Pritzker signs incentives for electric vehicle manufacturing | Politics

SPRINGFIELD — Governor JB Pritzker signed a tax incentive package on Tuesday that state legislators hope to help Illinois become a manufacturing hub for the emerging electric vehicle industry.

The Illinois Electric Vehicle Reconsideration (REV) Act passed the General Assembly during a recently completed fall session with near-unanimous bipartisan support. It provides a tax credit for income tax withheld by EV manufacturers and the cost of training new or reserved employees.

It also applies to manufacturers of EV parts such as batteries.

This is an effort to attract new manufacturers to Illinois while encouraging existing manufacturers to invest in Illinois facilities and workers.

“The bill will attract more EVs, charging station and auto parts makers than ever before, helping Illinois become one of the country’s leading EV hubs,” Pritzker said. Said in the formula. At the Rock Valley College Advanced Technology Center in Belvidere.

Tax credits created by the new law are 75% to 100% of the income tax withheld to create new employment, or reserved employees, depending on factors such as the location of the company and the number of employees employed. In the case of, it is in the range of 25% to 50%.

A credit of 10% of the training cost is also available.

Construction wages and tax credits for building materials are also included in the bill.

According to Pritzker, the additional incentives complement Illinois’s other advantages in manufacturing, but are needed to make Illinois competitive with other states from a financial perspective.

Bill sponsor Steve Stadelman, Senator D-Rockford, is in his district where the Stellantis manufacturer, which manufactures jeep at the site, is considering remodeling the facility to build an electric vehicle. Said especially in Belvidere near.

The state is also trying to attract a joint battery manufacturing venture announced by Stellantis and tech giant Samsung.

“I don’t think we’ll talk to the governor, the governor’s staff or lawmakers unless Stellantis is seriously considering a local remodeling of the factory,” Stadelman said. “If Belvedere isn’t considering investing in this area, they won’t participate in the conversation. That’s why I think this package is so important.”

According to Pritzker, other benefits of choosing Illinois are a centralized location in the United States, strong infrastructure, the second largest computer science engineer graduate in the United States, and two major national laboratories. ..

These assets helped drive electric vehicle maker Rivian Automotive to the closed Mitsubishi plant in the Bloomington Normal Area in 2017. Jim Chen, vice president of public policy, said the bill already has 3,000 Illinois in 3.5 million square feet of manufacturing space.

“Today’s bill signing represents the next step in promoting Illinois as EV’s Silicon Valley. We’re working together to attract new investment from suppliers and other supporters in the industry,” he said. Told.

For Pritzker, the bill represents an opportunity to reach carbon reduction targets while providing the state with many necessary economic opportunities.

“The rethinking of electric vehicles is to admit that there is no need to make a trade-off between a cleaner environment and more work,” Pritzker said. “We can do both, and today we are making a big leap in that quest.”

Republicans widely supported the tax incentive package. But during the floor debate, they asked Democratic sponsors of the bill why the governor frozen a similar tax incentive package known as the Blue Collar Employment Act as part of this year’s budget. As a “corporate tax loophole”, grouped it with the other policies he mentioned.

Republican Rep. Dan Brady, who represents a region of Rivian, emphasized the importance of the bill’s focus on manufacturing EV parts, not just complete vehicles.

“This incentive plan is aimed at companies that supply existing manufacturers,” he said. “This proposal will help make Illinois more competitive and not only supply it here, but also attract the companies that provide it, the jobs that are urgently needed.”

The bill is also backed by state manufacturing. Mark Denzler, CEO and Chairman of the Illinois Manufacturers Association, a leading industry association, said the bill would allow Illinois to “maintain high-paying manufacturing jobs in an exciting and prosperous industry.” Can grow. “

“The law builds on the proud history of the state’s automobile manufacturing and puts Illinois in a position to become a national leader in the production of electric vehicles and batteries,” he said in a statement.

The Pritzker administration has been working to market the idea of ​​Illinois as an EV hub on a global stage.

He and top staff visited London earlier this month and then Glasgow, Scotland to meet with business leaders and attend the United Nations Climate Change Conference. Speaker of the House Emmanuel “Chris” Welch and Senator Don Harmon joined Pritzker on the London Wing of the trip.

Deputy Governor Christian Mitchell called Capitol News, Illinois last week, and the Illinois delegation met with an estimated 40 business leaders and was active in the coming weeks to take company representatives to the state. He said he would follow up.

“There’s a lot of interest in Illinois as a place to really invest in green technology, because we’ve put up a welcome sign that we’re open to business,” he said.

Capitol News Illinois is a non-profit, non-partisan news service for state governments that is distributed in over 400 newspapers throughout the state. It is primarily funded by the Illinois Press Foundation and the Robert R. McCormick Foundation.



Pritzker signs incentives for electric vehicle manufacturing | Politics

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