(a) Creation and Duties. - There is created within the Department of Commerce an Economic Development Board. The Board shall have the following duties:
(1) To provide economic and community development planning for the State.
(2) To recommend economic development policy to the Secretary of Commerce, the General Assembly, and the Governor. The recommendations may cover the following issues as well as any other economic development policy issues:
a. Use of tax abatements and other incentives to motivate economic development.
b. Definition of which specific activities and programs should be considered economic development activities and programs for the purpose of receiving State appropriations.
c. The role of institutions of higher education in economic development.
d. The use of State funds to leverage private nonprofit economic development initiatives.
e. The linkage of workforce preparedness activities and initiatives, and economic development planning.
(3) To recommend annually to the Governor biennial and annual appropriations for economic development programs.
(4) To develop and update annually a comprehensive strategic economic development plan, as provided in G.S. 143B-434.1.
The Board shall meet at least quarterly at the call of its chair or the Secretary. Each quarter the Secretary shall report to the Board on the program and progress of this State's economic development.
(b) Membership. - The Economic Development Board shall consist of 39 members. The Secretary of Commerce shall serve ex officio as a member and as the secretary of the Economic Development Board. The Secretary of Revenue shall serve as an ex officio, nonvoting member. The Secretary of the Department of Cultural Resources shall serve as an ex officio, nonvoting member. Four members of the House of Representatives appointed by the Speaker of the House of Representatives, four members of the Senate appointed by the President Pro Tempore of the Senate, the Superintendent of Public Instruction, or designee, the President of The University of North Carolina, or designee, the President of the North Carolina Community College System, or designee, the Secretary of State, and the President of the Senate (or the designee of the President of the Senate), shall serve as members of the Board. The Governor shall appoint the remaining 23 members of the Board. Effective with the terms beginning July 1, 1997, one of the Governor's appointees shall be a representative of a nonprofit organization involved in economic development and two of the Governor's appointees shall be county economic development representatives. The Governor shall designate a chair and a vice-chair from among the members of the Board. Appointments to the Board made by the Governor for terms beginning July 1, 1997, and appointments to the Board made by the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the President Pro Tempore of the Senate for terms beginning July 9, 1993, should reflect the ethnic and gender diversity of the State as nearly as practical.
The initial appointments to the Board shall be for terms beginning on July 9, 1993. Of the initial appointments made by the Governor, the terms shall expire July 1, 1997. Of the initial appointments made by the Speaker of the House of Representatives and by the President Pro Tempore of the Senate two appointments of each shall be designated to expire on July 1, 1995; the remaining terms shall expire July 1, 1997. Thereafter, all appointments shall be for a term of four years.
The appointing officer shall make a replacement appointment to serve for the unexpired term in the case of a vacancy.
The members of the Economic Development Board shall receive per diem and necessary travel and subsistence expenses payable to members of State Boards and agencies generally pursuant to G.S. 138-5 and G.S. 138-6, as the case may be. The members of the Economic Development Board who are members of the General Assembly shall not receive per diem but shall receive necessary travel and subsistence expenses at rates prescribed by G.S. 120-3.1.
(c) Advice and Staff. - The Secretaries of Administration, State, and Transportation, the Commissioners of Agriculture and Labor, and the State Treasurer, or their designees, shall advise the Board on economic development activities within the responsibility of their respective departments. Clerical and professional staff support to the Economic Development Board shall be provided by an Interagency Economic Development Group composed of representatives of the following State agencies:
(1) The Department of Administration.
(2) The Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services.
(3) The Division of Employment Security.
(4) The Department of Labor.
(5) The Department of Transportation.
The Department of Commerce shall have the responsibility for coordinating the activities and efforts of the Interagency Economic Development Group. (1977, c. 198, s. 1; 1981, c. 47, s. 6; 1981 (Reg. Sess., 1982), c. 1191, s. 18; 1983, c. 717, s. 83; 1989, c. 751, ss. 7(29), 9(c); 1991 (Reg. Sess., 1992), c. 959, s. 85; c. 1038, s. 22; 1993, c. 321, s. 313(a); c. 561, s. 12; 1993 (Reg. Sess., 1994), c. 773, s. 15.1; 1997-261, s. 105; 2001-487, s. 32; 2001-513, s. 13; 2010-184, s. 6; 2011-121, s. 1; 2011-401, s. 5.1.)
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Last modified: March 23, 2014