By Steven Allen Adams
For The Parkersburg News and Sentinel
Charleston — The latest “Jobs First – Opportunity Everywhere” bill to make it through the West Virginia House of Delegates is aimed at transforming the state into a competitive hub for the aerospace industry.
The House passed House Bill 4006, creating the West Virginia Aerospace and Advanced Manufacturing Growth Act, Friday morning in a 87-7 vote with six absent or not voting.
The bill now heads to the state Senate, joining several other bills in the House Republican caucus’ Jobs First – Opportunity Everywhere economic development agenda first unveiled last December.
“This is part of our Jobs First – Opportunity Everywhere agenda, and this is one that I really support,” said House Finance Committee Vice Chairman Clay Riley, R-Harrison. “I think it’s a very creative way to encourage companies to invest in West Virginia and then stay for a long time.”
HB 4006 would create the Aerospace Development Program administered by the state Department of Commerce. There would be an aerospace development liaison to serve as a single point of contact with the aerospace industry.
The department is tasked with educating aerospace companies about existing tax incentives in the state, such as the West Virginia Economic Opportunity Tax Credit and the Manufacturing Investment Tax Credit.
The bill creates the Aviation and Aerospace Job Development Investment Grant Program, which would divert a portion of state income tax withholdings from new employees back to the businesses and into specialized development funds.
“A company comes in, makes a $250 million investment, 300 jobs. As part of the withholdings, instead of paying it directly back to the state, it gets paid into a separate fund, a portion of it,” Riley explained. “A portion goes to the state, a portion goes in the separate fund, of which then can be reapplied for to train the workforce and continue to further the development investment. So, state dollars aren’t directly going in. It’s an innovative way to be able to get companies to recirculate that money and reinvest in the state.”
The program prioritizes “distressed” counties through a tiered incentive structure, requiring private investment-ranging from $250 million to $1 billion-and the creation of hundreds of new jobs to qualify.
A portion of the diverted tax funds would be allocated to specialized development funds to ensure long-term industry sustainability. The Aviation and Aerospace Utility Development Fund would provide dollars for construction and improvement of water, sewer, gas, and telecommunication infrastructure; broadband and electric utility distribution, and transportation infrastructure.
West Virginia Aerospace MRO Workforce and Aviation Maintenance Education Act would prioritize Airframe and Powerplant (A&P) licensure, FAA-aligned training, avionics, and paid apprenticeships at state public colleges and universities thanks to an amendment offered by Riley Friday. The program would offer tuition reimbursement, cost-sharing training grants, and on-site apprenticeship assistance for industry partners.
“The intent was to allow every higher education institution to participate,” Riley said. “As the bill came out in the committee substitute, it specifically listed Marshall, West Virginia University, and Fairmont State. This just opens it up to every four-year college and community technical college within West Virginia.”
HB 4006 makes the 10th Jobs First bill to pass the House, with Senate Bill 1, the Small Business Growth Act, containing parts of a House Jobs First bill. That bill has already been signed by Gov. Patrick Morrisey.
Riley said HB 4006 would be a way to grow the aerospace industry in the state and also honor the legacy of West Virginia’s aviation and space pioneers.
“This is a situation where you have the opportunity to have companies come in and locate for 50 years to be able to continue to employ the citizens of West Virginia,” Riley said. “We have a strong history of the aviation and the aerospace industry with Chuck Yeager and Katherine Johnson and Homer Hickam. This just sends a message to the world that we still have those folks and they’re right here in the State of West Virginia. This bill allows every county to prosper and every opportunity for every county to be successful.”
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