NC Senate expected to debate incentives this month

A day after South Carolina bagged its second auto manufacturer this year, the Republican leader of the N.C. Senate said Tuesday that he expects his chamber to act on an incentives bill within two weeks.

Senate President Pro Tem Phil Berger’s comments to the N.C. Chamber came as Charlotte Chamber President Bob Morgan said Mecklenburg County stands to lose five new employers and 2,000 jobs if the state fails to fund new incentives.

South Carolina promised more than $200 million in incentives toward a $500 million Volvo manufacturing plant near Charleston. Earlier incentives helped lure Mercedes-Benz to announce a plant nearby.

Republican Gov. Pat McCrory has called on lawmakers to approve a new incentives fund. The House passed a bill this spring, but the Senate has taken no action on a pair of competing bills.

The governor, speaking to the state chamber, said he had lunch with GOP House Speaker Tim Moore and Berger, who promised the Senate would debate incentives legislation this month.

“I need your help to talk to legislators and say it’s time to take bold action,” he told the business audience.

In his remarks to the group, Berger touted North Carolina’s falling unemployment rate and falling business taxes, which he said are poised to fall even further. He said he expects the Senate to extend the Job Development Investment Grants, or JDIG, which is out of money.

Even so, Berger said the state won’t try to match South Carolina’s money.

“I don’t think we have to be able to compete (with) them dollar for dollar,” he said, saying the state can leverage other advantages.

Morgan suggested that can’t come soon enough.

“We are not able to put the JDIG on the table, and it is making us uncompetitive,” he said. “We’ve had record job growth in the last two years, and JDIG has been a key driver.”

This story was originally published May 12, 2015 at 6:39 PM with the headline "NC Senate expected to debate incentives this month."