§ 143B-437.53. Eligible projects. - North Carolina Statutes

§ 143B‑437.53.  Eligibleprojects.

(a)        Minimum Number ofEligible Positions. – A business may apply to the Committee for a grant for anyproject that creates the minimum number of eligible positions as set out in thetable below. If the project will be located in more than one development tierarea, the location with the highest development tier area designationdetermines the minimum number of eligible positions that must be created.

DevelopmentTier Area                                    Number of Eligible Positions

Tier One                                                                         10

Tier Two                                                                        20

Tier Three                                                                       20

(b)        IneligibleBusinesses. – A project that consists solely of retail facilities is noteligible for a grant under this Part. If a project consists of both retailfacilities and nonretail facilities, only the portion of the project consistingof nonretail facilities is eligible for a grant, and only the withholdings fromemployees in eligible positions that are employed exclusively in the portion ofthe project that represents nonretail facilities may be used to determine theamount of the grant. If a warehouse facility is part of a retail facility andsupplies only that retail facility, the warehouse facility is not eligible fora grant. For the purposes of this Part, catalog distribution centers are notretail facilities.

A project that consists of aprofessional or semiprofessional sports team or club, other than a professionalmotorsports racing team, is not eligible for a grant under this Part.

(c)        Health Insurance. –A business is eligible for a grant under this Part only if the businessprovides health insurance for all of the applicable full‑time employeesof the project with respect to which the grant is made. For the purposes ofthis subsection, an applicable full‑time employee is one who earns fromthe business less than one hundred fifty thousand dollars ($150,000) in taxablecompensation on an annualized basis or three and one‑half times theannualized average State wage for all insured private employers in the Stateemploying between 250 and 1,000 employees, whichever is greater. For thepurposes of this subsection, a business provides health insurance if it pays atleast fifty percent (50%) of the premiums for health care coverage that equalsor exceeds the minimum provisions of the basic health care plan of coveragerecommended by the Small Employer Carrier Committee pursuant to G.S. 58‑50‑125.

Each year that a businessreceives a grant under this Part, the business must provide with the submissionrequired under G.S. 143B‑437.58 a certification that the businesscontinues to provide health insurance, as required by this subsection, for allapplicable full‑time employees of the project with respect to which thegrant is made. If the business ceases to provide the required health insurance,the Committee shall amend or terminate the agreement as provided in G.S. 143B‑437.59.

(d)        Repealed by SessionLaws 2003‑435, 2nd Ex. Sess., s. 2.3, effective December 16, 2003.

(e)        Safety and HealthPrograms. – In order for a business to be eligible for a grant under this Part,the business must have no citations under the Occupational Safety and HealthAct that have become a final order within the past three years for willfulserious violations or for failing to abate serious violations with respect tothe location for which the grant is made. For the purposes of this subsection,"serious violation" has the same meaning as in G.S. 95‑127. (2002‑172, s. 2.1(a);2003‑416, s. 2; 2003‑435, Ex. Sess., s. 2.3; 2005‑241, s. 5;2006‑168, s. 1.3; 2006‑252, s. 2.7.)