HB 751 Summary

• Expands one percent excise tax with $80 maximum on certain machinery and equipment to include specialized equipment at port facilities and machinery at large manufacturing and distribution facilities (defined as facilities with $80 million investment and 550 employees within five years).

• Establishes port enhancement zones as areas within 25 miles of a state port with at least 11% of households earning $15,000 or less annually, limited to 5% of county area, providing tier one treatment for job creation and investment credits.

• Modifies Bill Lee Act eligibility to allow jobs in port enhancement zones to satisfy wage standards at 90% of state average or county average (whichever is lesser), and increases job creation credits by $1,000 per job in these zones with additional $2,000 for zone residents or long-term unemployed workers.

• Amends Article 3A credit provisions to allow taxpayers to retain remaining credit installments if they maintain at least 125 employees and invest $5 million (or twice the value of remaining installments, whichever is greater) within two years when employment falls below required 200-job threshold.

• Authorizes Appalachian State University to acquire and improve adjacent real property in addition to constructing a new educational building, with special indebtedness authorization remaining at $34 million maximum.