility; for the breaking or demolishing of
					 finished, or partially finished, products; or for the production of oil or gas
					 or the generation or transformation of electricity.
"Industrial use" means assembling, processing,
					 manufacturing, or any combination thereof, of finished or partially finished
					 products from materials or fabricated parts; the breaking or demolishing of
					 finished or partially finished products; or the production of oil or gas or the
					 generation or transformation of electricity. "Industrial use" includes farming
					 purposes as that term is defined at 26 U.S.C. § 6420.(c)(3)(A), undertaken
					 in an industrial space.
"Infrastructure Fund" means the Recovery Infrastructure
					 Fund established pursuant to
					 section
					 79 of
					 P.L.
					 2020, c. 156 and
					 N.J.A.C.
					 19:31-22.18 to fund local infrastructure
					 improvements.
"Labor harmony agreement" means an agreement between a
					 business that serves as the owner or operator of a retail establishment or
					 distribution center and one or more labor organizations, which requires, for
					 the duration of the agreement: that any participating labor organization and
					 its members agree to refrain from picketing, work stoppages, boycotts, or other
					 economic interference against the business; and that the business agrees to
					 maintain a neutral posture with respect to efforts of any participating labor
					 organization to represent employees at an establishment or other unit in the
					 retail establishment or distribution center, agrees to permit the labor
					 organization to have access to the employees, and agrees to guarantee to the
					 labor organization the right to obtain recognition as the exclusive collective
					 bargaining representatives of the employees in an establishment or unit at the
					 retail establishment or distribution center by demonstrating to the New Jersey
					 State Board of Mediation, Division of Private Employment Dispute Settlement, or
					 a mutually agreed-upon, neutral, third-party, that a majority of workers in the
					 unit have shown their preference for the labor organization to be their
					 representative by signing authorization cards indicating that preference. The
					 labor organization or organizations shall be from a list of labor organizations
					 that have requested to be on the list and that the Commissioner of Labor and
					 Workforce Development has determined represent substantial numbers of retail or
					 distribution center employees in the State.
"Major rail station" means a railroad station that is
					 located within a qualified incentive area and that provides, to the public
					 access, to a minimum of six rail passenger service lines operated by the New
					 Jersey Transit Corporation.
"Mega project" means a project of special economic
					 importance, at which 500 or more new full-time jobs are created, having capital
					 investment of at least $ 50,000,000 in a targeted industry and that provides
					 opportunities to leverage leadership in a high-priority targeted industry as
					 demonstrated by factors including, but not limited to: being undertaken by a
					 business that is making an industry leading investment in a new technology or
					 high-growth sub-industry level or catalyzing a new sub-industry or
					 industry-cluster within the State.
"Minimum environmental and sustainability standards" means
					 the standards established by the Authority in accordance with the green
					 building manual prepared by the Commissioner of the Department of Community
					 Affairs pursuant to
					 section
					 1 of
					 P.L.
					 2007, c. 132
					 (N.J.S.A.
					 52:27D-130.6), regarding the use of renewable
					 energy, energy-efficient technology, and non-renewable resources to reduce
					 environmental degradation and encourage long-term cost reduction. The Authority
					 shall publish these standards on its website.
"Municipal Revitalization Index" means the most updated
					 municipal revitalization distress score, as published at the time of project
					 Board approval by the Department of Community Affairs.
"New full-time job" means an eligible position that did not
					 previously exist in this State created by a business. For the purposes of
					 determining the number of new full-time jobs, the eligible positions of an
					 affiliate shall be considered eligible positions of the business.
"Non-gaming business" means any business, or portion of any
					 business, that is not engaged in the operation of casino gambling or other
					 gaming as defined at
					 N.J.S.A.
					 5:12-218. For projects that contain both
					 gaming and non-gaming operations, the number of full-time jobs and amounts of
					 eligible capital investment shall be apportioned based on the proportionate
					 revenue from all non-gaming revenue compared to total revenue, for example, if
					 gaming revenue is 40 percent of total revenue, then 60 percent of the full-time
					 employees would be deemed non-gaming and in an eligible position for the
					 program.
"Other eligible area" means the portions of the incentive
					 area that are not located within a distressed municipality, or the employment
					 and investment corridor.
