Ag Manufacturing Economic Development.

GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA
SESSION 2025
S 1
SENATE BILL 530

Short Title: Ag Manufacturing Economic Development. (Public)
Sponsors: Senator Burgin (Primary Sponsor).
Referred to: Rules and Operations of the Senate
March 26, 2025
*S530-v-1*
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED 1
AN ACT TO PROVIDE FO R ECONOMIC DEVELOPME NT INCENTIVES TARGET ED 2
FOR AGRICULTURAL MANUFACTURING IN NORTH CAROLINA. 3
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts: 4
SECTION 1. G.S. 143B-437.71 reads as rewritten: 5
"§ 143B-437.71. One North Carolina Fund established as a special revenue fund. 6
(a) Establishment. – The One North Carolina Fund is established as a special revenue 7
fund in the Department of Commerce. 8
(b) Purposes. – Moneys in the One North Carolina Fund may only be allocated pursuant 9
to this subsection. Moneys may be allocated to (i) local governments for use in connection with 10
securing commitments for the recruitment, expansion, or retention of new and existing businesses 11
and to businesses, (ii) the One North Carolina Small B usiness Account created pursuant to 12
subsection (c) of this section in an amount not to exceed three million dollars ($3,000,000). 13
($3,000,000), and (iii) the Agricultural Investment Grant Account created pursuant to subsection 14
(d) of this section in an amo unt not to exceed five million dollars ($5,000,000). Moneys in the 15
One North Carolina Fund allocated to local governments shall be used for the following purposes 16
only: 17
(1) Installation or purchase of equipment. 18
(2) Structural repairs, improvements, or ren ovations to existing buildings to be 19
used for expansion. 20
(3) Construction of or improvements to new or existing water, sewer, gas, or 21
electric utility distribution lines or equipment for existing buildings. 22
(4) Construction of or improvements to new or exi sting water, sewer, gas, or 23
electric utility distribution lines or equipment for new or proposed buildings 24
to be used for manufacturing and industrial operations. 25
(5) Any other purposes specifically provided by an act of the General Assembly. 26
(b1) Awards. – The amounts committed in Governor's Letters issued in a single fiscal year 27
may not exceed seventeen million dollars ($17,000,000). Of the amount authorized in this 28
subsection, three million dollars ($3,000,000) is reserved for agreements with local governments 29
located in development tier three areas, as defined in G.S. 143B-437.08, with total employment 30
of 115,000 or less, using the data specified in G.S. 143B-437.52(c)(3). 31
(c) One North Carolina Small Business Account. – There is created in the One North 32
Carolina Fund a special account, the One North Carolina Small Business Account, to be used for 33
the North Carolina SBIR/STTR Incentive Program and the North Carolina SBIR/STTR Matching 34
Funds Program, as specified in Part 2I of Article 10 of Chapter 143B of the General Statutes. 35
General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2025
Page 2 Senate Bill 530-First Edition
(d) Agricultural Manufacturing Investment Grant Account. – There is created in the One 1
North Carolina Fund a special account, the Agricultural Manufacturing Investment Grant 2
Account (AMIG), to be used to provide competitive grants to eligible agricultural manufacturers. 3
The Department shall administer the program and shall prioritize grants to recipients that the 4
Department determines will have the greatest net economic benefit at the regional and State 5
levels. In determining priority, the Department shall give preference to a project that satisfies one 6
or more of the following: (i) it is sited entirely within a development tier one or two area, as 7
defined in G.S. 143B-437.08, (ii) it incorporates, in a significant amount, as determine d by the 8
Department, practices of precision agriculture , artificial-intelligence-driven automation , 9
biotechnology, or a combination thereof, and (iii) in which research and development 10
compensation is at least ten percent (10%) of the recipients annual payroll expenses. Grants to a 11
recipient under this subsection must comply with all of the following: 12
(1) A grant to a recipient may not exceed one hundred thousand dollars 13
($100,000) in any single calendar year. 14
(2) A grant to a recipient may not exceed five hundred thousand dollars 15
($500,000) total. 16
(3) The grant term may not exceed five years. 17
(4) The Department certifies that the recipient has invested or intends to invest at 18
least five million dollars ($5,000,000) of private funds in improvements to 19
real property and additions to tangible personal property in the project within 20
a two-year period beginning with the time the grant is awarded. 21
(5) The recipient employs, and agrees to maintain for the entire grant term 22
employment of, at least 25 full -time employees or equivalent full -time 23
contract employees at the project that is the subject of the grant at the time the 24
grant is awarded. 25
(6) The recipient meets an average weekly wage that is at least equal to one 26
hundred ten percent (110%) of the average w age for all insured private 27
employers in the county. 28
(7) The Department requires the recipient to enter into an agreement requiring 29
that the recipient (i) meet performance criteria to protect the State's investment 30
and ensure that the projected benefits of the project are secured, including 31
employment level requirements , compensation requirements, investment 32
amount and time line requirements, and other criteria the Department 33
considers appropriate and (ii) repay or reimburse an appropriate portion of the 34
grant based on the extent of any failure to meet the performance criteria." 35
SECTION 2. This act becomes effective July 1, 2025. 36