COLUMBIA, S.C. -- South Carolina legislators have approved an economic incentive package believed to be tailored to lure a Boeing Co. assembly plant to the state.
The approval Wednesday came at the end of a two-day session that also gave a nod to a bill that would extend jobless benefits for some state residents. Both measures head to Republican Gov. Mark Sanford. The incentive package would allow lawmakers to guarantee tax breaks and low-interest loans for an unidentified economic development prospect.
The prospect is widely expected to be Chicago-based airplane maker Boeing Co. because it includes tax breaks on aviation fuel for test flights. The company is deciding between Everett, Wash., and North Charleston, S.C., for a mammoth plant to assemble 787 airliners.
But it appears not everyone is happy about the move. Sen. Patty Murray says Boeing is overlooking its well-trained workers in its decision to built its next airplane assembly line in South Carolina.
The Washington Democrat had been trying to broker a deal between the company and the Machinists union to build a second 787 production line production in Everett, Wash. Boeing chose Charleston after lawmakers there approved a big incentive package to lure the new line and the thousands of jobs that would come with it.
Murray calls that decision shortsighted and says it overlooks generations of experience building airplanes in the region around Seattle.
(The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
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