"Partnership" means an entity classified as a partnership
					 for Federal income tax purposes.
"Phased project" means a project with an initial phase
					 that is a mega project and each subsequent phase includes a minimum capital
					 investment of $ 25 million and minimum of 250 new full-time jobs.
"Port district" means the portions of an incentive area
					 that are located within the Port of New York District of the Port Authority of
					 New York and New Jersey, as defined in Article II of the Compact Between the
					 States of New York and New Jersey of 1921; or a 15-mile radius of the outermost
					 boundary of each marine terminal facility established, acquired, constructed,
					 rehabilitated, or improved by the South Jersey Port District established
					 pursuant to the South Jersey Port Corporation Act, P.L. 1968, c. 60
					 (N.J.S.A.
					 12:11A-1 et seq.).
"Professional employer organization" means an employee
					 leasing company registered with the Department of Labor and Workforce
					 Development pursuant to
					 P.L.
					 2001, c. 260
					 (N.J.S.A.
					 34:8-67 et seq.).
"Program" means the Emerge program established by
					 sections
					 68 through
					 81 of
					 P.L.
					 2020, c. 156 and as
					 implemented by this subchapter.
"Project" means the capital investment at a qualified
					 business facility and the employment commitment pursuant to the project
					 agreement.
"Project agreement" means the approval letter and the
					 commitment agreement executed between an eligible business and the Authority,
					 which together set forth the terms and conditions under which the eligible
					 business may receive the tax credit award authorized by the Board pursuant to
					 the Emerge program.
"Project phase agreement" means a sub-agreement of the
					 project agreement that governs the timing, capital investment, employment
					 levels, and other details of the respective phase.
"Public research university" means a public research
					 university as defined at section 3 of P.L. 1994, c. 48 (N.J.S.A.
					 18A:3B-3).
"Qualified business facility" means any building, complex
					 of buildings, or structural components of buildings, and all machinery and
					 equipment located therein, used in connection with the operation of a business
					 that is not engaged in final point-of-sale retail business at that location,
					 unless the building, complex of buildings, or structural components of
					 buildings, and all machinery and equipment therein, are used in connection with
					 the operation of a tourism destination project located in the Atlantic City
					 Tourism District, as established pursuant to
					 section
					 5 of
					 P.L.
					 2011, c. 18
					 (N.J.S.A.
					 5:12-219). In determining whether a qualified
					 business facility for professional services is engaged in final point-of-sale
					 retail, the Authority shall consider several factors, including, but not
					 limited to, whether the business is a small business and whether the
					 preponderance of its customer base is located within this State.
"Quality child care facility" means a child care center
					 licensed by the Department of Children and Families or a family child care home
					 registered with the Department of Human Services, operating continuously, which
					 has not been subject to an enforcement action, and which has and maintains a
					 licensed capacity for children age 13 years or younger who attend for less than
					 24 hours a day.
"Qualified incentive tract" means a population census
					 tract having a poverty rate of 20 percent or more; or a census tract in which
					 the median family income for the census tract does not exceed 80 percent of the
					 greater of the Statewide median family income or the median family income of
					 the metropolitan statistical area in which the census tract is situated.
"Qualified incubator facility" means a commercial building
					 located within an incentive area: that contains 5,000 or more square feet of
					 office, laboratory, or industrial space; that is located near, and presents
					 opportunities for collaboration with, a research institution, teaching
					 hospital, college, or university; and within which at least 50 percent of the
					 gross leasable area is restricted for use by one or more technology startup
					 companies during the commitment period.
"Qualified opportunity zone" means a Federal population
					 census tract in this State that was eligible to be designated as a qualified
					 opportunity zone pursuant to 26 U.S.C. § 1400.Z-1.
"Research and development premises" or "research and
					 development space" means premises or space in which at least 51 percent of the
					 square footage will be, or has been, used for research and development.
"Retained full-time job" means an eligible position that
					 currently exists in this State and is filled by a full-time employee, but
					 which, because of a potential relocation by the business, is at risk of being
					 lost to another state or country. For the purposes of determining the number of
					 retained full-time jobs, the eligible positions of an affiliate shall be
					 considered eligible positions of the business.
