Companies to Locate in Mississippi Thanks to Passage of Bill in Special Session

HERE, was approved in the “First Extraordinary Session” of 2011, which began and ended today.  Lawmakers in the Mississippi House of Representatives passed the bill handed to them by the Mississippi Senate around 6:00 pm this evening.  The bill is headed to Governor Haley Barbour’s desk for his signature. “We appreciate the strong, early support of the Senate and the ultimate overwhelming decision of the House to approve these large economic development and job creation projects,” said Governor Barbour in a written statement.  “They are additional examples of the attractiveness of our state and our workforce to high-tech companies involved in advanced manufacturing with advanced materials.” We were monitoring action in both chambers of the Mississippi capitol building throughout the day.  The day was not without it’s drama. Language that would attach the commission of a $2 million study to determine if there is a statistical disparity in the number of minority contractors doing business with the State of Mississippi was included in the House’s version of the bill (HB2).  The author of the bill, Percy W. Watson (D – District 103), and other members of the House argued for the inclusion of the language when Representative John Moore (R – District 60) put forth a motion to amend the bill  and remove the addition of the study.  The vote to amend the bill was tabled and the bill was sent to the Senate,  where the bill died. Two representatives from the Mississippi delta, who were supportive of the bill, delivered comments to the House in support of the House bill.  The two, Rufus Straughter (D – District 51), who lives in Humphreys County, and Willie J. Perkins, Sr. (D – District 32), who resides in Leflore County, talked about how they felt the delta has been overlooked by the Mississippi Development Authority.  Rep. Straughter brought up developments near Vicksburg during Governor Kirk Fordice’s administration and in the Ruleville area during Governor Ronnie Musgrove’s term in office.  He said that he found it “appalling” that Governor Haley Barbour, who hails from Yazoo City, has not focused his efforts in locating a business in the delta. Rep. Perkins took the language a step further saying that some members of the House had benefitted from the “sins of their forefathers” while the decendants of slaves had not reaped those benefits.  He argued that the delta should be the beneficiary of more attention by the MDA because it is time that the “former slaves” get what they deserve. The final passing of the bill also extends a tax-rebate incentive program that will hopefully create 3,000 new jobs at the Huntington-Ingalls Shipyard in Pascagoula. We spoke with Rep. Alex Monsour (R – District 54) shortly after the House wrapped up work for the session and he lauded the work done by the Mississippi Legislature in getting this bill introduced, debated and passed in one day. “I expect that Governor Barbour will sign this legislation in very short order,” said Rep. Monsour.  “This bill will create jobs and that is a great thing for our state.” When asked whether he echoed the sentiments of Straughter and Perkins, Monsour said, “It is not the job of the government to determine where a private company will locate their operations.  It is the job of the elected officials, local and state, to work with the MDA to recruit private industry into their area.” You might be asking about the companies that are locating their operations in Mississippi. Calisolar, according to their website, is vertically integrated with expertise in silicon purification, ingot production, wafering and cell processing. The company is leveraging its global operations, intellectual property, new technologies and innovative manufacturing processes to enable the growth of cost-effective, large-scale solar electricity implementations. Solar module manufacturers can now build industry-standard, grid-tied modules using cells made with Calisolar solar silicon with average production efficiencies well above 16 percent. Calisolar plans to open a facility in Columbus, Mississippi.  That facility will employ about 950 people with an average annual salary of $45,000 plus benefits. Under that incentive package, the state will provide a $59.5 million loan for the company’s building and equipment and the facility will be owned by Lowndes County.  Mississippi also will provide $15.75 million in grant funding for infrastructure and workforce training.  The first phase of construction is planned for the first half of 2012. HCL CleanTech, currently headquarted in North Carolina, uses hydrochloric acid to reduce bio-mass to sugars and then converts those sugars into bio-fuels. In laymen’s terms, they will turn wood chips into sugars that will be used in everything from detergents to lubricants and much more. The company has plans to move it’s headquarters to Olive Branch in North Mississippi.  They will also build a small commercial / research and development facility in Grenada.  Also, the company plans to build three large commercial facilities in the Boonville, Hattiesburg and Natchez areas.  These facilities will reportedly create more than 800 jobs that pay an average salary of $67,000 plus benefits. The incentive bill includes a $95 million loan and $5 million grant that could be used for training, infrastructure or equipment. The Grenada and Olive Branch facilities are scheduled to begin operation in 2013.  The other sites will open between 2015 and 2019. Adams County residents and officials have already been sounding off about the proposed facility.  There seems to be a general feeling of excitement in the community that has lost three major manufacturing employers in recent years. Lawmakers had the opportunity to meet with representatives from the two companies so they could learn more today.]]]]> ]]>