From Site Selection magazine, November 2000
S T A T E L E G I S L A T I V E P R O F I L E S |
|
South Carolina
South Carolina made several pro-business moves this year. Among those moves was the passage of the new Technology Act. The act, effective July 1, 2001, expands the existing tax credit programs for technology-intensive industries and exempts all research and development equipment from the state sales tax.
South Carolina also took steps in increasing foreign investment in the state. South Carolina opened an Asian Trade Office in Hong Kong to promote the state and its products to the Asian market. The state's European office also re-opened in its new location in Munich, Germany, this year. The office was relocated to Munich to be in the "heart of Europe's high-tech industries," said Gov. Jim Hodges at the opening ceremony.
The governor hopes to broaden opportunities within the state as well as around the world. In June, he announced new legislation that will create tax-exempt community development corporations (CDCs) that are designed to provide rural and underdeveloped communities with access to capital and affordable housing and to enhance economic opportunities in low-income communities. The new law provides tax credits to lenders who invest in the CDCs.
Work-force development also continues to be a major push for the Hodges administration. On May 31, the governor issued an executive order calling for the establishment of the Work-force Education Task Force. He charged the new committee with assessing current work-force education initiatives, best practices in work-force education, work-force demands, school activities in meeting work-force needs and educational barriers to work-force education. The group is to provide recommended actions in its report that will be submitted to the governor by no later than Nov. 1, 2000.
Governor: Jim Hodges (D) 803-734-9400
No corporate, personal property or business inventory tax, and the sixth-lowest unemployment insurance rates in the nation -- you can't get much more pro-business than that. Nonetheless, South Dakota continues to make efforts to increase its business-friendly attitude.
The biggest news this year was in education reform. Gov. William Janklow signed into law his Education Agenda 2000 legislation for school improvement. "This legislation targets some of the key building blocks to strong education such as reading skills and having good teachers in the classroom," he said.
The new program establishes the state Office of Education Technology to assist schools by analyzing, procuring and distributing programs for using technology in the classroom. It also directs the Dept. of Education and Cultural Affairs, the state Board of Education and the state universities to jointly examine programs for preparing teachers and administrators. Janklow also signed a companion measure that establishes a program to reward teachers who complete the national certification process.
In other news, what didn't happen in legislation this year could be more important to businesses than what did happen, and what didn't happen was an increase in workers' compensation rates. South Dakota employers have experienced rate decreases during the past five years.
Governor: William J. Janklow (R) 605-773-3212
Work-force preparedness was the hot issue for the Tennessee General Assembly this year. The state allocated $96.5 million in additional funding for K-12, an increase of 3.2 percent from last year's budget. Higher education received an additional $82.5 million in funding, representing a 4.3 percent increase from last year's budget.
In other work-force development news, the Work-force Investment Act of 1998 was fully implemented in the state prior to the July 1 deadline. The act creates a streamlined approach to services provided to employers and job applicants through a one-stop delivery process. As a result of the act, Tennessee now has 14 Career Centers open across the state and the local Work-force Investment Boards have been appointed.
Tennessee is also trying to ensure that manufacturers will be able to find the work-force they will need in the future. In October 1999, the state kicked off its "Manufacturing for the New Millennium" campaign. The program is designed to promote the importance of high-tech manufacturing to the state and to highlight the number of career opportunities available for younger Tennessee residents, who tend to see manufacturing jobs as low-wage, low-skill and low-tech.
In order to coordinate services to small and minority-owned businesses, the state Dept. of Economic and Community Development has partnered with the Tennessee Board of Regents to distribute one-on-one consulting services, providing business counseling and advice from the 14 Small Business Development Centers located throughout the state. The services will be provided to entrepreneurs and small business owners at no cost.
Governor: Don Sundquist (R) 615-741-2001
Although the Texas Legislature did not have a session this year, the state continues to move forward on programs that were developed in the 1999 session. In fact, Gov. George Bush appointed 10 members to the Texas E-Government Task Force, which was established with SB 974 during the 1999 session. The task force is charged with creating a single Internet portal that will enhance the ability of the state government to interact and exchange information online with its businesses and citizens.