"SDA district" means an SDA district as defined at
					 section
					 3 of
					 P.L.
					 2000, c. 72
					 (N.J.S.A. 18A:7G-3).
"SDA municipality" means a municipality in which an SDA
					 district is situated.
"Small business" means a business engaged primarily in a
					 targeted industry, with fewer than 100 employees, as determined six months
					 before application and at the time of application. Employees of a small
					 business shall include a person who is employed by a business for consideration
					 for at least 35 hours a week; who is employed pursuant to an employee leasing
					 agreement for at least 35 hours a week; or who is a partner of a business who
					 works for the partnership for at least 35 hours a week. Employee of a small
					 business shall also include any person who works as an independent contractor
					 for the business or a contract worker who works at the business for at least 35
					 hours a week. For those persons who are employed by the business or who work
					 for the business as independent contractors or contract workers for less than
					 35 hours a week, 35 hours of employment a week shall constitute one employee,
					 regardless of whether or not the hours of work were performed by one or more
					 persons. The Authority may determine a different number of hours a week or
					 other standard of service generally accepted by custom or practice as full-time
					 employment. For purposes of the number of employees, a small business shall
					 include all of its affiliates, regardless of whether the affiliate may
					 contribute full-time jobs or capital investment to the project.
"Soft costs" means all costs associated with financing,
					 design, engineering, legal, or real estate commissions, including, but not
					 limited to, architect fees, permit fees, loan origination and closing costs,
					 construction management, and freight and shipping delivery, but not including
					 early lease termination costs, air fare, mileage, tolls, gas, meals, packing
					 material, marketing, temporary signage, incentive consultant fees, Authority
					 fees, loan interest payments, escrows, or other similar costs.
"Square foot" or "square footage" means the sum of all
					 areas on all floors of a building or structure included within the outside
					 faces of its exterior walls, including all vertical penetration areas, for
					 circulation and shaft areas that connect one floor to another, disregarding
					 cornices, pilasters, buttresses, and similar structures, that extend beyond the
					 wall faces.
"Square foot of gross leasable area" or "square footage of
					 gross leasable area" or "gross leasable area" means rentable area of the
					 building or structure as calculated pursuant to the measuring standards of the
					 project. This standard will be defined in the lease for tenant applicants. The
					 rentable area measures the tenant's pro rata portion of the entire office
					 floor, including public corridors, restrooms, janitor closets, utility closets,
					 and machine rooms used in common with other tenants, but excluding elements of
					 the building or structure that penetrate through the floor to areas below. The
					 rentable area of a floor is fixed for the life of a building or structure and
					 is not affected by changes in corridor sizes or configuration.
"State college" means a State college or university
					 established pursuant to Chapter 64 of Title 18A of the New Jersey
					 Statutes.
"Statewide workforce" means the total number of full-time
					 employees in the Statewide workforce of the business and any affiliate of the
					 business, if the affiliate contributes any capital investment or full-time
					 employees. "Statewide workforce" shall not include a new eligible position
					 unless the new eligible position is in addition to the number of full-time
					 employees specified in the commitment agreement and the business is not
					 receiving an additional tax credit award for the new eligible position.
					 Further, "Statewide workforce" shall not include full-time employees at any
					 final point-of-sale retail facilities unless the project, as approved by the
					 Board, includes full-time employees engaged in final point-of-sale
					 retail.
"Substantial environmental remediation" means the
					 completion of the necessary actions to investigate and clean up or respond to
					 any known, suspected, or threatened discharge of contaminants, including, as
					 necessary, the preliminary assessment, site investigation, remedial
					 investigation, and remedial action, pursuant to
					 N.J.S.A.
					 58:10B-1 et seq., which shall equal at least
					 five percent of the capital investment in a qualified business facility.
