< Previous104 JANUARY 2019 SI T E S E L E C T IO NDivision of Small Business, Development & Tourism99 Kings HighwayDover, DE 19901Cerron CadeDIVISION DIRECTOR302-739-4271Legislative Update• In May, Gov. Carney signed the Angel Investor Job Creation and Innovation Act, which provides for a tax credit of up to 25 percent of the investment in a quali ed, Delaware-based small business. Qualifying businesses must employ fewer than 25 workers and engage in innovation as part of their primary business activity. Employees’ annual wages must be at least 175 percent of the federal poverty guidelines for a family of four. The minimum investment is $10,000 for individual investors or $30,000 for funds.• In August, Delaware became the 35th state to enable Commercial Property Assessed Clean Energy (C-PACE) nancing, which supports the funding of energy ef ciency and renewable energy projects on commercial properties. C-PACE loans are funded by private lenders and are paid back through a voluntary assessment on the property’s county tax bill. • Also in August, Gov. Carney signed legislation creating “Pay for Success” contracts, which encourage private funding of economic development and social programs by offering a return on investment for positive results. A state agency would agree to repay an organization or investor that provides program support or upfront capital to a successful economic development.business.delaware.gov“Businesses are looking for a good quality of life and fun things to do for their employees. Delaware has a lot to offer, and it’s our job to support and promote the things that make Delaware a great place to live.”— Gov. John Carney, in his State of the State speech, January 18, 2018Higher Ed. R&D Expenditure: $204,221Number of NCRCs: 420 | Percent Improvement 2017-2018: 1.7%Business Tax Climate Rank Change 2018-2019: +5Lowest Electric Power Cost (cents/kWh): 7.86Fiscal Condition Index Rank2018 Workers’ Comp Index Rate: 2.5GDP42nd2017 GDP(in millions of current US$)$63,890.8-5-4-3-2-101234567820172016201520142013DelawarePop. (2018): 988,421 Pop. growth 2018–2023: 1.16%Median household income: $61,260 Median age: 40Credit Rating: AAA/Stable Right-to-work state: NoDid You Know?With 5.7-percent GDP growth, Delaware has the fastest-growing economy in the U.S., according to data posted in March by the Bureau of Economic Analysis. Delaware’s nance industry is expanding at nearly twice the national rate.Swiss-based Datwyler Sealing Solutions opened a $100-million manufacturing facility in Middletown that is expected to create 120 jobs. State economic development of cials approved grants totaling $3.1 million to facilitate the project.Gulftainer, the global port operator, signed an agreement in September to run the Port of Wilmington for the next 50 years. The company plans to spend $410 million to construct a new container port facility and $170 million on upgrades to the existing facility.Selected Corporate Facility Projects 2018 NEW/ INVESTMENTCOMPANY CITY COUNTY TYPE EXPANDED PRODUCT (US$ M) EMPGulftainer Co. Edgemoor New Castle DW N Transport & Logistics 410 Dätwyler Führungs Ag Middletown New Castle MF N Chemicals & Plastics 100 120Dowdupont Newark New Castle MF E Chemicals & Plastics 45 Dot Foods Bear New Castle OF/DW N Food & Beverage 36 125JustfoodfordogS New Castle MF/DW N Food & Beverage 2 50Comcast Corp. Newark New Castle CC N IT & Comm. Perdue Agribusiness Delmar Sussex HQ N Food & Beverage 200DT = Data Center | MF = Manufacturing | OF = Of ce | HQ = Headquarters | RD = Research & Development | DW = Distribution/Warehouse106 JANUARY 2019 SI T E S E L E C T IO NEnterprise Florida800 N. Magnolia Avenue,#1100Orlando, FL 32803Jamal SowellPRESIDENT/CEO407-956-5600Legislative Update• A ballot measure that requires a two-thirds vote by the state legislature for any future tax increases was approved by Florida voters in November. Opponents argued unsuccessfully that the measure could tie the state government’s hands in the event of a future economic crisis.• A law adopted in March mandates increased K-12 instruction in computer science and coding. A bill to allow high school students to replace foreign language courses with computer classes died in the state House.• A new law will transfer permitting authority for dredging and lling of federal wetland areas from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to the Florida Department of Environmental Protection. Supporters say the law will end duplicative state and federal permitting processes, and signi cantly reduce wait times for permitting decisions.Enterprise orida.com“As governor, I will make sure that Florida remains a low tax state. For those of you in high tax states who may be contemplating investing in Florida, please know that we will remain open for business, and we will save you an awful lot in taxes if you bring your business to Florida.”