A new bill introduced in the New Jersey state Senate aims to restore the sales tax break for grocery stores in Urban Enterprise Zones, which, if approved, can significantly help several Lakewood grocery stores which are located within the designated zone.

The bill, sponsored by Senate Majority Leader Teresa Ruiz (D-Essex) and Senator Nilsa Cruz-Perez (D-Camden/Gloucester), would exempt groceries stores from the $100,000 cap currently placed on sales and use tax exemptions for businesses operating in urban enterprise zones. There are currently 37 municipalities that are classified as urban enterprise zones, located in 13 of New Jersey’s 21 counties.

For decades, the grocery stores built in urban enterprise zones have been completely exempt from sales and use taxes, drastically reducing their operating costs but that exemption was recently capped at $100,000, a limit easily reached by most supermarkets.

Currently, only supermarkets in “food deserts” are exempt from the $100,000 cap, this bill would level the playing field and allow supermarkets in UEZ to have the same benefit.

The UEZ Program Authority, an affiliate agency of the Department of Community Affairs, was created in 1983 to help foster an economic climate that revitalizes designated urban communities and stimulates their growth by encouraging businesses to develop and create private-sector jobs through public and private investment.

Currently, there are 32 zones statewide, which are spread across 37 municipalities and home to approximately 7,300 UEZ-certified businesses.