PRINTER'S NO. 1816
No. 179 Session of 1997
INTRODUCED BY SCRIMENTI, CAPPABIANCA, GEORGE, JAROLIN, MELIO,
PESCI, READSHAW, ITKIN, BEBKO-JONES, LYNCH, BOSCOLA,
HENNESSEY, HERSHEY, JOSEPHS, BROWNE, YOUNGBLOOD, STABACK,
M. N. WRIGHT AND TRELLO, MAY 14, 1997
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON INTERGOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS, MAY 14, 1997
A CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
1 Urging the Governor to call for a Summit of Governors to convene
2 and address the bidding wars of states that engage in the
3 practice of luring new and existing businesses from other
4 states.
5 WHEREAS, The halting of bidding wars would enhance business
6 competition, minimize unemployment and protect consumer rights;
7 and
8 WHEREAS, Targeted business incentive programs have
9 proliferated into a counterproductive economic war among the
10 states and now represent a significant portion of State-
11 sponsored "economic development" efforts; and
12 WHEREAS, The recent Corporation for Enterprise Development
13 study finds that Pennsylvania ranked 49th in the country in the
14 rate of new business starts last year; and
15 WHEREAS, The economic war among the states will not benefit
16 the national economy because bidding wars merely transfer jobs
17 from one area to another. The bidding wars among the states
1 often result in the draining of resources for education and
2 infrastructure from winning localities that are necessary to
3 keep industries and to attract more. As states and localities
4 rush to attract business investment through tax cuts and
5 subsidies they often find other states with economic development
6 incentives that are more generous, leaving states to choose to
7 either offer more incentives or lose business. These incentives
8 continue to escalate as competing states increase the appeal of
9 their business incentives and thus raise the stakes; and
10 WHEREAS, The Pennsylvania General Assembly should monitor the
11 interstate competition in relation to business incentives to
12 ensure that a situation detrimental to the overall welfare of
13 the State is not created; therefore be it
14 RESOLVED (the Senate concurring), That the House of
15 Representatives urge Governor Thomas J. Ridge to convene a
16 Summit of Governors to convene and address the bidding wars of
17 states that engage in the practice of luring new and existing
18 businesses from other states.
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