North Carolina HB 552: Agricultural Manufacturing Economic Development.

Bill Text

GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA
SESSION 2025
H 1
HOUSE BILL 552

Short Title: Ag Manufacturing Economic Development. (Public)
Sponsors: Representatives Reives, Dixon, Penny, and Jeffers (Primary Sponsors).
For a complete list of sponsors, refer to the North Carolina General Assembly web site.
Referred to: Agriculture and Environment, if favorable, Commerce and Economic
Development, if favorable, Rules, Calendar, and Operations of the House
March 31, 2025
*H552-v-1*
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED 1
AN ACT TO PROVIDE FOR ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT INCENTIVES TARGETED 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 Business 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 amount 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 renovations 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 existing 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

General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2025
Page 2 House Bill 552-First Edition
the North Carolina SBIR/STTR Incentive Program and the North Carolina SBIR/STTR Matching 1
Funds Program, as specified in Part 2I of Article 10 of Chapter 143B of the General Statutes. 2
(d) Agricultural Manufacturing Investment Grant Account. – There is created in the One 3
North Carolina Fund a special account, the Agricultural Manufacturing Investment Grant 4
Account (AMIG), to be used to provide competitive grants to eligible agricultural manufacturers. 5
The Department shall administer the program and shall prioritize grants to recipients that the 6
Department determines will have the greatest net economic benefit at the regional and State 7
levels. In determining priority, the Department shall give preference to a project that satisfies one 8
or more of the following: (i) it is sited entirely within a development tier one or two area, as 9
defined in G.S. 143B-437.08, (ii) it incorporates, in a significant amount, as determined by the 10
Department, practices of precision agriculture, artificial-intelligence-driven automation, 11
biotechnology, or a combination thereof, and (iii) in which research and development 12
compensation is at least ten percent (10%) of the recipient's annual payroll expenses. Grants to a 13
recipient under this subsection must comply with all of the following: 14
(1) A grant to a recipient may not exceed one hundred thousand dollars 15
($100,000) in any single calendar year. 16
(2) A grant to a recipient may not exceed five hundred thousand dollars 17
($500,000) total. 18
(3) The grant term may not exceed five years. 19
(4) The Department certifies that the recipient has invested or intends to invest at 20
least five million dollars ($5,000,000) of private funds in improvements to 21
real property and additions to tangible personal property in the project within 22
a two-year period beginning with the time the grant is awarded. 23
(5) The recipient employs, and agrees to maintain for the entir