 From Site Selection magazine, November 2003 
U.S. LEGISLATIVE UPDATE
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Vermont
Molly Lambert, secretary of the Vermont Agency of Commerce and Community Development, announced a new coordinated business assistance initiative. The program is designed to provide customized assistance to every business seeking help in dealing with difficult issues such as permitting, import/export matters, business expansion and work force training. The service includes a 24-hour, toll-free hotline for all Vermont-based businesses: 1-800-933-6249. The Vermont Council on Rural Development Telecommunications Committee unveiled a program aimed at bringing high-speed telecommunications service to all parts of rural Vermont. The program focuses on using market aggregation to bring broadband infrastructure and connectivity to rural counties.
Virginia
The Virginia Investment Partnership Act has been amended to provide for discretionary, negotiated grants to 1) existing manufacturers that invest at least $25 million into their facilities, and 2) existing employers of any sector that invest at least $100 million and create at least 1,000 new jobs. In addition, the grant timetable would be speeded up for companies located in fiscally stressed areas, and the 1,000-person threshold would be reduced in proportion to the amount by which new salaries would exceed prevailing area wages. Multiple work force training programs and councils have been streamlined in order to make better policy and afford companies better service delivery.
Washington
In May, at the same time the state continued to push efforts to retain or bring back aerospace activity with a $4-billion package aimed squarely at Boeing's 7E7 plant, lame duck Washington Gov. Gary Locke signed into law a new package of tax breaks for semiconductor manufacturers. Requiring an investment of at least $1 billion over three years, the law affords property, sales, business and occupation tax exemptions. Unemployment insurance rates have been lowered. An Innovation Grants program has been created for technology research. Funding was increased for job skills training, and more of that training will focus on lean manufacturing techniques.
West Virginia
New legislation establishing the West Virginia Economic Development Grant Committee makes $700 million available from the sale of bonds to construct, equip, improve or maintain new economic development, capital improvement and infrastructure projects. The West Virginia Academy of Science and Technology was created to analyze R&D, commercialization infrastructure and the attraction of public and private resources to fund those areas of endeavor. In November 2002, voters approved a constitutional amendment permitting tax increment financing. From 700 students in 2001, the state's PROMISE Scholarship Program, dedicated to students who stay in the state to pursue higher education, grew to 3,500 students in 2002. Building on that momentum, recent legislation established centers for economic development and technology advancement at the state's doctoral universities.
Wisconsin
In July 2003, Gov. Jim Doyle signed a budget that raised no new taxes to make up for a $3.2-billion deficit, eliminated 2,300 state jobs and trimmed state agency payroll by $400 million. Among the preserved programs is a road building budget that increased by $77 million, including funding for the $810-million Marquette Interchange reconstruction in Milwaukee, the largest transportation project ever pursued in the state. Legislation encouraging the siting of power plants was passed, and an executive branch agreement with the Dept. of Natural Resources will cut the regulatory review process for transmission lines in half. The single sales factor tax law was signed in July. Under the previous law, corporate taxes were calculated based on a combination of payroll, property, and sales. Beginning with a gradual phase-in in fiscal year 2006, corporate taxes will be calculated based only on sales of goods or services. When fully implemented, the single sales factor tax would result in a net tax reduction of $45 million annually. "Most of the items included in this plan do not require legislation – they simply require a new commitment from government to work harder, faster and smarter to improve the business climate," Gov. Doyle said of his new "Grow Wisconsin" plan, unveiled in September. Doyle plans to introduce legislation to create a $10-million training fund to offer free training to companies that create significant numbers of new, high paying jobs or need to introduce new technologies to retain workers in a competitive world economy.
Wyoming
Excise tax exemptions are now available to agriculture equipment, renewable energy equipment, tertiary oil and gas production and aircraft parts and service. A new Business Ready Communities program will help local areas develop infrastructure for corporate expansion. Grants will come available in early 2004. The state's natural gas pipeline authority was granted additional bonding authority. The state's Quick Start curriculum (based on the award-winning program in Georgia) was expanded to include customer service, manufacturing and warehouse/distribution.
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