Read the full stored bill text
GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA
SESSION 2025
H 3
HOUSE BILL 616
Committee Substitute Favorable 4/29/25
Third Edition Engrossed 5/7/25
Short Title: Megasites/Selectsites Program Revisions. (Public)
Sponsors:
Referred to:
April 1, 2025
*H616-v-3*
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED 1
AN ACT TO MODIFY THE MEGASITES AND SELECTSITES READINESS PROGRAMS. 2
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts: 3
SECTION 1.(a) Section 11.11 of S.L. 2022-74, as amended by Section 11.11 of S.L. 4
2023-134, reads as rewritten: 5
"SECTION 11.11.(a) Purpose. – It is in the best economic and developmental interests of 6
the State to support the development of megasites to ensure the State's ongoing competitiveness 7
for major manufacturing opportunities, including, but not limited to, th e aerospace, automotive, 8
clean energy, food processing, semiconductor, and life science industries. The purpose of this 9
section is to establish a competitive grant program serving to do the following: 10
(1) Identify and evaluate up to seven megasites for pre ferred development and 11
marketing. 12
(2) Assist local governments or a partnership of local governments in the 13
acquisition of a newly identified or existing megasite. 14
(3) Support local governments or a partnership of local governments to analyze, 15
plan, install, or upgrade public infrastructure, including publicly owned water, 16
gas, and sewer systems, transportation infrastructure, and the electrical utility 17
lines electric infrastructure necessary to meet the needs of prospective 18
employers for megasites. 19
(4) Support local governments or a partnership of local governments to fund 20
on-site preparation, including clearing, grading, or other related expenses for 21
megasites. 22
(4a) Support local governments or a partnership of local governments in 23
conducting due diligence , including, but not limited to, the following: site 24
characteristics, preliminary engineering reports for water and wastewater 25
provision to the site, assessments related to road and highway infrastructure 26
to serve the site, and other assessments as needed. 27
(5) Facilitate coordination between the economic development entities, the North 28
Carolina Department of Environmental Quality, and the North Carolina 29
Department of Transportation to expedite needs related to timely site 30
development. 31
… 32
"SECTION 11.11.(c) Definitions. – The following definitions apply in this section: 33
… 34
General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2025
Page 2 House Bill 616-Third Edition
(4) Government partnership. – Either (i) a North Carolina nonprofit entity that is 1
tax exempt under section 501(c)(3) or 501(c) (12) of the Internal Revenue 2
Code in partnership with one or more local governments or (ii) a group of 3
local governments. 4
… 5
"SECTION 11.11.(d) Allocation. – EDPNC shall allocate monies in the Fund on the 6
following basis: 7
… 8
(2) All other funds appropriated to the Fund for local government grants for the 9
acquisition of megasites determined pursuant to subdivision (1) of this 10
subsection. purposes described in subsection (a) of this section. A grant for 11
the acquisition of a megasite is limited to eighty -five percent (85%) of the 12
lesser of the property 's purchase price o r tax value. The percentage actually 13
provided in the grant shall be determined by EDPNC based on total 14
development needs for the megasite, prior investment in the megasite by one 15
or more local governments, the ability of one or more local governments to 16
invest in the megasite, and the ability and level of participation promised by 17
the local government in exchange for a grant from the Fund. Monies may only 18
be granted for, and used to acquire, a megasite for which (i) one or more local 19
governments have a binding option or offer to purchase and (ii) all basic due 20
diligence must be complete, including, but not limited to, boundary surveys, 21
title searches, State Historic Preservation Office reviews, and wetlands 22
delineation. 23
… 24
"SECTION 11.11.(f) Agreements Required. – Monies may be disbursed from the Fund 25
previously appropriated for the Megasite Readiness Program shall be transferred in full to 26
EDPNC when this act becomes law. Funds subsequently appropriated for the Program shall be 27
transferred in full to EDPNC once such an act becomes law. EDPNC may use funds only in 28
accordance with agreements that are (i) entered into between EDPNC and a local government or 29
a government partnership and (ii) approved by the Economic Investment Committee established 30
pursuant to G.S. 143B-437.54. The agreement must include all of the performance criteria, 31
remedies, and other safeguards required to secure the assistance provided to ready the megasite 32
for a major employer and must require EDPNC to recapture a proportionate amount of assistance 33
provided under this section for failure by a local government or government partnership to meet 34
and maintain the megasite for availability for the purposes for which the assistance was provided. 35
…." 36
SECTION 1.(b) Section 11.12 of S.L. 2023-134 reads as rewritten: 37
"SECTION 11.12.(a) Funds appropriated by Section 11.4 11.4(d)(1) of S.L. 2022-74 to the 38
Department of Commerce (Department) and allocated to the nonprofit corporation with which 39
the Department contracts pursuant to G.S. 143B-431.01(b) that remain unspent as of June 30, 40
2023, April 1, 2025, shall be transferred to the North Carolina Selectsite Fund established in 41
subsection (c) of this section to be used for purposes consistent with subdivision (e)(1) of this 42
section. Of the funds appropriated from the Economic Development Project Reserve established 43
in Section 2.2 of this act to the Department to be allocated to the nonprofit corporation with which 44
the Department contracts pursuant to G.S. 143B-431.01(b), the sum of ten million dollars 45
