News-Record.com

I was getting ready to write about the buzz that Gov. Mike Easley might veto the bill that would give incentives to Goodyear and how if Hood and Fitzsimon are in agreement on something, then you ought to sit up an pay attention.

But then this press release comes across from the governor's office:

Gov. Mike Easley today announced he will seek new legislation in the 2008 session of the General Assembly to secure major manufacturing investments from existing industries in disadvantaged parts of the state.

"As our economy has globalized, our largest industries can now direct investments to areas of the country and the world where they can achieve the lowest production costs," Easley said. "My plan will create a state program to partner with local governments and secure commitments from major anchor industries to modernize operations and enhance their presence in North Carolina."

That, to me, sounds like the governor wants to create a program to do the type of grant that would have gone to Goodyear except making it available to more companies. More quotes from the release:

Senator A.B. Swindell (D-Nash, Wilson) said, "I'm looking forward to working to build consensus in the General Assembly for the Governor's plan. It's a creative model that can work for other significant industries in North Carolina and guarantee that we're the most competitive and innovative state in the country."

Ah, so he's gotten a high-profile legislator to carry his water on this. You know, if he only had buy-in from the businesses that would be most affected. Oh, wait:

"We have been briefed on Gov. Easley's proposed legislation which is an innovative, on-target program," said Steven Akey, Vice President of Government Affairs for Bridgestone Firestone North American Tire, LLC, which operates a large plant in Wilson. "It would be a major step forward in our ability to stay globally competitive in a changing economy by supporting worker training and encouraging investments to enhance productivity. If this were to become law, and we received a grant, we would be prepared to move forward with substantial new investment in our Wilson facility and retain employment at least at current levels in the years to come."

Reading between the lines, it sort of sounds like Bridgestone Firestone might not have liked their competition at Goodyear getting special help, doesn't it?

As I learn more about this thing, I'll let you know.

Update: If you read through that release, you'll see that grants would apply to existing companies in Tier 1 counties (counties that have the worse economic problems) and that also employ at least 1,500 workers.

Checking the map of which counties are in what tiers, the closest Tier 1 county is Rockingham. But Rockingham doesn't have a manufacturer that employs more than 1,500 workers, so there's not help under the proposal as its drafted here.

Update 2: The governor's folks aren't saying whether this means a veto (but I'd bet the cat-food money it does) but they do say that this is a way to signal to all existing employers that they're looking out for them.

The idea, they say, is to give manufacturers with a presence here in North Carolina already some comfort level that the state will pitch in if they undertake a big expansion.

"We're trying to figure out a way to do that fairly and protect the public interest as well," said Dan Gerlach, one of Gov. Easley's chief financial policy folks.