BATON ROUGE, (AP) — Lawmakers agreed to give $10 million in payroll rebates to a motorcycle company moving its headquarters and production facility to Ruston.
Monster Moto, which manufactures mini bikes and go-karts, will receive an 11 percent annual rebate on new payroll for 10 years, if it produces the job benchmarks in its state contract.
The company, which announced in April it would move its headquarters from China, says it will create 287 jobs by 2024.
The Joint Legislative Committee on the Budget agreed Friday to the $10.3 million in payroll rebates, with a 20-1 vote of House members and a 6-4 vote of senators.
Some lawmakers were skeptical of the hefty rebate, saying local businesses don't get such a benefit. Supporters said Monster Moto has to generate the jobs to get paid.
