Yesterday, the Assembly Commerce and Economic Development Committee held a hearing on A904, a Bill sponsored by Democrat Assembly members. Prime sponsors are Upendra Chivukula (D-17), Joseph Egan (D-17), Linda Greenstein (D-14), Pamela Lampitt (D-6).  The bill would establish an innovation zone program to stimulate technology industry clusters aroud New Jersey's Research Universities, Colleges or Research Hospitals.  I testified before the committee in opposition to the bill because I feel it may be a stealth campaign to circumvent the will of NJ voters to fund Human Embryonic Stem Cell Research.   I pointed out that this bill calls for "innnovation zones" to be created in Camden, Newark City and Greater New Brunswick - which is the exact same locations where former Governor Corzine and former Assemblyman Neil Cohen tried to build Stem Cell Institutes before the voters wisely rejected their scheme. I also reminded the Committee that the voters spoke loudly and clearly in 2007 that they did not want to fund Human Embryonic Stem Cell Research. 

 

The legislation grants very broad powers to the Economic Development Authority and Commission on Science and Technology "to call upon any department, authority, commission, board, office, division or agency of the State to provide such information, resources or other assistance deemed necessary . . ."  The departments include, but are not limited to the Department of Treasury with the Business Incentive Program, the Tecnology Tax Certificate Transfer Program and other technology funding programs. 

 

The bill also says, the goal of the innovation zones program is to "attract high technology business and research scientists to these defined areas, where proximity to research universities and colleges and resarch hospitals will increase collaborative research . . ."   The bill goes on to say that the innovation zones will "encourage the more rapid transfer of discoveries from New Jersey's laboratories to the marketplace;" and "will require focusing of resources on geographic areas where research clusters presently exist or have the potential to form because of the location of the research universities and colleges or research hospitals,"

 

It is important to note that "geographic areas where research clusters already exist" include Rutgers and UMDNJ in New Brunswick and Piscataway (which is considered Greater New Brunswick).  Rutgers and UMDNJ established a partnership to form the Stem Cell Institute of New Jersey on Rutgers Campus a few years ago.  Under the Codey and Corzine adminsitrations, both of these entities were allocated a disproportionate share of stem cell grants from the Commission on Science and Technology to specifically perform research on human embryonic stem cells so  it is certainly feasible that this bill is a stealth attempt to do an end run around the voters to fund human embryonic stem cell research. 

 

We asked the committee to add an amendment that would specifically prohibit any funding of HESCR under the scope of the bill to ensure the will of NJ voters would be honored. Assemblywoman Alison McHose (R-24)  and Assemblyman Anthony Bucco (R-25) supported our efforts and offered an amendment to this effect but it did not pass.  They also prepared a Minority Statement voting against reporting the bill favorably and urged that an amendment be added to the bill which would address our concerns. 

 

For News coverage of the hearing and to learn more about our attempt to add an amendment, please click here

 

Action Needed:

Please call and email your two State Assembly Members and State Senator as soon as possible.  Call 1-800-792-8630 to find out the names and contact information for your three legislators. 

Click here to go to the NJ legislature's webpage: http://www.njleg.state.nj.us/members/legsearch.asp

Also call, fax and email Governor Christie. Phone: 609 292-6000, Fax 609 292-3454, To email link the Governor, go to link below and choose "Commerce" from the drop down topic menu on the page:

 http://www.state.nj.us/governor/contact/