AN ACT to expand availability of awards from the job maintenance and capital development fund.

The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:

SECTION 1.  G.S. 143B‑437.012 reads as rewritten:

§ 143B‑437.012.  Job Maintenance and Capital Development Fund.

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(d)       Eligibility. – A business is eligible for consideration for a grant under this section if it satisfies the conditions of subdivision (1), (1a), (2), or (2a) (2a), or (2b) of this subsection and satisfies subdivision (4) of this subsection:

(1)        The business is a major employer. A business is a major employer if the business meets the following requirements:

a.         The Department certifies that the business has invested or intends to invest at least two hundred million dollars ($200,000,000) of private funds in improvements to real property and additions to tangible personal property in the project within a six‑year period beginning with the time the investment commences.

b.         The business employs at least 2,000 full‑time employees or equivalent full‑time contract employees at the project that is the subject of the grant at the time the application is made, and the business agrees to maintain at least 2,000 full‑time employees or equivalent full‑time contract employees at the project for the full term of the grant agreement.

c.         The project is located in a development tier one area at the time the business applies for a grant.

(1a)      The business previously received a grant as a major employer under this section and meets the following requirements:

a.         The Department certifies that the business has invested or intends to invest at least one hundred fifty million dollars ($150,000,000) of private funds in improvements to real property and additions to tangible personal property in the project within a six‑year period beginning with the time the investment commences. Amounts certified as invested under sub‑subdivision a. of subdivision (1) of this subsection shall not be included in the amount required by this sub‑subdivision.

b.         The business employs at least 2,000 full‑time employees or equivalent full‑time contract employees at the project that is the subject of the grant at the time the application is made and the business agrees to maintain at least 2,000 full‑time employees or equivalent full‑time contract employees at the project for the full term of the grant agreement.

c.         The project is at the same location as that for which a grant was previously awarded under subdivision (1) of this subsection.

(2)        The business is a large manufacturing employer. A business is a large manufacturing employer if the business meets the following requirements:

a.         The business is in manufacturing, as defined in G.S. 105‑129.81, and is converting its manufacturing process to change the product it manufactures or is investing in its manufacturing process by enhancing pollution controls or transitioning the manufacturing process from using coal to using natural gas for the purpose of becoming more energy efficient or reducing emissions.

b.         The Department certifies that the business has invested or intends to invest at least fifty million dollars ($50,000,000) of private funds in improvements to real property and additions to tangible personal property in the project within a five‑year period beginning with the time the investment commences.

c.         The business meets one of the following employment requirements:

1.         If in a development tier one area, the business employs at least 320 full‑time employees at the project that is the subject of the grant at the time the application is made, and the business agrees to maintain at least 320 full‑time employees at the project for the full term of the grant.

2.         If in a development tier two area with a population of less than 60,000 as of July 1, 2013, the business employs at least 800 full‑time employees or equivalent full‑time contract employees at the project that is the subject of the grant at the time the application is made, and the business agrees to maintain at least 800 full‑time employees or equivalent full‑time contract employees at the project for the full term of the grant.

(2a)      The business is a heritage manufacturing employer. A business is a heritage manufacturing employer if the business meets the following requirements:

a.         The business is in manufacturing, as defined in G.S. 143B‑437.01, and has been operating in this State for over 100 years.

b.         The Department certifies that the business has invested or intends to invest at least three hundred twenty‑five million dollars ($325,000,000) of private funds in improvements to real property and additions to tangible personal property in the project within a four‑year period beginning with the time the investment commences.

c.         The business employs at least 1,050 full‑time employees or equivalent full‑time contract employees in the State at the time the application is made and the business agrees to (i) maintain at least 1,050 full‑time employees or equivalent full‑time contract employees in the State for the full term of the grant and (ii) retrain and relocate to a development tier two area at least 400 of those full‑time employees or equivalent full‑time contract employees upon the commencement of commercial production at its tier two area facility.

d.         The business is operating in a development tier three area at the time the business applies for a grant and the business is relocating to a development tier two area with an estimated population of less than 63,000, according to the 2017 Certified County Population Estimates published by the State Demographer's Office.

e.         An agreement with a business under this subdivision may provide that the grant paid out over the term of the agreement be in unequal annual payments and in amounts deviating from the factors listed in subsection (l) of this section for any individual annual payment, provided the factors are considered in the aggregate award to be paid to the business over the entire term of the agreement.

(2b)      The business is a supply‑chain‑impact manufacturing employer. A business is a supply‑chain‑impact manufacturing employer if the business meets the following requirements:

a.         The business is in manufacturing, as defined in G.S. 105‑129.81, manufactures a product used primarily and significantly in the construction of residential and commercial buildings, and is investing in its manufacturing process to transition away from utilizing coal‑based energy byproducts to other alternatives.

b.         The Department certifies that the business has invested or intends to invest at least one hundred ten million dollars ($110,000,000) of private funds in improvements to real property and additions to tangible personal property in the project within a five‑year period beginning with the time the investment commences.

c.         The business and its affiliated companies (i) employ at least 420 full‑time employees or equivalent full‑time contract employees in the State at the time the application is made and (ii) agree to maintain at least 420 full‑time employees or equivalent full‑time contract employees in the State for the full term of the grant.

d.         The business has operations in a development tier two area at the time the business applies for a grant, and the business agrees to maintain or increase the development tier two area operations for the term of the agreement.

(3)        Repealed by Session Laws 2014‑118, s. 1, effective July 1, 2014.

(4)        All newly hired employees of the business must be citizens of the United States or have proper identification and documentation of their authorization to reside and work in the United States.

(e)        Wage Standard. – A business is eligible for consideration for a grant under this section only if the business satisfies a wage standard at the project that is the subject of the agreement. A For an agreement with a business and its affiliated companies, the wage standard is met if (i) the pay for employees located in the lowest development tier is at least equal to one hundred forty percent (140%) of the average wage for all insured in the county and (ii) the pay for all other employees is at least equal to one hundred forty percent (140%) of the greater of the average wage for all insured in the county where the position was located at the time the agreement was entered or, if the position is transferred to another area in the State, the average wage for all insured in the county to which the position is transferred. For any other agreement, a business satisfies the wage standard if it pays an average weekly wage that is at least equal to one hundred forty percent (140%) of the average wage for all insured private employers in the county. The Department of Commerce shall annually publish the wage standard for each county. In making the wage calculation, the business shall include any jobs that were filled for at least 1,600 hours during the calendar year, regardless of whether the jobs are full‑time positions or equivalent full‑time contract positions. Each year that a grant agreement is in effect, the business shall provide the Department a certification that the business continues to satisfy the wage standard. If a business fails to satisfy the wage standard for a year, the business is not eligible for a grant payment for that year.

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(n)        Limitations. – The Department may enter into no more than seven eight agreements under this section. The total aggregate cost of all agreements entered into under this section may not exceed one hundred fifty‑four fifty‑nine million dollars ($154,000,000). ($159,000,000). The total annual cost of an agreement entered into under this section may not exceed six million dollars ($6,000,000).

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