Mark Binker

A group of 68 businesses that includes consumer giants like Apple have signed onto an amicus brief supporting the federal government’s efforts to have House Bill 2 declared unconstitutional. “By compelling transgender persons in North Carolina to deny their gender identity when using public facilities, H.B. 2 stigmatizes them and conveys a clear message—with the full force of State law—that they are second-class citizens whose gender identity is undeserving of solicitude or respect,” reads the brief. Other businesses that have signed on to the brief include Cisco, General Electric, IBM, IKEA, Levi Strauss & Co., Marriott, Nike, PayPal, Red...

Members of the Senate and the House have filed sprawling economic development bills that are a compendium of wish-lists from the North Carolina Chamber, the McCrory administration and bills that have fallen short of passage in prior legislative sessions. Among the 14 parts of Senate Bill 826 and its companion measure, House Bill 1090, are a crowd-funding measure favored by tech companies and investor advocates, as well as a tax break for insurers that invest in North Carolina businesses. However, given the rocky history of economic development bills at the legislature, it’s unclear which – if any – of...

In the days and weeks following the adoption of House Bill 2, Commerce Secretary John Skvarla and his top lieutenants reached out to North Carolina-based companies and other firms as part of an effort to allay potential concerns. “I think, more than anything, I was talking to people proactively or prophylactically to make sure they didn’t have any concerns,” Skvarla said. “My initiative has been to answer questions to try to give a complete explanation to the story, and in virtually every case, the response has been, ‘Oh, I didn’t know that,’ or ‘Oh, that’s not so bad.'” Skvarla...

A proposed law that would allow North Carolina companies to raise up to $2 million from dozens of small investors has cleared the Senate Judiciary I Committee. Similar measures have been hailed over the past two years as ways to spark economic growth among small businesses but have met with a number of stumbling blocks along the way. The current measure, Senate Bill 481 authored by Sen. Tamara Barringer, R-Wake, got off to a smooth start Tuesday and will next be vetted by the Senate Finance Committee before heading to the floor. “This is very important to small businesses...

Bill boosting job lures clears House committee Tags: Incentives, Economic Development and Jobs Posted 1:01 p.m. yesterday Updated 4:51 p.m. yesterday 1 A bill that would boost the state’s efforts to recruit large companies to North Carolina, particularly big automakers, passed the House Finance Committee on a 30-9 vote Tuesday morning, despite opposition from both liberal and conservative lawmakers. The measure, which appears to be on a fast track through the House, was also vetted by the House Appropriations Committee on Tuesday afternoon. Top leaders say they expect to take a first floor vote on the measure on Wednesday....

North Carolina House leaders have filed a long-expected economic development bill that would put more money into luring companies to the state, but it leaves out two key programs avidly sought by the administration.  House Bill 117, the N.C. Competes Act, would put $45 million into what has been known as the JDIG program, which gives back to companies a portion of what they would have paid in payroll taxes. The measure renames the program “Job Growth Reimbursement.”  It contains a previously discussed change in how manufacturers are taxed and a change to lure more data centers to the state. It also contains...

North Carolina should invest more in turning the innovations developed at the state’s public and private universities into marketable products, Gov. Pat McCrory told the UNC Board of Governors Friday morning. Speaking to the governors along with his chief of staff, Thomas Stith, and others from a committee assigned to develop recommendations on growing businesses, McCrory said his aim was to turn the Research Triangle area into an innovation center that rivals Boston and Silicon Valley. Analysis: Plan could help state, not just Triangle “We can be equal to those other two and be the vertex in the Southeast,”...

Cathryn Parsons has given a lift to a young woman on the way to her first day of work and rented her spare bedroom to honeymooners. Parsons, the mother of a 7-year-old and three grown children, says applications like Lyft and airbnb provide her with an easy way to connect with people looking for a spare seat in her car or a spare room. As such, she is a prime example of someone participating in “the sharing economy,” a market segment that is posing big questions for lawmakers as participants are frequently falling through cracks in tax, insurance and...