N.J.S.A. 34:1B-97 — Qualification as export financing company.

34:1B-97 Qualification as export financing company. 5. In order to qualify as an export financing company eligible to be the subject of an investment by the authority and by the other public entities involved in international export markets, a company shall: a. Have a board of directors or board of trustees appropriate to the form of incorporation or organization of the company consisting of: (1) the commissioner and the chairman of the authority, who shall be members ex officio; and (2) representatives of export trading companies, banking and other financial institutions, and other representatives of the private sector, who shall be selected by private stockholders or members, and who shall constitute the majority of the membership of the board. b. Retain the services of an independent commercial auditor: (1) to determine the extent to which funds made available to the company for its purposes have been expended in a manner that is consistent with the purposes of this act and the charter or operating agreement of the company; and (2) to prepare and submit to the Legislature, the State Treasurer, the authority and the other public entities participating in the purchase of stock or an interest in the company, an independent certified statement annually containing the findings and determinations of such auditor. c. In connection with the investment of authority moneys in the company pursuant to this act, solicit other forms of support, such as grants from the federal government or from other public and private sources, and make available its stock or a shared interest for purchase by private entities. L.1995,c.209,s.5; amended 1999, c.38, s.4. 34:1B-98. Purpose of company 6. a. The company shall have as its purpose the making of loans and loan guarantees to small or medium-sized businesses to assist in their export activities. Such loans and loan guarantees shall include, but not be limited to, pre-export financing and working capital loans. The criteria for the making of loans and loan guarantees shall be "transaction" based, that is to say, based upon the project in question rather than upon the assets which the business receiving the loan or loan guarantee possesses. b. The company shall also have as its purpose the providing of other export-related services as its board may from time to time approve. c. The company shall also have as an authorized purpose the entering into agreements with financial institutions, to the extent feasible, in order to assist in the making of loans and loan guarantees by the company and in the perfecting of related matters. d. The company shall actively solicit, to the extent feasible, the involvement of private banks, other lending institutions and the private insurance market to assist the company in the lending process and in providing the export-related services required by small or medium-sized businesses. L.1995,c.209,s.6. 34:1B-101. Short title 1. This amendatory and supplementary act shall be known and may be cited as the "New Jersey Purchase First Program Act." L.1995,c.210,s.1. 34:1B-102. Findings, declarations relative to business directories, public-private cooperation 2. The Legislature finds and declares that: a. Hearings held by the General Assembly Task Force on Business Retention, Expansion and Export Opportunities revealed that many companies buy products or services from out-of-state businesses because they are unaware that such goods or services are available from companies within this State, often at a substantial discount from the costs of purchasing the same goods or services from out-of-state companies; b. While the Division of International Trade in the Department of Commerce and Economic Development has developed directories useful for trade purposes which highlight certain selected industries in this State, cutbacks in staff and the limited resources of the department impede its efforts to develop and promote a more comprehensive set of State and regional business directories that could promote the sale of New Jersey's goods and services to other companies within the State as well as to companies in other states and foreign locations; and c. Given the importance to the State's economy of encouraging the purchase of goods and services from New Jersey businesses, it is in the public interest for the State to place a priority on encouraging the development and use of comprehensive business directories and to undertake public-private cooperation in promoting the purchase of products and services produced in this State. L.1995,c.210,s.2. 34:1B-103. New Jersey Purchase First Program 3. There is established, within the Department of Commerce and Economic Development, hereinafter "the department," the New Jersey Purchase First Program, hereinafter "the program." The purpose of the program shall be to promote and develop markets for New Jersey's goods and services by encouraging private sector businesses to produce and distribute comprehensive State and regional business directories , hereinafter, the "directories," and by coordinating its efforts with privately funded campaigns to stimulate and encourage businesses and industries to buy goods and services produced in this State. The program shall be administered by the department in consultation with the New Jersey Economic Development Authority established pursuant to section 4 of P.L.1974, c.80 (C.34:1B-4). L.1995,c.210,s.3. 34:1B-104. Development, distribution of directories; "industry sector network" defined 4. a. In order to implement the purpose of the program, the department shall, within one year of the effective date of this amendatory and supplementary act, consult with New Jersey business groups in order to develop ways to stimulate the development of directories by the private sector. The groups to be consulted may include, but need not be limited to, the New Jersey Business and Industry Association, the New Jersey State Chamber of Commerce, the South Jersey Chamber of Commerce, municipal chambers of commerce, State and local economic development agencies, other local business groups, regional offices of the department, private sector nonprofit entities organized to promote economic development in the State, and community college associations. The department shall provide advice, based on its experience in producing departmental business directories, to business and trade groups and associations in order to facilitate the development of comprehensive business directories, to the greatest extent possible, through private sector financing. b. The directories shall include, but not necessarily be limited to, a catalog of New Jersey manufacturing, supply, distribution and service businesses by product or service description, as appropriate, in a manner to be determined by the commissioner of the department in consultation with the business groups enumerated in subsection a. of this section. The directories shall be available for purchase by businesses throughout the State and outside the State. c. The department shall encourage private sector businesses, private sector nonprofit entities, regional groups or partnerships and industry sector networks to make the directories available as soon as practicable and to implement steps to inform the business community throughout the State of the benefits of using the directories to purchase goods and services from New Jersey businesses. As used in this section, "industry sector network" means clusters of two or more businesses that are (1) within an industry that makes or could make an important contribution to the economy of the State, which may include, but need not be limited to, healthcare, pharmaceuticals, chemicals, communications, telecommunications, electronics, software, insurance, tourism, transportation, construction, agriculture, and biotechnology, and (2) working jointly to manufacture, sell or market products, develop technologies or create or disseminate information. L.1995,c.210,s.4. 34:1B-105. Report to Governor, Legislature 6. Within 24 months of the effective date of this amendatory and supplementary act, the commissioner shall report to the Governor and the Legislature on the outcome of the program authorized under this amendatory and supplementary act, including any recommendations regarding the improvement and expansion of the program. L.1995,c.210,s.6. 34:1B-106. Rules, regulations 7. The department may adopt, pursuant to the "Administrative Procedure Act," P.L.1968, c.410 (C.52:14B-1 et seq.), rules and regulations as may be necessary to effectuate the purposes of this amendatory and supplementary act. L.1995,c.210,s.7.

This is the verbatim text of N.J.S.A. 34:1B-97, retrieved from the New Jersey Legislature's public statute corpus. Statutes are amended periodically — for the most current version, check the external source link above. Kyzer is not a law firm and this page is not legal advice.