Helping a company get incentives?

You don't necessarily have to register as a lobbyist.

A spokeswoman for the N.C. Department of Commerce said that under their reading of state laws, lobbying does not include assisting companies applying for financial incentives with the One North Carolina or JDIG programs.

"'Lobbying' is the attempt to influence legislative or executive action," Kathy Neal wrote in an e-mail to Dome. "'Executive action' specifically does not include a person (or the person's consultant) communicating with a public servant with respect to applying for a determination of eligibility (such as for incentives), or making an inquiry about or asserting a benefit, claim, right, entitlement, payment, etc."

The N.C. Secretary of State's office, which is the arbiter for lobbying registration, said that it would depend on the consultant's role. In some cases, the registration would not become public until after the incentives are approved.

That interpretation did not sit well with Bob Orr, a former state Supreme Court justice who is fighting the state's incentives system through the N.C. Institute for Constitutional Law.

"If they don't have to register as a lobbyist, they ought to," he said.  "It would seem to me if you're negotiating to get taxpayer money from a government agency, then that's lobbying."

Bob Orr proposes ending corporate incentives.

In a press conference this morning, the former Supreme Court justice said he would undo most of the state's economic development incentives programs if elected governor.

As part of his reform plan, he would:

* Create a task force to work on federal legislation limiting the use of incentives to lure companies from one state to another.

* Eliminate the One North Carolina program, the Job Development Investment Grant program and certain targeted tax credits.

* Require companies disclose offers from other companies and lobbyists involved; create a 45-day waiting period on any deals.

* Start an initiative focused on workforce development that would give companies up to $2,500 per worker for training.

Orr said the reforms would end the "incentives game," in which corporate lobbyists have argued that companies won't come to North Carolina without grants.

"We don't have to pay them cash grants to come here," he said. "This is a great place to do business and a great place to live."