State economic development officials want to help more in-state companies benefit from financial incentives that historically have been used to lure out-of-state firms to Utah.

Jason Perry, executive director of the Governor's Office of Economic Development, and Michael Nelson, GOED's director of incentives and corporate recruitment, suggested that the Legislature's Workforce Services and Community and Economic Development Interim Committee study that idea, among others.

Perry recommended to the committee Wednesday that the inner workings of the Industrial Assistance Fund and the Economic Development Tax Incentive Fund be studied, including whether expanding Utah companies should get more incentives.

For example, he said, the IAF requires that half its funds be used in economically disadvantaged rural areas, 20 percent be used as economic development opportunities arise and 30 percent go toward urban development. The committee, he said, could study whether those percentages should be changed, what economic opportunities the state wants to fund, what incentive programs are in other states, whether Utah's incentives are competitive with those of other states and whether IAF should be broadened to help in-state businesses "as opposed to just recruiting competition for those businesses."

"It would be nice for the Legislature to give the mandate to help Utah companies," Nelson said. "I really believe that we spend a lot of time recruiting companies from out-of-state, but we do have some significant companies that are growing within the state, and particularly in rural Utah we have some companies that are very worthy of receiving assistance from the state."

Nelson suggested that policies and procedures be created that would allow incentives for companies if they met certain thresholds — perhaps based on capital investment, the number of jobs created or the job pay level.

Perry also asked the committee to study whether 300 acres near the state prison should be used for a technology park.

"The Governor's Office of Economic Development believes somewhere in the state of Utah could benefit from such a technology park," he said. "I'm not saying necessarily this spot, but perhaps this is something to be considered."

Perhaps the state could sell the land and use it to buy other property, or simply develop that land, he said. "We're not making any statements exactly about what should be developed on that particular land, although I want to make sure I put a recommendation forward that something could be done with that, and we have a great interest in a potential technology park in the state of Utah."

GOED also wants to the committee to study whether a program helping Utah businesses land government contracts, loans and grants has a big enough budget.

Committee members will consider those requests for study, along with others made Wednesday by representatives of the Department of Community and Culture and the Department of Workforce Services, plus items on the "master study list" resulting from the general legislative session earlier this year.

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