The passage of Amendment 2 gives the state additional financial flexibility when it comes to attracting companies to the state for economic development.

Specifically, the amendment will help the state build incentive packages used to lure major employers to Alabama. In July, state and local governments provided $153 million in incentives to Airbus to support the construction of a $600 million facility in Mobile that is expected to employ 1,000 full-time workers.

Gov. Robert Bentley said Tuesday's vote will allow Alabama to continue its industrial recruitment efforts "in a responsible way," and that the overwhelming support for the amendment across the state reinforces the importance of what has been his top priority.

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[al.com]

That role now falls to the Chamber of Commerce of West Alabama, which is now receiving $175,000 in taxpayer dollars to attract and retain businesses throughout Tuscaloosa.

The city's contract with the chamber, adopted unanimously by the City Council, now charges the Chamber of Commerce with managing and overseeing an array of data gathering, job retention and business recruitment practices once housed at City Hall.

"This structure is new to this area, but it's pretty common throughout the state and throughout the country," said Jim Page, president and CEO of the Chamber of Commerce of West Alabama, who managed a similar economic development arrangement with Decatur when he headed that city's chamber of commerce.

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[Tuscaloosa News]