Rural economic development bill moves ahead

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) _ An economic development plan designed to create new jobs in rural Oklahoma was passed by the state House Tuesday. <br><br>The Small Employer Quality Jobs Incentive Act would provide

Wednesday, February 20th 2002, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) _ An economic development plan designed to create new jobs in rural Oklahoma was passed by the state House Tuesday.

The Small Employer Quality Jobs Incentive Act would provide tax incentives to small businesses that employ 90 or fewer workers, said the measure's author, Rep. Curt Roggow, R-Enid.

``My focus was looking after small towns,'' Roggow said. He said the state Department of Commerce currently does not have an effective program to help industry in small towns.

The proposal is similar to the state's existing Quality Jobs Program, which has been credited with creating thousands of new jobs in urban areas.

``What we're doing is lowering the threshold,'' Roggow said.

The bill would return up to 5 percent of an employer's annual payroll taxes for creating jobs that generate out-of-state revenue in cities with fewer than 7,000 residents.

The measure, House Bill 2418, passed 95-0 and was sent to the Senate for action.