Corporate Welfare Weekly - June 28th, 2010 – Issue 56

Recent Announcements…

 

$3,700,000 of the $23 million in Dell incentives paybacks may be given to Caterpillar, Inc. to entice the company to expand in Winston-Salem. Another $6.7 million of the paybacks may be used for infrastructure improvements.Winston-Salem is one of three cities in the running for an upcoming Caterpillar expansion. The heavy equipment manufacturer is expected to announce its choice by August. Dell repaid $15.5 million to the city of Winston-Salem and $7.9 million to Forsyth County.

                ~ Richard Craver, Winston-Salem Journal, June 26, 2010

 

$15,000 in incentives was approved for Wisdom Beverage, LLC on Monday, July 21^st by the Winston-Salem City Council. Although the incentives have been approved, company executives will not discuss the details of the deal.

                ~ Winston-Salem Journal, June 24, 2010

 

Spirit AeroSystems to open new controversial plant this week

 

The Raleigh News & Observer reported that Spirit AeroSystems will be opening its controversial plant this week. The aircraft components manufacturer could receive over $180 million in incentives, which made the deal very controversial with the public.

 

“When Spirit AeroSystems opens its new plant here this week, it's unlikely that any of the state officials in attendance will want to dwell on the past.

 

Spirit is the first large tenant to come to the Global TransPark, a government project long criticized for receiving lots of taxpayers' money but having little to show for it.

 

The arrival of Spirit, which has promised to create 1,000 jobs over the next six years, is being hailed as a turning point in the park's troubled 19-year history.

 

… But for a project that has already tested the patience of many, questions remain about how much more taxpayer support will be needed.

 

… The company is the centerpiece of the TransPark's efforts to position itself as a key part of the state's growing aviation industry. The park, 90 miles southeast of Raleigh, is hoping its proximity to Seymour Johnson Air Force Base in Goldsboro and Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point near Havelock will provide its tenants with a consistent source of skilled workers.

 

…So far, however, the Spirit deal hasn't translated into more tenants for the park.

 

The TransPark has 13 tenants, including three government agencies, which is the same number it had when Spirit signed on two years ago.

 

… Spirit was lured to the TransPark with incentives that could exceed $180 million if it meets job and investment requirements.

 

The incentives include a $100 million grant from the Golden LEAF Foundation to offset the cost of building the company's 500,000-square-foot plant. The state transportation department is spending more than $25 million to make road improvements and run a rail spur into the park that will connect with the port inMorehead City.

 

Spirit is leasing the plant from the state for $100 a year.”

 

NCICL sues NC Secretary of State Elaine Marshall over records request

 

NCICL has filed a lawsuit against NC Secretary of State Elaine Marshall accusing the department of denying the Institute access to public records. An article in the Triangle Business Journal explained that NCICL has been requesting records pertaining to lobbying activities and incentives awards related to Spirit AeroSystems, Inc., but those requests have been ignored by the Secretary of State’s office.

 

“When people submit a complaint, they want to know what, if anything, comes of it. And they get upset when they can’t find out the outcome.

 

That truism of human nature helps explain how the North Carolina Institute for Constitutional Law, a legal think tank based in Raleigh, has gotten embroiled in a legal tussle with the North Carolina Department of the Secretary of State regarding a public records request. NCICL announced Monday that it had filed a lawsuit to challenge what it claims is the denial by the department of the think tank’s request for information pertaining to a lobbying law violation complaint filed by NCICL. Secretary Elaine Marshall and the state ofNorth Carolina also are listed as defendants in the lawsuit.

 

The complicated case in Wake County Superior Court revolves around information that NCICL sought regarding state incentives that were awarded to Spirit AeroSystems Inc. as part of a 2008 economic development package that helped convince the company to locate a manufacturing plant at the N.C. Global TransPark in Kinston.

 

NCICL, led by former North Carolina Supreme Court Justice Bob Orr, says it requested copies of all documents relating to lobbyist activity on behalf of Spirit Aero in connection with the awarding of the economic development incentives. An official in the secretary of state’s office replied repeatedly that the department had no filings related to Spirit Aero, NCICL said. NCICL also asked whether the lobbying compliance division takes action if a principal or lobbyist fails to register lobbying activity and was told that the division opens an investigation in the event of such a complaint, NCICL says.

 

NCICL subsequently submitted a formal complaint to the secretary of state. But NCICL says the department has refused to provide any information about the status of NCICL’s complaint or any action taken by the department in regard to it.

 

Secretary of state spokeswoman Liz Proctor says the department hasn’t been served with the suit yet. According to information provided by Proctor, the department’s position is that it is unable to release information sought by NCICL due to the state’s lobbying law. Proctor says the department has sought to have the confidentiality language of the law changed.

 

Orr and NCICL have filed unsuccessful lawsuits against the North Carolina lottery and against economic incentives given to large corporations by the state of North Carolina.”

 

NC Omnibus incentives bill approved by the House, heads to the Senate

 

The Asheville-Citizen Times reported that the massive $300 million incentives conglomerate bill has passed the North Carolina House of Representatives and is headed for a Senate vote.

 

“Expanded tax breaks for North Carolina film productions and new incentives for computer simulation games and green-based business parks are now headed to the state Senate.

 

The House gave its final approval Monday night by a vote of 80 to 28 to new or extended economic incentives that could cost as much as $300 million in uncollected taxes in the next five years. The bill now heads to the Senate.

 

The change getting the most attention from lawmakers would allow the salaries of star actors and directors to count toward the amount movie and television producers could write off their state taxes. Right now there's a cap of $1 million per individual.

 

Critics of the measure say there's little or no evidence that targeted tax incentives work.”