Legislative Leaders Announce Economic Development, Job Recruitment Reforms

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Raleigh, N.C. – Senate Leader Phil Berger (R-Rockingham) and House Speaker Tim Moore (R-Cleveland) on Thursday announced the forthcoming state budget will include key changes to economic development programs that are expected to help secure a major jobs announcement in North Carolina in the coming months.

The legislation will modify the state’s existing economic development and jobs recruitment program based on feedback obtained during prior efforts to recruit large private sector employers as well as recent conversations between lawmakers and prospective companies across many sectors of the economy looking to move to North Carolina.

Top 10 Signs of Economic Success in North Carolina

  • North Carolina won the 2017 Prosperity Cup by Site Selection Magazine.
  • North Carolina named ‘Best State for Startups’ by Fit Small Business.
  • North Carolina named the Best State for Business by Forbes.
  • North Carolina has a $356 million surplus.
  • North Carolina has a record $1.8 billion rainy day reserve.
  • North Carolina is top-10 for wage growth: Bureau of Economic Analysis.
  • North Carolina added 85,000 jobs over a one-year period in March.
  • North Carolina moved from 44th to 11th in Tax Foundation rankings.
  • North Carolina has ‘AAA’ credit rating from all three ratings agencies.
  • North Carolina is a top-5 state for business in CNBC rankings.

Among other changes, it will:

    • Enable a company that commits to investing at least $1 billion and creating at least 3,000 new jobs in North Carolina to be eligible for a transformative project award under the state’s Job Development Investment Grants (JDIG) program. These thresholds are based on research conducted by the General Assembly’s economic team regarding the level at which a major corporate relocation will have an immediate positive impact on state revenues.

     

    • Allow transformative projects to receive credit for “expansion positions” above the 3,000 job minimum that are created during the term of a JDIG agreement. This will encourage companies to grow in North Carolina beyond an initial jobs commitment.

     

    • Lengthen the base period for transformative projects to 10 years and also extend the maximum JDIG term for transformative projects to the base period plus an additional 30 years. This will provide more long-term certainty to companies considering North Carolina.

     

    • Eliminate the $6,500 cap per job for JDIG awards for transformative projects. This will help attract higher-paying jobs.

     

    • Modify the award that is available to high-yield and transformative projects so that 10 percent of that benefit is directed to the state Utility Account – the fund designed to support economic development projects in rural North Carolina. Previously, the company received 100 percent of the award. This will help make certain that the positive impact of major job recruitments is felt by the entire state.

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