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HB 283

School Zone and Pedestrian Safety

2026 Regular Session Introduced by Jose Alvarez

Creates the Small Business Investment Grant (SBIG) within the One North Carolina Fund to award competitive grants for NC small firms' facility establishment or expansion.

Now in Economic Infrastructure Subcommittee
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Bill Summary · HB 283

HB 283 — Small Business Investment Grant Program (North Carolina) — Summary

Status: Passed 2nd Reading (per provided metadata)
Introduced: 2025 (filed in session documents)
Primary sponsor: Representative Reives

Main purpose

HB 283 renames an existing One North Carolina Fund subaccount and creates a new Small Business Investment Grant (SBIG) program (account) within the One North Carolina Fund to provide competitive grants to eligible small businesses to offset costs of establishing new facilities or expanding existing facilities in North Carolina.

Key provisions

  • Renames the One North Carolina Small Business Account to the One North Carolina Small Business Research and Technology Account (to continue supporting SBIR/STTR incentive and matching programs).
  • Creates the Small Business Investment Grant Account (SBIG) as a special account in the One North Carolina Fund to provide competitive grants to eligible small businesses for facility establishment or expansion.
  • Funding allocations from the One North Carolina Fund: up to $3,000,000 may be allocated to the Small Business Research and Technology Account and up to $10,000,000 may be allocated to the SBIG account (statutory caps).
  • Grant limits and administration:
    • Department of Commerce administers the SBIG program and prioritizes applicants expected to produce the greatest net economic benefit regionally and statewide.
    • Per-recipient caps: no more than $500,000 in any single calendar year; no more than $2,500,000 total per recipient.
    • Term of distribution may not exceed five years.
  • Eligibility criteria for recipient businesses (all must be satisfied):
    • Have 250 or fewer full‑time employees (including FTEs), or have less than $5,000,000 in annual gross revenue.
    • Commit to invest between $10,000,000 and $30,000,000 in private funds in the State.
    • Hire (not more than) 250 new employees in the State (as defined in statute).
    • Pay employees an average weekly wage at least 110% of the county average for insured private employers.
  • Statutory limits on total commitments: Governor’s Letters commitments in a single fiscal year may not exceed $17,000,000; $3,000,000 of that is reserved for specified development tier three local governments (preexisting One NC Fund provision preserved).
  • Reporting and related changes: updates statutory references for SBIR/STTR programs to reflect the account rename; Department required to publish reports on account uses as provided in current law.
  • Effective date: the bill states it is effective when it becomes law.

Who is affected

  • Eligible small businesses that plan capital investments and job creation in NC and meet the financial, employment, and wage thresholds.
  • Department of Commerce (program administration and prioritization).
  • One North Carolina Fund allocations and potentially participating local governments benefiting from facility investments.

Potential impact and considerations

  • The SBIG program could leverage private investment in North Carolina facility projects by offsetting capital or expansion costs for qualifying small firms.
  • Total statutory availability to SBIG is capped at $10 million (subject to appropriation/allocation practice and Governor’s Letters rules).
  • The program targets firms making relatively large private investments ($10M–$30M), while preserving per-firm grant caps to limit exposure.
  • Fiscal impacts depend on future allocations and appropriations; the bill establishes authorization/limits but does not itself appropriate a specific new recurring appropriation beyond the fund allocation caps.

Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.

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