TRENTON, N.J. – Governor Phil Murphy participated in an “emergency summit” over the weekend with other Northeastern United States governors. The purported goal was to discuss ways to tackle rising COVID-19 cases, but one New Jersey business group is warning against new regional restrictions.
“The economic wreckage that added restrictions could cause here in New Jersey should be carefully considered because the consequences could be dire for small businesses and their employees,” said Eileen Kean, state director of the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) in New Jersey. “Overreaching multistate executive orders could be the end to the road for those who are barely holding on, especially hard-hit businesses that already face ongoing, rigid restrictions in our state.”
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“As Governor Murphy is interacting with this group of Northeastern governors, we strongly encourage him to put the interests of New Jersey citizens and small businesses far ahead of regional goals,” Kean continued. “Our state’s approach should not be decided by groups of elected officials in other states, but right here in Trenton. Any broad-brush approach could impact New Jersey businesses that happen to be located in areas without an uptick in cases. It would be better to target individual outbreaks to minimize economic harm.”
Governor Murphy resisted targeted restrictions for most of 2020, electing instead for hamhanded, statewide lockdown mesures which have drawn widespread criticism from small businesses. He just recently signed an executive order permitting counties and towns to close “non-essential” businesses at their own discretion. A legislative proposal favored by South Jersey Democrats would create a three-tiered color-coded system based upon COVID-19 risk.
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