The governor quickly backtracked, extending the BEIP payouts for an extra year to compensate for canceling this year's payments. In the wake of the furor, a panel has been formed by the state to study BEIP and other state incentive programs and their relative effectiveness.

Co-chaired by William Watley, who heads the New Jersey Commerce & Economic Growth Commission, and attorney Ted Zangari of the Sill Cummis Law Firm of Newark, the New Jersey Business Incentives Study Commission is made up of top public and private sector leaders, including many of the state's best-known real estate people. The commission, which has been divided into "critical examination" and "comparative analysis" working groups, is dotted with such names as Seena Stein of Newmark of NJ, Mitchell Hersh of Mack-Cali, Richard Johnson of Matrix, Harrison LeFrak of the Lefrak Organization, Gil Medina of Cushman & Wakefield and Robert Rudin of Insignia/ESG, to name a few.

"The current [state] budget crisis has forced public officials to weigh competing budgetary priorities," co-chair Zangari told the group at its initial meeting Monday. "Funding for BEIP has not gone unscathed in the budget process, but even before recent events surrounding BEIP, the soft office real estate market and uncertainty within the telecom and pharmaceutical industries had already prompted many of us in commercial real estate to take a step back and consider whether New Jersey remains at the top of its game.

"In an era when many of our citizens view business incentives as 'corporate welfare,' the challenge is to assure the public that business incentives are not a zero-sum game, that New Jersey is competing on a national and international playing field for industries, office space and jobs," Zangari continued.

As far as the goal of the commission, "we must determine how BEIP measures up against similar incentives offered by competing states," Zangari explained. "At the same time, in light of the limited resources of the state treasury, we must critically examine whether the qualification, eligibility and accountability standards of BEIP remain relevant to the new economy."

Both Watley and Zangari indicated at the initial meeting that they would like to have a preliminary assessment of BEIP in front of Gov. McGreevey within the next two weeks.