($10,000,000) in nonrecurring funds for the 2024-2025 fiscal year shall be used to support local 46
governments or a partnership of local governments in conducting due diligence as described in 47
subdivision for the purposes described in subdivisions (b)(2), (b)(3), (b)(4), and (b)(5) of this 48
section. 49
"SECTION 11.12.(b) Purpose. – It is in the best economic and developmental interests of 50
the State to support the development of selectsites to ensure the State's ongoing competitiveness 51
General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2025
House Bill 616-Third Edition Page 3
for major manufacturing opportunities, including, but not limited to, the aerospace, automotive, 1
clean energy, food processing, semiconductor, and life science industries. The purpose of this 2
section is to establish a competitive grant program serving to do the following: 3
(1) Identify and evaluate up to 15 20 selectsites of less than 1,000 acres for 4
preferred development and marketing. 5
(2) Assist local governments or a partnership of local governments in the 6
acquisition of a newly identified or existing selectsite. 7
(3) Support local governments or a partnership of local governments to analyze, 8
plan, install, or upgrade public infrastructure, including publicly owned water, 9
gas, and sewer systems; transportation infrastructure; and the electrical utility 10
lines electric infrastructure necessary to meet the needs of prospective 11
employers for selectsites. 12
(4) Support local governments or a partnership of local governments to fund 13
on-site preparation, including clearing, grading, or other related expenses for 14
selectsites. 15
(5) Support local governments or a partnership of local governments in 16
conducting due diligence, including, but not limited to, the following: site 17
characteristics, preliminary engineering reports for water and wastewater 18
provision to the site, assessments related to road and highway infrastructure 19
to serve the site, and other assessments as needed. 20
(6) Facilitate coordination between the economic development entities and the 21
North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality and the North Carolina 22
Department of Transportation to expedite needs related to timely site 23
development. 24
… 25
"SECTION 11.12.(e) Allocation. – EDPNC shall allocate monies in the Fund on the 26
following basis: 27
(1) Unspent funds transferred pursuant to subsection (a) of this section shall be 28
used for engaging a national site selection firm through a competitive bid 29
process to produce a report identifying and evaluating 15 selectsites for 30
preferred development and marketing, of which seven must be less than 500 31
acres and of which an additional two must be less than 100 acres. Further 32
unspent funds transferred pursuant to subsection (a) of this section shall be 33
used for engaging a national site selection firm through a competitive bid 34
process to produce a supplemental report identifying and evaluating up to five, 35
and no less than three, additional selectsites from the initial disaster declared 36
counties resulting from Tropical Storm Helene. 37
(2) Funds appropriated to the Fund for local government grants shall be allocated 38
for the purposes outlined in subdivisions (b)(2), (b)(3), (b)(4), and (b)(5) of 39
this section for selectsites determined pursuant to subdivision (1) of this 40
subsection. EDPNC shall prioritize local government grants that have the 41
greatest potential to reduce the time for site readin ess and reduce the risk of 42
unforeseen conditions that could affect the site viability for advanced 43
manufacturing projects. EDPNC shall base the grant amount on total 44
development needs for the selectsite, prior investment in the selectsite by one 45
or more lo cal governments, the ability of one or more local governments to 46
invest in the selectsite, and the ability and level of participation promised by 47
the local government in exchange for a grant from the Fund. Monies may only 48
be granted for, and used to acquire, a selectsite for which (i) one or more local 49
governments have a binding option or offer to purchase and (ii) all basic due 50
diligence has been completed, including, but not limited to, boundary surveys, 51
General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2025
Page 4 House Bill 616-Third Edition
title searches, State Historic Preservation Office reviews, and wetlands 1
delineation. 2
(3) Of the monies available in the fund, no more than $150,000 shall be used 3
biennially for engaging a national site selection firm through a competitive 4
bid process to produce a report identifying and evaluating seven ne w 5
selectsites for preferred development and marketing, of which three must be 6
less than 500 acres and of which an additional two must be less than 100 acres. 7
Geographic diversity must be a priority consideration in the identification of 8
new sites beginning with the report due in 2026. 9
… 10
"SECTION 11.12.(g) Agreements Required. – Monies may be disbursed from the Fund 11
previously appropriated for the Selectsite Readiness Program shall be transferred in full to 12
EDPNC when this act becomes law. Funds subsequently appropriated for the Program shall be 13
transferred in full to EDPNC once such an act becomes law. EDPNC may use funds only in 14
accordance with agreements entered into between EDPNC and a local government or a 15
government partnership. The agreement must include all of the performance criteria, remedies, 16
and other safeguards required to secure the assistance provided to ready the selectsite for a major 17
employer and must require EDPNC to recapture a proportionate amount of assistance provided 18
under this section for failure by a local government or government partnership to meet and 19
maintain the selectsite for availability for the purposes for which the assistance was provided. 20
…." 21
SECTION 2. This act is effective when it becomes law. 22