GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA
SESSION 2025
S D
SENATE BILL DRS15267-MC-149
Short Title: JMAC Compliance Flexibility. (Public)
Sponsors: Senators B. Newton and McInnis (Primary Sponsors).
Referred to:
*DRS15267 -MC-149*
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED 1
AN ACT TO ALLOW FLEXIBILITY IN THE EVENT OF NONCOMPLIANCE WITH A 2
JMAC AGREEMENT. 3
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts: 4
SECTION 1. G.S. 143B-437.012 reads as rewritten: 5
"§ 143B-437.012. Job Maintenance and Capital Development Fund. 6
… 7
(d) Eligibility. – A business is eligible for consideration for a grant under this section if 8
it satisfies the conditions of subdivision (1), (1a), (2), (2a), or (2b) of this subsection and satisfies 9
subdivision (4) of this subsection: 10
(1) The business is a major employer. A business is a major employer if the 11
business meets the following requirements: 12
a. The Department certifies that the business has invested or intends to 13
invest at least two hundred million dollars ($200,000,000) of private 14
funds in improvements to real property and additions to tangible 15
personal property in the project within a six-year period beginning 16
with the time the investment commences. 17
b. The business employs at least 2,000 full-time employees or equivalent 18
full-time contract employees at the project that is the subject of the 19
grant at the time the application is made, and the business agrees to 20
maintain at least 2,000 full-time employees or equivalent full-time 21
contract employees at the project for the full term of the grant 22
agreement. 23
c. The project is located in a development tier one area at the time the 24
business applies for a grant. 25
(1a) The business previously received a grant as a major employer under this 26
section and meets the following requirements: 27
a. The Department certifies that the business has invested or intends to 28
invest at least one hundred fifty million dollars ($150,000,000) of 29
private funds in improvements to real property and additions to 30
tangible personal property in the project within a six-year period 31
beginning with the time the investment commences. Amounts certified 32
as invested under sub-subdivision a. of subdivision (1) of this 33
subsection shall not be included in the amount required by this 34
sub-subdivision. 35
FILED SENATE
Mar 25, 2025
S.B. 664
PRINCIPAL CLERK General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2025
Page 2 DRS15267-MC-149
b. The business employs at least 2,000 full-time employees or equivalent 1
full-time contract employees at the project that is the subject of the 2
grant at the time the application is made and the business agrees to 3
maintain at least 2,000 full-time employees or equivalent full-time 4
contract employees at the project for the full term of the grant 5
agreement. 6
c. The project is at the same location as that for which a grant was 7
previously awarded under subdivision (1) of this subsection. 8
(2) The business is a large manufacturing employer. A business is a large 9
manufacturing employer if the business meets the following requirements: 10
a. The business is in manufacturing, as defined in G.S. 105-129.81, and 11
is converting its manufacturing process to change the product it 12
manufactures or is investing in its manufacturing process by 13
enhancing pollution controls or transitioning the manufacturing 14
process from using coal to using natural gas for the purpose of 15
becoming more energy efficient or reducing emissions. 16
b. The Department certifies that the business has invested or intends to 17
invest at least fifty million dollars ($50,000,000) of private funds in 18
improvements to real property and additions to tangible personal 19
property in the project within a five-year period beginning with the 20
time the investment commences. 21
c. The business meets one of the following employment requirements: 22
1. If in a development tier one area, the business employs at least 23
320 full-time employees at the project that is the subject of the 24
grant at the time the application is made, and the business 25
agrees to maintain at least 320 full-time employees at the 26
project for the full term of the grant. 27
2. If in a development tier two area with a population of less than 28
60,000 as of July 1, 2013, the business employs at least 800 29
full-time employees or equivalent full-time contract employees 30
at the project that is the subject of the grant at the time the 31
application is made, and the business agrees to maintain at least 32
800 full-time employees or equivalent full-time contract 33
employees at the project for the full term of the grant. 34
(2a) The business is a heritage manufacturing employer. A business is a heritage 35
manufacturing employer if the business meets the following requirements: 36
a. The business is in manufacturing, as defined in G.S. 143B-437.01, and 37
has been operating in this State for over 100 years. 38
b. The Department certifies that the business has invested or intends to 39
invest at least three hundred twenty-five million dollars 40
($325,000,000) of private funds in improvements to real property and 41
additions to tangible personal property in the project within a four-year 42
period beginning with the time the investment commences. 43
c. The business employs at least 1,050 full-time employees or equivalent 44
full-time contract employees in the State at the time the application is 45
made and the business agrees to (i) maintain at least 1,050 full-time 46
employees or equivalent full-time contract employees in the State for 47
the full term of the grant and (ii) retrain and relocate to a development 48
tier two area at least 400 of those full-time employees or equivalent 49
full-time contract employees upon the commencement of commercial 50
production at its tier two area facility. 51 General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2025
DRS15267-MC-149 Page 3
d. The business is operating in a development tier three area at the time 1
the business applies for a grant and the business is relocating to a 2
development tier two area with an estimated population of less than 3
63,000, according to the 2017 Certified County Population Estimates 4
published by the State Demographer's Office. 5
e. An agreement with a business under this subdivision may provide that 6
the grant paid out over the term of the agreement be in unequal annual 7
payments and in amounts deviating from the factors listed in 8
subsection (l) of this section for any individual annual payment, 9