— Gov.-elect Ron DeSantis, in his victory speech on November 6Higher Ed. R&D Expenditure: $2,617,802Number of NCRCs: 114,750 | Percent Improvement 2017-2018: 0.3%Business Tax Climate Rank Change 2018-2019: 0Lowest Electric Power Cost (cents/kWh): 7.61Fiscal Condition Index Rank2018 Workers’ Comp Index Rate: 1.81GDP4th2017 GDP(in millions of current US$)$883,121.60.00.51.01.52.02.53.03.54.020172016201520142013FloridaPop. (2018): 20,875,686 Pop. growth 2018–2023: 1.41%Median household income: $52,098 Median age: 42Credit Rating: AAA/Stable Right-to-work state: YesDid You Know?Florida’s economy, which topped $1 trillion during 2018, is bigger than those of all but 16 countries and is the fourth largest in the nation behind California, Texas and New York.According to U.S. Census data, Florida’s population grew by 11.6 percent from 2010 to 2017, with 59 Florida cities now home to 50,000 people or more. About 90 percent of new Floridians are migrants from within the United States or abroad.Blue Origin’s New Glenn rocket, being developed at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, is expected to launch in 2020. In October, the company entered into an agreement to build a $60-million testing and refurbishment facility in Exploration Park, near the Kennedy Space Center.Selected Corporate Facility Projects 2018 NEW/ INVESTMENTCOMPANY CITY COUNTY TYPE EXPANDED PRODUCT (US$ M) EMPNucor Corp. Frostproof Polk MF N Metals 240 250Pratt & Whitney Engine Services West Palm Beach Palm Beach MF E Aerospace 100 215Bombardier Business Aircraft Miami Miami-Dade MF/DW/CC N Aerospace 100 PGA Tour Ponte Vedra Beach Saint Johns HQ N Business & Financial Services 86 1,111Wayfair Jacksonville Duval DW N Consumer Products 72 250Airbus Oneweb Satellites Cape Canaveral Brevard MF N IT & Comm. 70 125Equinix Miami Miami-Dade DT E IT & Comm. 60 Blue Origin Cape Canaveral Brevard DW N Aerospace 60 50Vystar Credit Union Jacksonville Duval HQ N Business & Financial Services 59 Lockheed Martin Corp. Orlando Orange RD N Aerospace 50 500Jinko Solar Co., Ltd. Jacksonville Duval MF N Electronics 50 200DT = Data Center | MF = Manufacturing | OF = Of ce | HQ = Headquarters | RD = Research & Development | DW = Distribution/Warehouse108 JANUARY 2019 SI T E S E L E C T IO NGeorgia Dept. of Econ. Dev.Technology Square75 Fifth Street N.W., Suite 1200Atlanta, GA 30308Pat WilsonCOMMISSIONER404-962-4000Legislative Update• Georgia voters approved Amendment 5, removing a requirement that a county school district and a city school district within the county’s boundaries must agree before calling a referendum to raise sales taxes for education. Supporters say the measure is meant to eliminate situations where independent school districts serving a small portion of a county’s students hold the larger districts hostage in hopes of obtaining a larger share of tax proceeds.• Voters also approved Amendment 2, creating a statewide court specializing in handling complex business disputes. The aim of the measure is to remove certain cases from state and superior court dockets and to put them before judges with special business expertise in order to speed litigation and make Georgia more business-friendly.• The Georgia General Assembly passed bills to expand mass transit in metro Atlanta, levy sales taxes on online purchases and expand rural internet access. Lawmakers also approved legislation to fully fund K-12 education after more than a decade of cutbacks.georgia.org“Georgia is and will remain a red state, and we will expose liberal policies that threaten this state’s prosperity and opportunity.”— Gov.-elect Brian Kemp in an interview with National ReviewHigher Ed. R&D Expenditure: $2,340,410Number of NCRCs: 340,484 | Percent Improvement 2017-2018: 0.8%Business Tax Climate Rank Change 2018-2019: -2Lowest Electric Power Cost (cents/kWh): 6.20Fiscal Condition Index Rank2018 Workers’ Comp Index Rate: 2.27GDP9th2017 GDP(in millions of current US$)$510,822.90.00.51.01.52.02.53.03.520172016201520142013GeorgiaPop. (2018): 10,517,229 Pop. growth 2018–2023: 1.10%Median household income: $54,785 Median age: 37Credit Rating: AAA/Stable Right-to-work state: YesDid You Know?Georgia, for the sixth consecutive year, nished No. 1 in Site Selection’s State Business Climate Rankings. The Georgia Ports Authority in December announced plans for a new inland