As part of the process, the task force will conduct an online interactive pilot project to explore its possibilities. The Dept. of Information will coordinate the activities of the task force and the pilot project. A full report on the group's findings and its recommendations will be published by Nov. 1, 2000.
Meanwhile, businesses operating in Texas are enjoying some of the tax cuts that were created during the last session. Included is a R&D tax credit of 4 percent for incremental R&D expenditures up to 25 percent of the company's franchise tax liability in the first year of the biennium, increasing to 5 percent with a 50 percent cap in the second year of the biennium and thereafter.
The state also established the Investment Tax Credit for qualified investments of a minimum of $500,000 in an amount equal to 7.5 percent of the investment. The Job Creation Tax Credit creates a franchise tax credit for job creation in specific industry segments (ag processing, administrative offices, distribution, data processing, manufacturing, R&D and warehousing), and is limited to 25 percent of the total wages paid and may not exceed 50 percent of the franchise tax due.
Governor: George W. Bush (R) 512-463-2000
Utah's 2000 General Session resulted in several pro-business moves. Many of these measures, however, consist of planning new legislation for the 2001 session.
For example, amendments to the state's Electrical Deregulation and Customer Choice Task Force program requires the group to prepare legislation for implementing an electrical restructuring plan to be presented in the 2001 General Session. House Bill 426, on the other hand, establishes the Funding of Public Education Task Force, which will review and make recommendations on state revenues for public education, funding formulas and leeway fees and preparing a long-term plan to increase public education funding.
The state also passed legislation regarding the Uniform Electronic Transactions Act, which establishes criteria, procedures and legal standards governing electronic transactions. The measure authorizes state agencies to make rules defining transactions that will and will not be conducted electronically.
In relation to the electronic transactions act, another bill was passed that removes statutory barriers for the purpose of facilitating the electronic delivery of government services. This legislation represents the first piece of a multiyear review of the Utah Code designed to identify and eliminate government online.
Gov. Mike Leavitt also made moves to make the state a more attractive location for high-tech industries. The governor recently recruited venture capitalist partners from Silicon Valley, including Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, Accel Partners and APV Technology Partners. The alliance is expected to benefit Silicon Valley companies by providing them with an attractive grow-out location with much lower costs.
In other high-tech development news, the Utah Division of Business and Economic Development has also approved funding of $1.87 million to five new and 11 existing Centers of Excellence for late-stage development and commercialization. The Centers of Excellence program acts as a catalyst to help emerging technologies mature into commercial applications.
Governor: Mike Leavitt (R) 801-538-1000
Gov. Jim Gilmore and the Virginia Legislature passed a number of bills relating to the state's business climate. A major component of this year's push was in the expansion of the Enterprise Zone Act. Senate Bill 281 authorized the establishment of one noncontiguous zone area for each jurisdiction participating in a joint enterprise zone area. This allows localities to work together to form joint enterprise zones that could result in the formation of regional industrial parks.
Another measure increased the maximum number of enterprise zone designations from 55 to 60. These five zones must be in localities with unemployment rates that are 50 percent or higher than the statewide average.
Virginia also made major moves in the high-tech world. One key measure allows local governments to lower the personal property tax rate on equipment used to provide Internet services.
Another tech bill created tax credits and/or grants for capital, debt, cash and stock investments in certain technology companies locating or qualified research taking place in tobacco-dependent communities. Virginia Investment Partnership grants were also expanded to include major nonmanufacturing employers that create 1,000 new jobs and invest more than $100 million.
Bringing Virginia to the forefront of e-business, Gilmore issued an executive order implementing electronic government in the state. This is expected to streamline the services offered by the government through the use of the Internet. Gilmore also signed into law the Uniform Computer Information Transactions Act and the Uniform Transactions Act.
Governor: James S. Gilmore III (R) 804-786-2211
|
|
|
 | Site Selection Online | SiteNet | Feedback | Search SiteNet | ©2000 Conway Data, Inc. All rights reserved. SiteNet data is from many sources and is not warranted to be accurate or current.
|