"Targeted industry" means any industry identified from time
					 to time by the Authority that shall initially include advanced transportation
					 and logistics, advanced manufacturing, aviation, autonomous vehicle and
					 zero-emission vehicle research or development, clean energy, life sciences,
					 hemp processing, information and high technology, finance and insurance,
					 professional services, film and digital media, non-retail food and beverage
					 businesses, including food innovation, and other innovative industries that
					 disrupt current technologies or business models. A project shall be considered
					 to be in a targeted industry if the primary activity undertaken by the
					 full-time employees will be in a targeted industry, or if the business is
					 engaged primarily in a targeted industry. An eligible business shall be
					 considered to be in a targeted industry if the project is for full-time
					 employees of a division that primarily undertakes activity within the
					 definition of a targeted industry, or the eligible business is a subsidiary of
					 an entity that is engaged primarily in a targeted industry, even if the project
					 is for full-time employees who do not work directly in the targeted industry.
					 The Authority may consider whether a business is engaged primarily in another
					 innovative industry that disrupts current technologies or business models, by
					 assessing factors including, but not limited to, whether businesses in the
					 industry are offering products or services that significantly improve current
					 market offerings on the basis of price or other performance levels, whether the
					 new industry creates opportunities for new firms to enter and redefine the
					 supply chain or value chain of an industry, or whether the industry utilizes
					 new technology or business processes that allow New Jersey-based firms to
					 collect a share of revenues that were traditionally only available to companies
					 in other geographies.
"Technology startup company" means a for-profit business
					 that has been in operation fewer than seven years at the time that it initially
					 occupies or expands in a qualified business facility and is developing or
					 possesses a proprietary technology or business method of a high technology or
					 life science-related product, process, or service, which proprietary technology
					 or business method the business intends to move to commercialization. The
					 business shall be deemed to have begun operation on the date that the business
					 first hired at least one employee in a full-time position.
"Total project cost" means the greater of the actual cost
					 or the estimated cost to be incurred in connection with the project by the
					 business or its landlord until the issuance of a permanent certificate of
					 occupancy, or upon such other event evidencing project completion, as set forth
					 in the commitment agreement.
"Tourism-destination project" means a qualified non-gaming
					 business facility that will be among the most visited privately owned or
					 operated tourism or recreation sites in the State, and which is located within
					 the incentive area and has been determined by the Authority to be in an area
					 appropriate for development and in need of economic development incentive
					 assistance, including a non-gaming business within an established tourism
					 district with a significant impact on the economic viability of that tourism
					 district.
"Transit-oriented development" means a qualified business
					 facility located within a 1/2-mile radius, or one-mile radius for projects
					 located in a government-restricted municipality, surrounding the mid-point of a
					 New Jersey Transit Corporation, Port Authority Transit Corporation, or Port
					 Authority Trans-Hudson Corporation rail, bus, or ferry station platform area,
					 including all light rail stations.
"Transit hub" means an urban transit hub, as defined at
					 section
					 2 of
					 P.L.
					 2007, c. 346
					 (N.J.S.A.
					 34:1B-208), that is located within an
					 eligible municipality, as defined at
					 section
					 2 of
					 P.L.
					 2007, c. 346
					 (N.J.S.A.
					 34:1B-208), and that is also located within
					 an incentive area.
"Transit hub municipality" means a Transit Village or a
					 municipality: which qualifies for State aid pursuant to P.L. 1978, c. 14
					 (N.J.S.A.
					 52:27D-178 et seq.), or which has continued
					 to be a qualified municipality thereunder pursuant to P.L. 2007, c. 111; and in
					 which 30 percent or more of the value of real property was exempt from local
					 property taxation during tax year 2006. The percentage of exempt property shall
					 be calculated by dividing the total exempt value by the sum of the net
					 valuation which is taxable and that which is tax exempt.
"Transit village" means a municipality that has been
					 designated as a transit village by the Commissioner of the Department of
					 Transportation and the Transit Village Task Force.
"Withholdings" means the amount withheld by a business
					 from the wages of full-time employees, or estimated taxes paid by, or on behalf
					 of, partners who are full-time employees, or any combination thereof, pursuant
					 to the New Jersey Gross Income Tax Act,
					 N.J.S.A.
					 54A:1-1 et seq. Withholdings shall not
					 include amounts withheld by a business from stock options or from stock
					 options, money, or other payments given to a full-time employee pursuant to the
					 termination of employment of the full-time employee. Withholdings shall include
					 amounts withheld by a business from money or other payments given to a
					 full-time employee pursuant to a bonus for commencing employment or for
					 services rendered by the full-time employee.