Government
Affairs & Lobbying

Since 2018, The Zita Group has worked with Orsted, a multinational energy company and leader in offshore wind, to advance and solidify their presence in the state. TZG developed and coordinated all aspects of the company’s public affairs strategy to position it favorably to respond to the complex NJ Board of Public Utilities bid solicitation for the first offshore wind project in the state and the largest windfarm in North America. TZG worked with state, county and local government officials and agencies, as well as numerous stakeholder groups to guide Orsted through the multi-dimensional permitting and regulatory process during the solicitation. “TZG also assisted Orsted in facilitation of its offshore wind partner, EEW, a specialty steel fabricator to locate its first US based monopile manufacturing facility at the port of Paulsboro, NJ, on the Delaware River.”

TZG continues to provide Orsted with a multi-faceted government affairs and strategic outreach plan to ensure the company and its operations have a reliable state regulatory structure to support the state’s future offshore wind energy marketplace.

As part of the proposed Fiscal Year ‘21 State Budget, Governor Murphy announced an increase in the state’s corporate business tax and reversed a standing policy to make the existing temporary surcharge permanent. A move towards an increase in the CBT, coupled with making the surcharge permanent, would have significantly changed the method by which New Jersey corporations file their income taxes and the amount they paid on an annual basis.

The Zita Group immediately intervened to ensure that the tax increase remained temporary. After consultation with our impacted clients, TZG helped to build and coordinate a coalition of interested stakeholders, which included corporate tax experts and business trade associations to influence the development of this proposal in the FY’21 budget.

TZG engaged directly with legislative leadership, Treasury officials and members of Governor Murphy’s senior leadership team to inform them of the significant impact the proposed changes to the corporate business tax rate would have on companies and the New Jersey economy.

As a result of these efforts, TZG helped to convince lawmakers and the Governor’s Office to pursue a short-term extension of the corporate business tax surcharge rather than a permanent extension as originally sought by the Administration.

The Fiscal Year ‘21 Budget was signed into law on September 29, 2020.

With an eye on patient safety, the New Jersey State Assembly of the Association of Surgical Technologists (NJAST) recognized that surgical technologists were the only members of the surgical team not required to meet minimum threshold educational requirements for employment in New Jersey. Seeking to change this standard, NJAST asked The Zita Group (TZG) to advance legislation that would strengthen the field’s accreditation and educational requirements and raise the professional bar to practice surgical technology in the state of New Jersey.

In order to effectuate this change, TZG helped NJAST draft legislation requiring surgical technologists to complete an accredited education program and fulfill continuing education requirements as a condition of employment in New Jersey hospitals. TZG identified Assembly and Senate sponsors likely to advance the cause, scheduled meetings with legislators to inform them of the necessity for such legislation, and advocated for successful passage of the bill. After the bill passed both houses of the legislature, TZG met with officials from both the governor’s office and the New Jersey Department of Health to negotiate amendments to the bill and address administration concerns.

The governor signed the legislation into law, ensuring the safety of all surgical patients in New Jersey and increasing the overall quality of surgical care in hospital operating rooms across the state.

On behalf of our client, the Center for Secure and Modern Elections (CSME), KZG led and coordinated the legislative program to ensure the passage and enactment of legislation establishing Automatic Voter Registration (AVR) in New Jersey. KZG organized efforts among several voting rights organizations, worked with state agencies, legislative sponsors, Committee Chairs, and officials in the Governor Office, to achieve passage of this groundbreaking legislation. New Jersey became the 12th state, along with the District of Columbia, to enact automatic voter registration, joining a national trend in trying to boost voter participation in elections, while seeking to secure and modernize our election system.

AVR occurs when eligible citizens, who interact with certain government agencies, are registered to vote or have their existing registration information updated, unless they decline. State agencies then transfer voter registration information electronically to election officials. These changes create a process that will clean up the voter rolls and keep our elections safe and secure. Upon signing the bill, Governor Phil Murphy called the legislation, “One of the most expansive Automatic Voter Registration policies in the nation, strengthening and enhancing voting rights for eligible New Jersey residents.”

KZG secured passage of this bill within the first 100 Days of the new Murphy Administration.

When Competitive Power Ventures (CPV) ran into legislative and regulatory challenges in its planned construction of a 700 megawatt electric generation facility on a brownfield site in Woodbridge, NJ, the company turned to The Zita Group (TZG) to advance its interests.

TZG developed and negotiated amendments to complex legislation that would create long-term capacity contracts and coordinated with CPV’s internal and external legal teams. TZG advocated with senior officials in the governor’s office, the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) and the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities (NJBPU) to garner support for the proposed amendments and closely collaborated with Woodbridge officials to gain support for the amendments.

As a result of these efforts, the state passed legislation allowing CPV to successfully bid for and win a contract to develop a power plant in Woodbridge, NJ. TZG continues to help the company foster relationships with key NJBPU and NJDEP leadership and staff.

Despite an explosion of interest in craft beer across the country, New Jersey breweries found themselves constrained by antiquated laws that dated back to the Prohibition era and restricted their ability to expand operations, market their products and compete with breweries in neighboring states. That’s when the Garden State Craft Brewers Guild, an association made up of production breweries and brewpubs licensed in New Jersey, turned to The Zita Group (TZG) for help.

In order modernize New Jersey’s laws and unleash the economic potential of the industry, the TZG team developed and executed a comprehensive public affairs plan. From helping draft legislation to relax the constraints on the industry to navigating the numerous political hurdles that arose during the legislative process, TZG managed a complex policy initiative and negotiated a successful outcome. In the end, TZG’s efforts yielded a law that created a more friendly business environment that attracted new investment, enabled many of the Guild’s existing members to expand their facilities and allowed new breweries and brewpubs to enter the New Jersey market.

This landmark legislation was signed into law in September 2012.  Since then, the number of craft beer production facilities in New Jersey has increased over 100 percent.