The Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) serves as a review committee for certain inbound Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) transactions, to determine if such transactions pose a risk to national security.
Each year, Area Development conducts a survey of site selection consultants to determine what factors are most important to companies looking to expand or relocate. Its 2018 survey identified state and local incentives as the fifth most important factor, behind skilled labor availability, proximity to major markets, highway accessibility, and labor costs. Those findings are consistent with the widely recognized view among economic development professionals that incentives alone will not bring a project to a community, but for competitive projects, they can be a key differentiator.
In a recent opinion, the South Carolina Supreme Court held that the receipt by a chamber of commerce of public funds did not make it a public body for purposes of the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA).