Governor Signs New Incentives Bill

Story >

Governor Signs New Incentives Bill

Special Report - September 12, 2007
North Carolina Governor Mike Easley avoided the first veto override in state history this week, and instead signed into law a bill that makes $60 million in corporate incentives available to large employers in North Carolina. Lawmakers approved the measure, HB 4—Job Maintenance and Capital Development Fund, during a special session of the General Assembly on September 11, which was convened in response to Governor Easley’s veto of a less-expansive incentives bill (HB 1761) in late August. Rather than take a vote on overriding the veto, legislators considered a substitute version that authorized an even more generous incentives package. HB 4 passed the State House 61 to 44 and the Senate 25 to 16. The bill allows North Carolina to make grant payments for up to 10 years, with a $60 million cap on total aggregate spending for all agreements with corporations. Among other conditions, the bill requires companies to invest at least $200 million over six years in private funds for corporate property improvements, maintain at least 2,000 full-time traditional or contract employees, establish specific wage standards, and provide health insurance for workers. The measure also requires firms to be located in an economically depressed county (tier one area) and prohibits grant recipients from hiring illegal immigrants. HB 4 reportedly targets incentives to two major tire manufacturers in North Carolina—Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company in Fayetteville and Bridgestone Firestone in Wilson.