The bill enhances Alabama’s recruitment arsenal so that industries other than manufacturing are eligible for the state’s economic incentives. Current incentives are limited primarily to manufacturing jobs.

Signing the bill at the State Capitol surrounded by members of his Cabinet and economic developers from across the state, the Governor noted the state’s remarkable success in recruiting manufacturing jobs and “mega-projects.”

Those successes are why Alabamians - even in the recession - saw their personal incomes rise at a greater rate than most of the rest of the nation last year, Governor Riley said, pointing to federal data showing income growth in Alabama was 13th highest in the nation.

“Now we’ve got to take our efforts to the next level. We’ve got to be even more aggressive in the pursuit of new jobs because there are a lot of Alabamians who need them. We’ve got to expand the playing field and improve our ability to compete for higher-paying jobs in some of the key growth industries. That’s what this bill does,” said Governor Riley. “It re-tools our economic development strategy and lays the foundation to move us forward and come out of this recession stronger than before.”

With the new law, economic developers will be able to use incentives to attract corporate headquarters, high-tech research and development facilities, and jobs in the newly emerging “green” economy.

Alabama is competing for projects in these industries that have the potential to bring 7,000 new jobs to the state.

“Without this change in our incentives law we were fighting for these projects with one hand tied behind our back,” Governor Riley said. “Now, with this change, we’ll be competing with other states on a level playing field.”

The new law was proposed by the Governor during his State of the State Address at the beginning of the 2009 legislative session. He asked Representative John Knight and Senator Hank Sanders to sponsor it.

“I believe that years from now, we will look back on this moment and realize that this new law I’m signing today played a critically important role in Alabama’s economic renewal,” Governor Riley said. “It comes at a pivotal time in our history, when our state and every state is challenged by the global economy. The key to our recovery lies here, in being able to recruit new, high-paying jobs, in bringing new opportunity to our people. That’s how we’ll get our economy moving again.”