CONTACT:   Claire Wilker       

804-698-1210

 ARMSTRONG TO CARRY JOB CREATION LEGISLATION

~Establishes Major Employment and Investment Project Site Planning Grant Fund and Program~

     Delegate Ward Armstrong announced today that he will be working with Governor McDonnell on his “Jobs and Opportunity Agenda” by carrying additional job creation legislation this Session.

The legislation will establish a mega-site fund of $5 million for fiscal year 2011-2012. This fund will improve site location development to encourage large businesses to locate to the Commonwealth and create new jobs.

“I am pleased to be able to work with the Governor’s office and the Virginia Economic Development Partnership on this legislation,” said Armstrong. “This program is a critical tool that we need to attract large employers to the Commonwealth, and specifically to Southside and Southwest Virginia. Localities are often not in a financial position to develop these sites without state assistance.”

Armstrong also submitted a revenue neutral budget amendment that will use existing funds for economic development to finance the site planning grand fund and program.

Delegate Armstrong has previously announced legislation for the 2010 General Assembly session to aid economic development and job creation, including:

HB649: Lowers the minimum private investment to qualify for incentives from the Governor's Development Opportunity Fund for localities with a population of 100,000 or less with unemployment rates in excess of 150 percent of the state average.

HB658: Lowers the threshold for qualified real property investments under the Enterprise Zone Grant Program for distressed localities from $100,000 to $50,000 for the rehabilitation or expansion of a single building and from $500,000 to $250,000 for new construction of a single building. Under the bill, distressed locality is defined as any locality with an annual average unemployment rate that is one and one half times or more the state average unemployment rate.

HB660: Provides that a business firm is eligible for an enterprise zone job creation grant of $500 per year for up to five years for each grant eligible position that during such year is 150 percent of the federal minimum wage, if the locality where the business firm is located has an unemployment rate of 1.5 percent or higher than the statewide average.

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