WHEREAS, current economic conditions pose new challenges and provide new opportunities to New Jersey's economy; and

WHEREAS, New Jersey must meet these challenges and opportunities by supporting the creation of high-quality jobs, particularly in fields related to research and development; and

WHEREAS, New Jersey has a world-class industrial base and academic research universities available to support new businesses in technology; and

WHEREAS, relationships between industrial and academic research in the State must be strengthened to sustain New Jersey's economy; and

WHEREAS, creating a platform for academic and research excellence at New Jersey's public universities in conjunction with the State's strong industrial research sector will attract and enhance Federal and private sector funding; and

WHEREAS, a comprehensive analysis of the available resources, coupled with the development of a state-wide business plan, will strengthen New Jersey's economy by promoting the resources upon which future businesses will grow; and

WHEREAS, providing a strong foundation and mechanism for establishing new companies and strengthening the support structure for existing ones will stabilize New Jersey's economy through future technological changes;

NOW, THEREFORE, I, JAMES E. McGREEVEY, Governor of the State of New Jersey, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and by the Statutes of this State, do hereby ORDER and DIRECT:

1. There is hereby established the Commission on Jobs, Growth and Economic Development, hereinafter referred to as the Commission.

2. The Commission shall consist of up to 45 members appointed by the Governor, including the Chief Executive Officer of the Commerce and Economic Growth Commission and the Commissioner of Labor. The members of the Commission shall be selected from among representatives of business and industry, the research and high-technology sectors, higher education, the financial industry sector; and persons familiar with these institutions as they relate directly to State Government. The Governor shall appoint the Co-Chairs of the Commission.

3. It shall be the charge and duty of the Commission to accomplish the following:
   1. Develop a blueprint for New Jersey's economic growth, including the identification of opportunities for creating jobs for New Jersey's citizens, particularly in the area of research and development, in order to develop the high-technology sector and well-paid knowledge-based jobs for New Jerseyans.
   2. Identify emerging technologies of strategic importance to New Jersey and resources to support these emerging technologies in collaboration with and for the benefit of both New Jersey's industrial and academic sectors in order to maximize the investment of research dollars in the State.
   3. Identify workforce training needs of New Jersey's high-technology and industrial sector and develop strategies to foster and encourage better coordination and training strategies to meet the needs of industry and of New Jerseyans.

4. The Commission shall report directly to the Governor, outlining specific recommendations that address the charge and duty stated above with respect to a plan for strengthening the economy and the creation of high-quality jobs for the State of New Jersey.

5. The Commission is authorized to call upon any department, office or agency of State Government and any public institution of higher education to provide such information, resources or other assistance deemed necessary to discharge its responsibilities under this Order. Each department, office, division and agency of this State and public institution of higher education is hereby required to cooperate with the Commission and to furnish it with such information, personnel and assistance as is necessary to accomplish the purposes of this Order.

6. Members of the Commission shall serve without compensation, except that they may receive per diem and travel expenses.

7. This order shall take effect immediately.

GIVEN, under my hand and seal this 15th day of
April in the Year of Our Lord, Two Thousand and
Three, and of the Independence of the United States,
the Two Hundred and Twenty-Seventh.

/s/ James E. McGreevey
Governor

[seal]

Attest: