Tax break may buoy BioPort - House passes bill to allow company to get state credit
By Amy F. Bailey
Associated Press
Lansing-based BioPort Corp. would be eligible for a state tax credit that might keep the company in Michigan under a measure the state House approved Thursday. About 275 mid-Michigan jobs are at stake.
The bill, approved 105-0, is aimed at encouraging BioPort to proceed with an estimated $75 million construction project at its plant at 3500 N. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.
The legislation now goes to the Senate.
The company is considering adding a three-story fermentation and processing plant to that vaccine manufacturing facility. BioPort is the nation's only licensed manufacturer of the anthrax vaccine. The company was selected last spring to manufacture 5 million doses of anthrax vaccine as part of a federal program to stockpile antidotes to biological and chemical weapons.
Current law prohibits BioPort from being considered for a Michigan Economic Growth Authority grant because it had been located in a state-owned facility before the company purchased it, said state Rep. Scott Hummel, R-DeWitt, who introduced the legislation.
"Hopefully they can keep their facility here," Hummel said.
BioPort is considering two states for the expansion project: Michigan and Maryland, the headquarters of its parent company, Emergent BioSolutions Inc.
About 275 jobs would be lost in mid-Michigan if BioPort goes ahead with the expansion in Maryland, the company said.
"States are very competitive in terms of attracting life science jobs," BioPort spokeswoman Kim Brennen Root said.
"Because of that, they assemble attractive packages that make it possible to make this kind of investment over the long term."
MEGA was created to help keep Michigan businesses in the state. Companies approved for a grant by the MEGA board receive breaks in the amount they contribute to state taxes on the income of their employees.
Three representatives missed the vote: Republican Chris Ward of Brighton and Democrats Bill McConico and George Cushingberry, both of Detroit.
Associated Press
Lansing-based BioPort Corp. would be eligible for a state tax credit that might keep the company in Michigan under a measure the state House approved Thursday. About 275 mid-Michigan jobs are at stake.
The bill, approved 105-0, is aimed at encouraging BioPort to proceed with an estimated $75 million construction project at its plant at 3500 N. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.
The legislation now goes to the Senate.
The company is considering adding a three-story fermentation and processing plant to that vaccine manufacturing facility. BioPort is the nation's only licensed manufacturer of the anthrax vaccine. The company was selected last spring to manufacture 5 million doses of anthrax vaccine as part of a federal program to stockpile antidotes to biological and chemical weapons.
Current law prohibits BioPort from being considered for a Michigan Economic Growth Authority grant because it had been located in a state-owned facility before the company purchased it, said state Rep. Scott Hummel, R-DeWitt, who introduced the legislation.
"Hopefully they can keep their facility here," Hummel said.
BioPort is considering two states for the expansion project: Michigan and Maryland, the headquarters of its parent company, Emergent BioSolutions Inc.
About 275 jobs would be lost in mid-Michigan if BioPort goes ahead with the expansion in Maryland, the company said.
"States are very competitive in terms of attracting life science jobs," BioPort spokeswoman Kim Brennen Root said.
"Because of that, they assemble attractive packages that make it possible to make this kind of investment over the long term."
MEGA was created to help keep Michigan businesses in the state. Companies approved for a grant by the MEGA board receive breaks in the amount they contribute to state taxes on the income of their employees.
Three representatives missed the vote: Republican Chris Ward of Brighton and Democrats Bill McConico and George Cushingberry, both of Detroit.
