RD300 - Virginia Economic Development Partnership Annual Report Fiscal Year 2012


Executive Summary:
This annual report of the Virginia Economic Development Partnership (VEDP) is submitted pursuant to the requirements of § 2.2-2242 and § 2.2-2239 of the Code of Virginia and Chapter 3, Item 123 D.1 of the 2012 Acts of Assembly. The Code requires VEDP to report on the status of the Commonwealth’s comprehensive economic development strategy, and specifically on the number of business prospect site visits per region of the Commonwealth. In addition, § 2.2-2238 B requires VEDP to prepare and report on the plan to market to high unemployment areas of the state, and Chapter 3, Item 123 D.2 of the 2012 Acts of Assembly requires target industries be identified for southwest and southside Virginia. This report responds to all of those requirements. In addition, the Authority’s financial statements audited by the Auditor of Public Accounts for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2012 (FY 2012) are attached to this report.

This Annual Report documents the efforts of VEDP in fulfilling its mission during FY 2012. The body of the report is organized by the major components of the Partnership’s mission statement. For each element of the mission statement, a summary of VEDP activities and division responsibilities is included, as well as a listing of FY 2012 accomplishments.

VEDP’s report and plan to market to high unemployment regions of the state are included in Appendix 1 which meets the requirement articulated in § 2.2-2238 B of the Code of Virginia for VEDP to prepare and report on the plan to market to high unemployment areas of Virginia.

The next two appendices address Item 123 D.2 of the 2012 Acts of Assembly. The data on business prospect site visits per planning district is contained in the tables and maps of Appendix 2. Appendix 3 shows the number of sites and buildings recommended to prospects and provides the number of companies assisted with site and building recommendations.

VEDP monitors economic development activity in Virginia through its economic development announcements database. The database tracks direct investments and new jobs created in Virginia as a result of the announced plans of new and expanding companies. This information has been maintained, with modifications, since 1960. The data used throughout this report and summarized in Appendix 4 cover announcements made between July 1, 2011, and June 30, 2012. VEDP recorded the announcement of new and expanding facilities during the year. Appendix 5 sets out the number of announcements by Planning District Commission (PDC), both in terms of new facilities and expansions. This appendix also sets out the number of new jobs and amount of new investment by PDC. It is anticipated that from those announcements, a total of 19,918 new jobs will be created. In addition, these facilities will result in investments totaling $4.4 billion. Forty-four percent of the announcements were of employers locating in economically distressed areas, up from thirty percent last fiscal year. These announcements are expected to create 7,400 new jobs and make capital investments exceeding $2.2 billion.

This report is based on announcements of planned manufacturing and non-manufacturing capital expenditures and associated employment; many of the new facilities announced are not yet in operation. While the information indicates the kind of new economic activity occurring in the state, it does not measure total employment growth. Information for this report is obtained from the Virginia Economic Development Partnership’s public and private sector contacts at state, regional and local levels, as well as from published sources and Partnership staff.

As noted above, VEDP is required by statute to report on the status of the Governor’s comprehensive economic development plan. Upon taking office, each governor must develop a comprehensive economic development strategy. Governor McDonnell’s first Executive Order in 2010 established the Governor’s Commission on Economic Development and Job Creation. The Commission met throughout the course of 2010 and published its findings in October of that year. The Final Report of the Commission serves as the roadmap for the Commonwealth’s comprehensive economic development strategy going forward. Work proceeds on all areas noted in the report. The full Commission report is accessible at http://www.ltgov.virginia.gov/initiatives/jcc/JCC_final_report.pdf.