port in Gainesville, just northeast of Atlanta, to provide freight rail service to and from the Port of Savannah. In August, the Authority inaugurated an inland port in Murray County, also in northern Georgia. Georgia ranks fourth in the nation for the number of individuals employed in the aviation eld, and the job growth outlook for the industry exceeds national averages over the next 10 years. New programs such as Chattahoochee Technical College’s new $35-million Aviation Academy at Silver Comet Field at the Paulding Northwest Atlanta Airport will help ll an aerospace mechanic jobs de cit that in late 2018 stood at about 2,000 positions.Selected Corporate Facility Projects 2018 NEW/ INVESTMENTCOMPANY CITY COUNTY TYPE EXPANDED PRODUCT (US$ M) EMPUnited Parcel Service Plain eld Hendricks DW N Package Delivery 260 578NTK Precision Axle Corp. Anderson Madison MF N Steel 100 200BWI North America Green eld Hancock MF N Auto Parts 82 441Beijing West Industries Co. Green eld Hancock MF N Auto Parts 80 441Steel Dynamics Columbia City Whitley MF E Steel 78 33Fukai Toyotetsu Indiana Corp. Jamestown Boone MF E Auto Parts 57 103Fort Wayne Metals Research Products Corp. Fort Wayne Allen OF/MF E Steel Wire 51 Ingram Micro Jeffersonville Clark DW N Computer Equipment 40 550Multimatic New Haven Allen MF E Hardware 40 180Alcoa Warrick Newburgh Warrick MF E Aluminum 39 196Brooks Sports Whitestown Boone DW N Retail Merchandise 38 132Lear Corp. Hammond Lake MF N Auto Parts 30 875Micronutrients USA New Castle Henry MF E Pet Food 30 50Pyrolyx Ag Terre Haute Vigo MF N Chemicals 30 55BorgWarner Pds (Indiana) Noblesville Hamilton MF E Auto Parts 28 23DT = Data Center | MF = Manufacturing | OF = Of ce | HQ = Headquarters | RD = Research & Development | DW = Distribution/Warehouse110 JANUARY 2019 SI T E S E L E C T IO NIdaho Dept. of Commerce700 W. State St.Boise, ID 83720Megan RonkDIRECTOR208-334-2470Legislative Update• In March, out-going Gov. Butch Otter signed cuts to personal and corporate taxes totaling $201.9 million, described as the largest tax cut in Idaho history. Taxes across all seven personal income brackets as well as the corporate rate were cut by 0.475 percent. Lawmakers also increased the state’s child tax credit from $130 to $205. • Idaho employers will save an estimated $115 million over the next three years through a law approved January 31 to lower the amount employers pay in unemployment insurance taxes. The 30-percent reduction was made possible by the robust growth of the state reserve fund. The fund is on track to have roughly $1 billion by 2020.• Idaho’s annual state budget increased spending on public schools by $100 million, or 5.9 percent. The state will spend an extra $10.5 million for classroom technology, $7.2 million to help districts cover health insurance cost increases, $4 million to increase discretionary funding by school districts and $500,000 for the cost of IT staf ng in school districts.commerce.idaho.gov“Idaho has been fairly successful, but we have more work to do in taking back the authority that the federal government over the years has taken, whether it’s in the areas of education, transportation, healthcare, public lands management and all the areas of regulation.”— Gov.-elect Brad Little, in his victory speech, November 6GDP41st2017 GDP(in millions of current US$)$67,016.20.00.51.01.52.02.53.03.54.020172016201520142013Higher Ed. R&D Expenditure: $163,093Number of NCRCs: 160 | Percent Improvement 2017-2018: 14.3%Business Tax Climate Rank Change 2018-2019: +2Lowest Electric Power Cost (cents/kWh): 6.122018 Workers’ Comp Index Rate: 1.81IdahoPop. (2018): 1,760,131 Pop. growth 2018–2023: 1.47%Median household income: $52,294 Median age: 36Credit Rating: AA+/Stable Right-to-work state: YesFiscal Condition Index RankDid You Know?Dairy products, not potatoes, are Idaho’s No. 1 agricultural export. Idaho is the nation’s fourth-largest producer of milk.In fiscal year 2017, Idaho National Laboratory operations added $1.94 billion to Idaho’s gross domestic product, and the lab spent $139 million with Idaho businesses.Idaho voters rejected a hotly-contested initiative to allow historical horse racing — machines that allow people to gamble on recordings of horse races. Proponents of Proposition 1 said it would boost the state’s economy and help fund schools; opponents said it would send the state down a path toward legalized casinos.Thanks to 17 dams on the Snake River and tributaries, hydropower accounts for 50 percent of Idaho Power’s generation capacity, vs. 7.5 percent nationally. The company manages over 30,000 acres of wildlife habitat