Alabama Governor Riley Praises Passage of Job Recruiting Bill

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May 05, 2009 -- MONTGOMERY - Alabama Governor Bob Riley thanked members of the House Tuesday for passing a proposal he announced in his State of the State Address to improve Alabama’s ability to recruit higher paying jobs.

The bill, House Bill 568, is sponsored by Representative John Knight and was approved 99-0.

“This bill helps us target our economic incentives toward the fastest-growing job sectors, like high-tech research jobs, corporate headquarters and jobs in the emerging ‘green economy’ of the twenty-first century,” said Governor Riley. “At this very moment, Alabama is competing for projects that would bring more than 7,000 new jobs connected to these fields. I thank members of the House for working to put us in a better position to win these jobs. Now I urge the Senate to follow the House’s lead and approve this bill.”

* HB 568 maintains our competitiveness for high-end manufacturing jobs, but also extends the full range of statutory incentives (capital credits and tax abatements) to attract new and expanding:
o corporate headquarters
o space research and technology facilities
o producers of electricity or natural gas from biomass or renewable energy resources and other “green” employers
o data processing centers
o inbound call centers
* HB 568 introduces a base average wage requirement of $15 per hour (inclusive of all facility employees and excluding benefits) to ensure that incentives are targeted to attract quality, good-paying jobs.

Source: Alabama Governor