AN ACT to design a five‑tier economic distress system that May be used in addition to the current development tier system.

The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:

SECTION 1.  G.S. 143B‑437.08 reads as rewritten:

§ 143B‑437.08.  Development tier designation.

(a)        Tiers Defined. – Tier Systems. – The following tier systems are established:

(1)        Development tiers defined. – A development tier one area is a county whose annual ranking is one of the 40 highest in the State. A development tier two area is a county whose annual ranking is one of the next 40 highest in the State. A development tier three area is a county that is not in a lower‑numbered development tier.

(2)        Enterprise tiers defined. – An enterprise tier one area is a county whose annual ranking is one of the 20 highest in the State. An enterprise tier two area is a county whose annual ranking is between 21 and 40 in the State. An enterprise tier three area is a county whose annual ranking is between 41 and 60 in the State. An enterprise tier four area is a county whose annual ranking is between 61 and 80 in the State. An enterprise tier five area is a county that is not in a lower‑numbered enterprise tier.

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(c)        Annual Ranking. – After computing the development factor as provided in this section, the Secretary of Commerce shall rank all the counties within the State according to their development factor from highest to lowest. The Secretary shall then identify all the areas of the State by development tier and enterprise tier and publish this information. A development tier designation is and an enterprise tier designation are effective only for the calendar year following the designation.

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SECTION 2.  This act is effective when it becomes law.