1. a. The executive director of the New Jersey Business Action Center in the Department of State shall establish and maintain, in collaboration with the New Jersey Economic Development Authority, the New Jersey Business and Industry Association, the New Jersey Chamber of Commerce, and regional chambers of commerce across the State, a publicly available small business manual that provides information and guidance on establishing, maintaining, and expanding a small business.

b. The manual shall be succinct, with a focus on brevity, and shall contain, after discussion with all collaborators in subsection a. of this section, the most important priorities when establishing, maintaining, and expanding a small business. The contents of the manual shall also include, but not be limited to, information concerning:

(1) State and local permits and inspections;

(2) financial assistance programs;

(3) lease contracts;

(4) commercial real estate transactions, including methods on how to acquire commercial real estate; and

(5) any other information that the executive director deems necessary.

c. The executive director shall additionally solicit information from the Department of Community Affairs, the Department of Environmental Protection, the Economic Development Authority, and other relevant departments and agencies on frequently asked questions that a small business owner may have when establishing, maintaining, or expanding a small business. Responses collected by the executive director shall be included in the manual.

d. The manual shall be made available to the public one year next following the effective date of P.L.2023, c.27 (C. 52:16A-136). The executive director shall update the information contained in the manual periodically.

e. As used in this section, “publicly available” means to post in a conspicuous manner on the Internet website of the New Jersey Business Action Center and in a hard copy made available for a nominal fee.

L.2023, c.27.