Rep. Parke Wentling (R-Crawford/Erie/Lawrence/Mercer) announced his bill to encourage capital investment in Pennsylvania and to spur job creation, unanimously pass the House. 

The legislation, House Bill 2783, would modernize the Pennsylvania Industrial Development Authority (PIDA), which provides low-interest loans and lines of credit to businesses trying to expand or invest in the Commonwealth. 

Wentling introduced the bill in a hearing he hosted last November in Greenville. Testifiers agreed that Pennsylvania was struggling to compete for economic opportunities with neighboring Ohio. 

Low-interest loans and lines of credit from PIDA can be used to cover a portion of up-front costs for land and building acquisitions, construction/renovation costs, and machinery/equipment purchases. 

Currently, applicants must demonstrate a minimum number of new jobs created to be eligible for a low interest loan. 

However, to alleviate that issue, Wentling's legislation would allow PIDA to also consider the level of capital investment a business is willing to bring to a project when it comes to program eligibility. 

The bill now heads to the Senate for consideration.