Beebe seeks fund to help businesses
Posted on Saturday, February 17, 2007
The governor’s office needs a $ 50 million discretionary fund to use on short notice as an economic development tool for small businesses, Gov. Mike Beebe said Friday.
Beebe, in an interview with reporters after a speech to the Arkansas Economic Development Foundation in Little Rock, said the money, placed in a “quick-action closing fund,” could be used in areas such as job training, infrastructure, improving machinery and upgrading plants.
But it would be used for smaller businesses and not major projects offering more than 500 jobs or $ 500 million in investment, Beebe said.
Beebe mentioned his desire for such a fund in his State of the State address last month, but has not gone into detail about it since becoming governor.
He said some small businesses recently have moved operations to other locations in the country.
“The difference between having the ability to upgrade plants in Arkansas as opposed to [an out-of-state site ] could make the difference between whether we get their jobs or they get our jobs,” Beebe said.
“This is the kind of tool that Arkansas needs to help be competitive.”
A bill that would establish the fund has not yet been introduced in the state Legislature, said Matt DeCample, Beebe’s spokesman.
Speaker of the House Benny Petrus, D-Stuttgart, said Friday that he supports the idea.
“We’d like to have legislative oversight,” Petrus added.
Beebe agreed, saying the fund would have oversight from the Legislature or an interim body such as the Legislative Council.
The money wouldn’t be used for “superprojects” in Arkansas, such as a proposed Toyota Motor Corp. auto assembly plant near Marion. Incentives for giant endeavors like that already are available through Amendment 82.
That change to the state constitution, approved by voters in 2004, allows up to 5 percent of the state’s general revenues to be used as incentives for businesses that would bring a facility to Arkansas with at least 500 jobs and an investment of at least $ 500 million.
“Superprojects would require the kind of money that would exceed anything that would be considered in what I’m talking about,” Beebe said.
“Whether it’s 30 jobs or 300 jobs, or 250 jobs or 400 jobs, those are the kind of things that this fund could theoretically help. And you wouldn’t spend it if the opportunities weren’t there. You’d have to be frugal.”
He said the main use of an $ 843 million surplus the state now has will be for education, but close behind that is economic development.
Beebe said the focus of his economic development strategy is “total diversity.”
Arkansas needs to be involved in the development of alternative fuels such as ethanol or biodiesel, he said.
“That is a natural fit. I want clean and expanded manufacturing because I think this country needs to continue to have a manufacturing presence in the world. I do not want to be dependent on foreign manufacturing.”
Petrus, a farmer and automobile dealer, said he also supports pursuing the production of alternative fuels.
The state needs high-technology, high-paying intellectual jobs, Beebe said, like those at companies working in fields such as nanotechnology or the biosciences.
“I want it as diverse as possible because inevitably one segment of the economy will suffer the slowdown and Arkansas can better withstand that with a diverse economic approach,” Beebe said.
It also is important that each region of the state focuses on jobs that are a good fit for that area, such as logistics in Northwest Arkansas and food processing in Jonesboro, Beebe said.
That is a strategy the Arkansas Department of Economic Development has supported for several years.
FEEDBACK:
Something to say about this topic? Submit a Letter to the Editor online