in the Hells Canyon, C.J. Strike and Hagerman areas.Canada-based McCain Foods USA is investing $200 million to expand the world’s biggest frozen French fry plant in Burley, where the payroll will grow to 710.Selected Corporate Facility Projects 2018 NEW/ INVESTMENTCOMPANY CITY COUNTY TYPE EXPANDED PRODUCT (US$ M) EMPNewcold Coöperatief U.A. Burley Cassia DW N Transport & Logistics 90 Micron Technology Boise Ada OF/MF N Electronics 32 Magic Valley Quality Milk Producers Jerome Jerome OF/MF E Food & Beverage 20 Premier Technology Blackfoot Bingham MF E Electronics 100Pape Machinery Ponderay Bonner DW N Machinery, Equip. & Const. DowDupont Burley Cassia MF N Chemicals & Plastics 25DT = Data Center | MF = Manufacturing | OF = Office | HQ = Headquarters | RD = Research & Development | DW = Distribution/Warehouse112 JANUARY 2019 SI T E S E L E C T IO NIllinois Dept. of Commerce & Economic Opportunity100 West Randolph, Suite 3-400Chicago, IL 60601Sean McCarthyDIRECTOR312-814-7179Legislative Update• For the rst time since 2015, Illinois adopted an on-time budget. It includes $8.8 billion in spending approval for capital projects such as the construction of water, transportation and housing facilities. Lawmakers also approved $2.2 billion in spending on infrastructure programs, including $500 million for an innovation center led by the University of Illinois. K-12 education spending received a boost of $350 million (5 percent), and early childhood education received an extra $50 million.• The state’s Entrepreneur Learner’s Permit pilot program was expanded to assist any beginning entrepreneurs starting new businesses. The program had previously been limited to “new information services, biotechnology and green technology businesses.”• Lawmakers expanded the existing River Edge Redevelopment Zone Historic Tax Credit. Historic preservation projects along riverfronts statewide that meet one of ve targeted criteria and a project readiness test can now apply for a 25-percent state income tax credit for quali ed expenditures, up to $3 million in state credits per project.illinoisbiz.biz“My job creation plan includes a focus on attracting and building up small businesses, building infrastructure, such as statewide high-speed broadband internet connectivity, investing in higher education, nurturing our agricultural economy, and jumpstarting manufacturing.”— Gov.-elect J.B. Pritzker, Oct. 2018, NBC 5 News, ChicagoGDP5th2017 GDP(in millions of current US$)$745,292.00.00.30.60.91.21.520172016201520142013Did You Know?With 419 qualifying projects, Illinois placed No. 3 in the 2017 Site Selection Governor’s Cup. Chicago-Naperville-Elgin was ranked No. 1 among Site Selection’s Top Metros with populations over 1 million.The population of Illinois declined by 33,703 people in 2017, the state’s fourth straight year of population loss. From July 2016 to July 2017, 77 percent of localities in Illinois saw their populations shrink.Four U.S. presidents — Ronald Reagan, Ulysses S. Grant, Abraham Lincoln and Barack Obama — have called Illinois home. Of the four, Reagan was the only one actually born there, in Tampico, just east of the Quad Cities.Selected Corporate Facility Projects 2018 NEW/ INVESTMENTCOMPANY CITY COUNTY TYPE EXPANDED PRODUCT (US$ M) EMPCoresite Realty Corp. Chicago Cook DT N IT & Comm. 210 World Wide Technology Saint Clair DW N IT & Comm. 115 500Harting Inc. Of North America Elgin Kane MF/RD E Electronics 100 250Pinnacle Foods Saint Elmo Fayette DW N Food & Beverage 54 100Kenco Transportation Management Monee Will DW N Transport & Logistics 53 Ihi Turbo America Co. Shelbyville Shelby MF E Automotive 40 90Carl Buddig And Co. Montgomery Kane MF N Food & Beverage 30 350Bystronic Laser Ag Hoffman Estates Cook MF N Machinery, Equip. & Const. 30 140Archer-Daniels-Midland Co. Ef ngham Ef ngham MF E Food & Beverage 30 Berner Food & Beverage Cherry Valley Winnebago MF N Food & Beverage 25 200Wieland Metals Wheeling Cook MF E Metals 25 65North American Lighting Paris Edgar MF E Automotive 25 50GC America Alsip Cook MF E Life Sciences 25 20DT = Data Center | MF = Manufacturing | OF = Of ce | HQ = Headquarters | RD = Research & Development | DW = Distribution/WarehouseIllinoisPop. (2018): 12,970,153 Pop. growth 2018–2023: 0.10%Median household income: $61,255 Median age: 38Credit Rating: BBB-/Stable Right-to-work state: NoHigher Ed. R&D Expenditure: $2,503,276Number of NCRCs: 155,512 | Percent Improvement 2017-2018: 1.4%Business Tax Climate Rank Change 2018-2019: -3Lowest Electric Power Cost (cents/kWh): 6.42Fiscal Condition Index Rank2018 Workers’ Comp Index Rate: 1.8Next >