143B-437.51. Definitions.

The following definitions apply in this Part:

(1) Agreement. - A community economic development agreement under G.S. 143B-437.57.

(2) Base period. - The period of time set by the Committee during which new employees are to be hired for the positions on which the grant is based.

(3) Business. - A corporation, sole proprietorship, cooperative association, partnership, S corporation, limited liability company, nonprofit corporation, or other form of business organization, located either within or outside this State.

(4) Committee. - The Economic Investment Committee established pursuant to G.S. 143B-437.54.

(4a) Development tier. - The classification assigned to an area pursuant to G.S. 143B-437.08.

(5) Eligible position. - A position created by a business and filled by a new full-time employee in this State during the base period. For purposes of high-yield projects and transformative projects, (i) positions created in the year the business achieves the minimum requirements set forth in this section may be considered eligible positions even if created outside the base period and (ii) in a year other than during the base period, an eligible position must be filled for at least 30 weeks of the applicable grant year.

(5a) Expansion position. - A position created by a business and filled by a new full-time employee in this State for a transformative project in any year in which the business receives the enhanced percentage of the withholdings of eligible positions pursuant to G.S. 143B-437.56(a1).

(6) Full-time employee. - A person who is employed for consideration for at least 35 hours a week, whose wages are subject to withholding under Article 4A of Chapter 105 of the General Statutes, who is not a worker with an H-1B visa or with H-1B status, and who is determined by the Committee to be employed in a permanent position according to criteria it develops in consultation with the Attorney General. The term does not include any person who works as an independent contractor or on a consulting basis for the business.

(6a) High-yield project. - A project for which the agreement requires that a business invest at least five hundred million dollars ($500,000,000) in private funds and create at least 1,750 eligible positions.

(7) New employee. - A full-time employee who represents a net increase in the number of the business's employees statewide.

(8) Overdue tax debt. - Defined in G.S. 105-243.1.

(9) Related member. - Defined in G.S. 105-130.7A.

(9a) Transformative project. - A project for which the agreement requires that a business invest at least one billion dollars ($1,000,000,000) in private funds and create at least 3,000 eligible positions.

(10) Withholdings. - The amount withheld by a business from the wages of employees in eligible positions and, if applicable, expansion positions under Article 4A of Chapter 105 of the General Statutes.