Louisiana Amends Quality Jobs Act

After launching a new industry cluster program, the Pelican State is fine tuning its six-year-old Quality Jobs program to attract and retain new industry within the state with additional tax credits. The amended act now allows companies with fewer than 50 employees to apply for a five-percent payroll rebate if they create $250,000 worth of new jobs. Larger firms have had the threshold lowered to $500,000 worth of payroll.
        The much-amended act is not without controversy. In a year when state coffers are perilously low, many state officials were concerned with the reduction in tax revenues. Economic development officials believe that the increased development will more than offset the reduced tax revenue.
        "It is our feeling that the costs of this would have been made up by the impact of the new jobs," says Jack Walker, vice president with the New Orleans Regional Chamber of Commerce.
        Lawmakers were also concerned that some of Louisiana's traditional industries, such as oil and gas, would be omitted from the new legislation. The bill now specifically includes oil-field service businesses, but with an additional requirement that each newly created job must pay at least $30,000. Other firms included in the newly amended Quality Jobs act involve any of the industries targeted by the Dept. of Economic Development's new cluster program, which includes high-tech sectors such as biotechnology. Manufacturing is also eligible under the new program, as is any firm which exports five percent of its product out of state.
        Gov. Mike Foster has also asked the legislature for $200 million in the next few years to help with infrastructure across the state, as well as equipment and recruiting funds for some of the top R&D scientists. Approximately $70 million will be slated for construction of medical and research facilities at Tulane and Louisiana State University's Health Sciences Division in Shreveport. The Tulane center in New Orleans will focus on cancer research. Another $50 million would cover research equipment for 10 of Louisiana's state sponsored hospitals.
        "The biosciences research industry could well be the 21st century equivalent of oil and gas for Louisiana," says Gov. Foster.

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