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Read. Follow. Verify.New Jersey Bill A748 offers corporation and gross income tax credits to businesses hiring qualified ex-offenders
Last action · January 13, 2026: Introduced, Referred to Assembly Commerce and Economic Development CommitteeSponsor: Al Abdelaziz
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What This Bill Would Do
New Jersey Bill A748 establishes and credits for businesses that hire qualified individuals within one year of their conviction or release from incarceration. The tax credit is equal to 15 percent of the wages paid to each qualified ex-offender, capped at $900 per employee per or taxable year.
Businesses employing recent ex-offenders can lower their state tax liabilities by up to $900 per qualifying worker, while individuals meeting the conviction and hiring timeline criteria gain expanded employment incentives in the labor market.
- Assemblyman Al Abdelaziz represents New Jersey's 35th Legislative District, which includes municipalities in Bergen and Passaic counties. context
- The federal Work Opportunity Tax Credit (WOTC) provides federal tax incentives to employers who hire individuals from certain targeted groups facing significant employment barriers. context
Who It Would Affect
Groups the bill's text would affect if enacted, as described in the record. Being affected is not a position for or against it.
businesses
Businesses employing qualified ex-offenders become eligible to claim corporation business tax or gross income tax credits of up to $900 per employee.
qualified ex-offenders
Individuals meeting the conviction and hiring timeline criteria are the target group whose employment incentivizes businesses to hire them.
partnerships
Partnerships pass through proportional tax credit shares to their partners based on distributive income.
Key Facts
You don't have to trust us. Each fact below is taken straight from the official document - click any one to see the exact passage, highlighted in the original.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who qualifies as a 'qualified ex-offender' under this bill?
What is the maximum tax credit a business can receive per qualified ex-offender?
How do partnerships handle the gross income tax credit?
What else do you want to know?
News Coverage
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Votes, people, money & the original sourceWhere This Stands
Currently in committee. The next step in the legislative lifecycle is Floor Vote.
Procedural history
1 action- Jan 13, 2026HouseIntroducedIntroduced, Referred to Assembly Commerce and Economic Development Committee
Version history
Only one version on file - nothing to compare yet. As later stages (committee substitute, engrossed, enrolled) are captured, the redline appears here.
View official text →Lobbying Activity
No state lobbying filings in our records match this bill. Federal lobbying reports (LDA) cover Congress, so they are not listed on state bills.
Full breakdown
Who this bill affects and the strongest case for and against it, written only from the bill’s own text.
Sponsors
Discoveries
Patterns POLISCOPE noticed across the record. These are observations to investigate, not conclusions.
State-Level Adoption of Federal Incentive Model
The bill's statement explicitly notes that these New Jersey tax credits are modeled on the federal Work Opportunity Tax Credit (WOTC).
Connected Entities
Sources
njleg.state.nj.us
Analysis Score
0–100- Significance45How much this matters to a regular citizen
- Controversy20Intensity of disagreement among stakeholders
- Entertainment5Compellingness for a non-policy-wonk reader
- Buzz25Current news / social attention level
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