Based on research conducted by the Legislative Research Commission’s Advisory Committee and a report conducted by the Southeast Energy Alliance, North Carolina has ample natural gas offshore that would create long-term jobs and bring significant revenue to the state. Sens. Harry Brown (R-Onslow), Bob Rucho (R-Mecklenburg) and Tommy Tucker (R-Onslow) filed the “Energy Jobs Act,” ironically holding a press conference to announce the act on the one-year anniversary of the Gulf BP oil spill. The decision to file brings with it lessons learned.
Rucho said, “what we did learn from this disaster is we learned from our mistakes. The industry found ways to make sure that oil exploration and production can be done in a very safe manner.”
The act explains other sources of energy that have been studied, yet those sources – such as wind – do not supply a quantifiable result of reliable energy. The research conducted on offshore drilling includes:
– 6,700 new jobs created
– $659 million annually to the State’s Gross Domestic Product over three decades
– $10 billion in cost sharing of government revenues at an average of $484 million per year to the State
The act recommends that North Carolina participate cooperatively with Virginia and South Carolina. Royalties and revenue would be divvied up in North Carolina as:
– 25 percent credited to General Fund
– 20 percent credited to Highway Trust Fund
– 15 percent transferred to Community Colleges System Office to establish and manage a fund for curriculum development and implementation as well as financial assistance for students attending community college to receive vocational training through this curriculum in fields directly related to energy exploration and development and related energy infrastcture
– 15 percent transferred to the UNC Board of Governors to establish and manage research and development fund for programs directly related to energy research and development
– 15 percent transferred to Department of Environment and Natural Resources for coastal conservation, including, but not limited to, beach and inlet management projects, channel navigation and maintenance, public beach and water access, water quality management, as well as fisheries and shellfish restoration
– 5 percent transferred to State Port Authority for expansion and maintenance of State Port infrastructure associated with energy-related commerce
– 5 percent transferred to the Department of Commerce for recruitment of energy-related industries to the State
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