A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT to expand economically distressed counties to include all tier one and tier two counties and to increase the maximum expenditure of funds from the industrial development fund.
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
SECTION 1.  G.S. 143B‑437.01 reads as rewritten:
"§ 143B‑437.01.  Industrial Development Fund.
(a)	Creation and Purpose of Fund. – There is created in the Department of Commerce the Industrial Development Fund to provide funds to assist the local government units of the most economically distressed counties in the State in creating jobs in certain industries. The Department of Commerce shall adopt rules providing for the administration of the program. Those rules shall include the following provisions, which shall apply to each grant from the fund:
(1)	The funds shall be used for (i) installation of or purchases of equipment for eligible industries, (ii) structural repairs, improvements, or renovations of existing buildings to be used for expansion of eligible industries, or (iii) construction of or improvements to new or existing water, sewer, gas, telecommunications, high‑speed broadband, electrical utility distribution lines or equipment, or transportation infrastructure for existing or new or proposed industrial buildings to be used for eligible industries. To be eligible for funding, the water, sewer, gas, telecommunications, high‑speed broadband, electrical utility lines or facilities, or transportation infrastructure shall be located on the site of the building or, if not located on the site, shall be directly related to the operation of the specific eligible industrial activity.
(1a)	The funds shall be used for projects located in economically distressed counties except that the Secretary of Commerce may use up to one hundred thousand dollars ($100,000) to provide emergency economic development assistance in any county that is documented to be experiencing a major economic dislocation.
(2)	The funds shall be used by the city and county governments for projects that will directly result in the creation of new jobs. The funds shall be expended at a maximum rate of ten thousand dollars ($10,000) per new job created up to a maximum of five hundred thousand dollars ($500,000) per project.
(3)	There shall be no local match requirement if the project is located in a county that has one of the 25 highest rankings under G.S. 143B‑437.08 or that has a population of less than 50,000 and more than nineteen percent (19%) of its population below the federal poverty level according to the most recent federal decennial census.
(4)	The Department may authorize a local government that receives funds under this section to use up to two percent (2%) of the funds, if necessary, to verify that the funds are used only in accordance with law and to otherwise administer the grant or loan.
(5)	No project subject to the Environmental Policy Act, Article 1 of Chapter 113A of the General Statutes, shall be funded unless the Secretary of Commerce finds that the proposed project will not have a significant adverse effect on the environment. The Secretary of Commerce shall not make this finding unless the Secretary has first received a certification from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources that concludes, after consideration of avoidance and mitigation measures, that the proposed project will not have a significant adverse effect on the environment.
(6)	The funds shall not be used for any nonmanufacturing project that does not meet the wage standard set out in G.S. 105‑129.4(b).
(a1)	Definitions. – The following definitions apply in this section:
(1)	Air courier services. – Defined in G.S. 105‑129.81.
(2)	Repealed by Session Laws 2006‑252, s. 2.4, effective January 1, 2007.
(2a)	Company headquarters. – Defined in G.S. 105‑129.81.
(3)	Repealed by Session Laws 2006‑252, s. 2.4, effective January 1, 2007.
(4)	Economically distressed county. – A county that is defined as a tier one or tier two county under G.S. 143B‑437.08 after the adjustments of that section are applied.
(5)	Eligible industry. – A company headquarters or a person engaged in the business of air courier services, information technology and services, manufacturing, or warehousing and wholesale trade.
(6)	Information technology and services. – Defined in G.S. 105‑129.81.
(7)	Major economic dislocation. – The actual or imminent loss of 500 or more manufacturing jobs in the county or of a number of manufacturing jobs equal to at least ten percent (10%) of the existing manufacturing workforce in the county.
(8)	Manufacturing. – Defined in G.S. 105‑129.81.
(9)	Reserved.
(10)	Warehousing. – Defined in G.S. 105‑129.81.
(11)	Wholesale trade. – Defined in G.S. 105‑129.81.
(b)	Repealed by Session Laws 1996, Second Extra Session, c. 13, s. 3.5.
(b1)	Utility Account. – There is created within the Industrial Development Fund a special account to be known as the Utility Account to provide funds to assist the local government units of the counties that is defined as a tier one or tier two county under G.S. 143B‑437.08 after the adjustments of that section are applied in creating jobs in eligible industries. The Department of Commerce shall adopt rules providing for the administration of the program. Except as otherwise provided in this subsection, those rules shall be consistent with the rules adopted with respect to the Industrial Development Fund. The rules shall provide that the funds in the Utility Account may be used only for construction of or improvements to new or existing water, sewer, gas, telecommunications, high‑speed broadband, electrical utility distribution lines or equipment, or transportation infrastructure for existing or new or proposed industrial buildings to be used for eligible industrial operations. To be eligible for funding, the water, sewer, gas, telecommunications, high‑speed broadband, electrical utility lines or facilities, or transportation infrastructure shall be located on the site of the building or, if not located on the site, shall be directly related to the operation of the specific industrial activity. There shall be no maximum funding amount per new job to be created or per project.
(c)	Reports. – The Department of Commerce shall report annually to the General Assembly concerning the applications made to the fund and the payments made from the fund and the impact of the payments on job creation in the State. The Department of Commerce shall also report quarterly to the Joint Legislative Commission on Governmental Operations and the Fiscal Research Division on the use of the moneys in the fund, including information regarding to whom payments were made, in what amounts, and for what purposes.
(c1)	In addition to the reporting requirements of subsection (c) of this section, the Department of Commerce shall report annually to the General Assembly concerning the payments made from the Utility Account and the impact of the payments on job creation in the State. The Department of Commerce shall also report quarterly to the Joint Legislative Commission on Governmental Operations and the Fiscal Research Division on the use of the moneys in the Utility Account including information regarding to whom payments were made, in what amounts, and for what purposes.
(d)	Repealed by Session Laws 1996, Second Extra Session, c. 13, s. 3.5."
SECTION 2.  This act becomes effective July 1, 2009.