provided the factors are considered in the aggregate award to be paid 10
to the business over the entire term of the agreement. 11
(2b) The business is a supply-chain-impact manufacturing employer. A business is 12
a supply-chain-impact manufacturing employer if the business meets the 13
following requirements: 14
a. The business is in manufacturing, as defined in G.S. 105-129.81, 15
manufactures a product used primarily and significantly in the 16
construction of residential and commercial buildings, and is investing 17
in its manufacturing process to transition away from utilizing 18
coal-based energy byproducts to other alternatives. 19
b. The Department certifies that the business has invested or intends to 20
invest at least one hundred ten million dollars ($110,000,000) of 21
private funds in improvements to real property and additions to 22
tangible personal property in the project within a five-year period 23
beginning with the time the investment commences. 24
c. The business and its affiliated companies (i) employ at least 420 25
full-time employees or equivalent full-time contract employees in the 26
State at the time the application is made and (ii) agree to maintain at 27
least 420 full-time employees or equivalent full-time contract 28
employees in the State for the full term of the grant. 29
d. The business has operations in a development tier two area at the time 30
the business applies for a grant, and the business agrees to maintain or 31
increase the development tier two area operations for the term of the 32
agreement. 33
… 34
(j) Agreement. – Unless the Secretary of Commerce determines that the project is no 35
longer eligible or appropriate for a grant under this section, the Department shall enter into an 36
agreement to provide a grant or grants for a project recommended by the Committee. Each grant 37
agreement (i) is binding and constitutes a continuing contractual obligation of the State and the 38
business. The grant agreement business, (ii) shall include the performance criteria, remedies, and 39
other safeguards recommended by the Committee or required by the Department.Department, 40
and (iii) shall contain the following provisions: 41
Each grant agreement shall contain a 42
(1) A provision prohibiting a business from receiving a payment or other benefit 43
under the agreement at any time when the business has received a notice of an 44
overdue tax debt and the overdue tax debt has not been satisfied or otherwise 45
resolved. 46
(2) A provision requiring the business to maintain an employment level. For the 47
purposes of this subsection, the employment level includes full-time 48
employees and equivalent full-time contract employees. The applicable 49
employment level is as follows: 50 General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2025
Page 4 DRS15267-MC-149
a. Each grant If the grant agreement is for a business that is has qualified 1
as a major employer under subdivision (1) of subsection (d) of this 2
section shall contain section, a provision requiring the business to 3
maintain the employment level at the project that is the subject of the 4
agreement that is the lesser of the level it had at the time it applied for 5
a grant under this section or that it had at the time that the investment 6
required under subsection (d) of this section began. For the purposes 7
of this subsection, the employment level includes full-time employees 8
and equivalent full-time contract employees. The agreement shall 9
further specify that the amount of a grant shall be reduced in 10
proportion to the extent the business fails to maintain employment at 11
this level and that the business shall not be eligible for a grant in any 12
year in which its employment level is less than eighty percent (80%) 13
of that required.The provision shall further require, in the event the 14
business fails to maintain the required level of employment by more 15
than 100 employees, a one percent (1%) reduction of the grant for 16
every one employee below that threshold. 17
b. Each If the grant agreement is for a business that is has not qualified 18
as a major employer under subdivision (1) of subsection (d) of this 19
section shall contain section, a provision requiring the business to 20
maintain the employment level required under that subdivision at the 21
project that is the subject of the grant. The agreement provision shall 22
further specify that the business is not eligible for a grant in any year 23
in which the business fails to maintain the employment level. 24
A grant agreement may obligate the State to make a series of grant payments over a period 25
of up to 10 years. Nothing in this section constitutes or authorizes a guarantee or assumption by 26
the State of any debt of any business or authorizes the taxing power or the full faith and credit of 27
the State to be pledged. 28
The Department shall cooperate with the Attorney General's office in preparing the 29
documentation for the grant agreement. The Attorney General shall review the terms of all 30
proposed agreements to be entered into under this section. To be effective against the State, an 31
agreement entered into under this section shall be signed personally by the Attorney General. 32
(k) Safeguards. – To ensure that public funds are used only to carry out the public 33
purposes provided in this section, the Department shall require that each business that receives a 34
grant under this section shall agree to meet performance criteria to protect the State's investment 35
and ensure that the projected benefits of the project are secured. The performance criteria to be 36
required shall include maintenance of an appropriate level of employment at specified levels of 37
compensation, compensation for required levels of employment, maintenance of health insurance 38
for all full-time employees, investment of a specified amount over the term of the agreement, and 39
any other criteria the Department considers appropriate. The agreement shall require the business 40
to repay or reimburse an appropriate portion of the grant based on the extent of any failure by the 41
business to meet the performance criteria. The agreement shall require the business to repay all 42
amounts received under the agreement and to forfeit any future grant payments if the business 43
fails to satisfy the investment eligibility requirement of this section. The use of contract 44
employees shall not be used to reduce compensation at the project that is the subject of the 45
agreement. 46
…." 47
SECTION 2. This act is effective when it becomes law. 48