Subject to certain exceptions, current law (GS 143B-437.08) requires the Secretary of Commerce (Secretary) to annually assign each county a development factor based on certain criteria and then to rank those counties into economic development tiers, which amongst other things, can be used to evaluate certain funding requests.

Requires the Joint Legislative Economic Development and Global Engagement Oversight Committee (Committee) to conduct a study on the economic development tier ranking including (1) whether the NGCA should eliminate the use of the economic development tier system for all noneconomic development programs and direct State agencies to develop other criteria, (2) whether the NGCA should end the use of the tier system for all economic development programs and direct the Department of Commerce to develop alternative funding criteria, (3) alternatives to the tier system for assessing economic well-being that may better serve counties with areas of prosperity and areas that lag in economic development, and (4) efforts in other states and at the federal level to identify economic well-being based on geographic boundaries other than county, and identify which incentive programs use a geographic factor other than tier level in their decision-making process. Requires the Committee to report its findings and any recommended legislation to the 2024 Regular Session of the 2023 General Assembly upon its convening.