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New Jersey Senate committees approve 10 job-creation bills
State Senate committees on Monday approved 10 bills, including proposals to create tax breaks and loans for businesses that hire, as part of legislative efforts to spur job creation
The bills, many proposed previously, were taken up by various committees meeting in the Statehouse.
Senate President Stephen Sweeney said the Legislature must focus on jump-starting the slow economy. Unemployment in New Jersey is at 9.4 percent, state data show.
“Today was just the beginning. We will be working over the coming weeks and months on both existing and newly developed ideas to get our economy moving again,” said Sweeney, D-Salem, Gloucester, Cumberland.
The Senate Economic Growth Committee approved a proposal by Sen. Jim Whelan, D-Atlantic, to create a Small Business Loan Program within the state Economic Development Authority. Under the bill, small businesses that hire workers could receive loans with interest rates of no more than 2 percent. (Froonjian, Press of Atlantic City)