Gov. Reeves asks lawmakers to appropriate $350 million in state funds for EV battery deal

Gov. Tate Reeves will call a Thursday special session to ask lawmakers to appropriate $350 million in state funds to close an economic development deal that would bring an electric vehicle battery facility to north Mississippi.

The multibillion dollar project, if approved, is slated to be constructed at the Chickasaw Trails Industrial Park in Marshall County near the Mississippi-Tennessee state line. State officials recently invested around $1.1 million in the industrial park.

Reeves on Tuesday declined to name the companies involved in the proposed deal, but the Daily Memphian reported that the project is a joint venture between Daimler Truck Holdings, PACCAR and Cummins Truck Holdings. The three manufacturers announced plans last year to jointly invest $2 billion to $3 billion in a battery production facility.

“Economic development is a team sport,” Reeves said. “It’s not partisan. It doesn’t matter what part of the state it is. This is going to change lives for thousands and thousands of people in north Mississippi, in Marshall County and beyond.”

The project will include a $1.9 billion corporate capital investment, create 2,000 jobs and pay workers an average salary of $66,000, according to the governor, who is asking lawmakers to appropriate around $350 million in taxpayer funds to contribute to the project.

About half the money the Legislature spends on the economic deal would go toward infrastructure around the facility, and the other half would go toward the business itself, Reeves said.

The governor also said he was “highly confident” the business leaders would offer a generous benefit package, including health insurance, to the employees at the new facility.

The special session will begin on Thursday and both House Speaker Jason White, R-West, and Republican Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann said they anticipate legislation approving the deal will clear the House and Senate quickly.

Rep. John Faulkner, D-Holly Springs, and Rep. Bill Kinkade, R-Byhalia, told Mississippi Today that the Marshall County Board of Supervisors and the local economic development leaders have worked with state officials for months on the project and believe it will improve the overall area.

“It’s exciting for us,” Faulkner said of the economic project. “I’m glad we have an opportunity to land this project in Marshall County. I think it’s going to be a game changer and change lives. It’s going to mean a tremendous amount of growth for our community.”

If lawmakers approve the economic development project, it will be the second type of deal since Reeves became governor where lawmakers have appropriated state tax dollars. Reeves signed legislation into law in November 2022 for money and tax incentives to benefit Steel Dynamics expanding in Columbus.