FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

TRENTON, NJ (Jan. 15, 2025) – The National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB), the nation’s leading small business advocacy association, issued the following statement by NFIB New Jersey State Director Eileen Kean in response to Governor Phil Murphy’s 2025 State of the State Address yesterday evening:

“NFIB appreciates the Governor recognizing the inequities historically experienced by minority and women owned business owners and removing bureaucratic red tape that prohibits fair contracting opportunities, but the Governor’s ambitious and expensive agenda falls on the shoulders of Main Street small businesses.

“NFIB was encouraged that Governor Murphy took time today during his final State of the State address to specifically mention the challenges faced by Garden State small businesses and his stated intention to make it easier for small business owners to ‘keep their doors open — and pass on a proud family legacy to their children.’ NFIB and its thousands of independent small business members across New Jersey wholeheartedly agree.

“Unfortunately, the Governor did not articulate any specific actions, plans, or reforms he might advance to help realize this worthy objective.

“The Garden State’s regulatory burdens remain onerous, and the continued strain on small businesses’ bottom lines have stifled hiring, meaningful growth, and their very survival. New Jersey’s income and property taxes – both among the highest in the nation – have made our state one of the least affordable places to grow a business and create jobs.

“Rising energy costs for residences, commercial buildings, and transportation continue to fuel record inflation and an ongoing affordability crisis. Codifying New Jersey’s unrealistic emission reduction targets into statute will eliminate flexibility and limit the options available to future administrations to ensure that our Main Street businesses have access to the affordable and reliable energy they need to heat their buildings, power their equipment, and deliver their goods.

“Governor Murphy still has an entire year left in office to confront the challenges facing New Jersey’s nearly two million small businesses and help move our state further along a path of prosperity and opportunity. NFIB and its membership look forward to working with his administration and legislative allies from both sides of the aisle in 2025 to deliver tax relief, enact meaningful regulatory reform, and ensure state energy policies are guided by common sense and practicality.”

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For more than 80 years, NFIB has been the voice of small business, advocating on behalf of America’s small and independent business owners, both in Washington, D.C., and in all 50 state capitals. NFIB is nonprofit, nonpartisan, and member driven. Since our founding in 1943, NFIB has been exclusively dedicated to small and independent businesses and remains so today. For more information, please visit www.NFIB.com.