Senate Bill sb2222

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    Florida Senate - 2005                                  SB 2222

    By Senator King





    8-1200B-05

  1                      A bill to be entitled

  2         An act relating to economic development;

  3         amending s. 288.095, F.S.; increasing the cap

  4         on refunds from the Economic Development Trust

  5         Fund; providing for separate accounting for

  6         refunds to certain industries; amending s.

  7         288.106, F.S.; defining the term "aerospace

  8         industry" and redefining the term "target

  9         industry business" for purposes of the tax

10         refund program for such businesses; amending

11         ss. 288.107, 290.00677, F.S.; conforming

12         cross-references; providing an effective date.

13  

14  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:

15  

16         Section 1.  Paragraph (a) of subsection (3) of section

17  288.095, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:

18         288.095  Economic Development Trust Fund.--

19         (3)(a)  The Office of Tourism, Trade, and Economic

20  Development may approve applications for certification

21  pursuant to ss. 288.1045(3) and 288.106. However, The total

22  state share of tax refund payments scheduled in all active

23  certifications for fiscal year 2001-2002 may not exceed $30

24  million. The total for each subsequent fiscal year may not

25  exceed $40 $35 million. Funds shall be appropriated into a

26  separate account to be used exclusively for qualified

27  aerospace industry businesses under s. 288.106. However, such

28  qualified aerospace industry businesses may also be funded

29  from the remaining appropriations for qualified target

30  industry businesses pursuant to s. 288.106.

31  

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    Florida Senate - 2005                                  SB 2222
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 1         Section 2.  Subsection (1) of section 288.106, Florida

 2  Statutes, is amended to read:

 3         288.106  Tax refund program for qualified target

 4  industry businesses.--

 5         (1)  DEFINITIONS.--As used in this section, the term:

 6         (a)  "Account" means the Economic Development

 7  Incentives Account within the Economic Development Trust Fund

 8  established under s. 288.095.

 9         (b)  "Average private sector wage in the area" means

10  the statewide private sector average wage or the average of

11  all private sector wages and salaries in the county or in the

12  standard metropolitan area in which the business is located.

13         (c)  "Aerospace industry" means the industry concerned

14  with the design and manufacture of aircraft, rockets,

15  missiles, spacecraft, satellites, space vehicles, space

16  stations, space facilities, or components thereof, and

17  equipment, systems, facilities, simulators, programs, and

18  activities related thereto.

19         (d)(c)  "Business" means an employing unit, as defined

20  in s. 443.036, which is registered for unemployment

21  compensation purposes with the state agency providing

22  unemployment tax collection services under contract with the

23  Agency for Workforce Innovation through an interagency

24  agreement pursuant to s. 443.1316, or a subcategory or

25  division of an employing unit which is accepted by the state

26  agency providing unemployment tax collection services as a

27  reporting unit.

28         (e)(d)  "Corporate headquarters business" means an

29  international, national, or regional headquarters office of a

30  multinational or multistate business enterprise or national

31  

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    Florida Senate - 2005                                  SB 2222
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 1  trade association, whether separate from or connected with

 2  other facilities used by such business.

 3         (f)(e)  "Office" means the Office of Tourism, Trade,

 4  and Economic Development.

 5         (g)(f)  "Enterprise zone" means an area designated as

 6  an enterprise zone pursuant to s. 290.0065.

 7         (h)(g)  "Expansion of an existing business" means the

 8  expansion of an existing Florida business by or through

 9  additions to real and personal property, resulting in a net

10  increase in employment of not less than 10 percent at such

11  business.

12         (i)(h)  "Fiscal year" means the fiscal year of the

13  state.

14         (j)(i)  "Jobs" means full-time equivalent positions, as

15  that term is consistent with terms used by the Agency for

16  Workforce Innovation and the United States Department of Labor

17  for purposes of unemployment compensation tax administration

18  and employment estimation, resulting directly from a project

19  in this state. The term does not include temporary

20  construction jobs involved with the construction of facilities

21  for the project or any jobs previously included in any

22  application for tax refunds under s. 288.1045 or this section.

23         (k)(j)  "Local financial support" means funding from

24  local sources, public or private, which is paid to the

25  Economic Development Trust Fund and which is equal to 20

26  percent of the annual tax refund for a qualified target

27  industry business. A qualified target industry business may

28  not provide, directly or indirectly, more than 5 percent of

29  such funding in any fiscal year. The sources of such funding

30  may not include, directly or indirectly, state funds

31  appropriated from the General Revenue Fund or any state trust

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    Florida Senate - 2005                                  SB 2222
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 1  fund, excluding tax revenues shared with local governments

 2  pursuant to law.

 3         (l)(k)  "Local financial support exemption option"

 4  means the option to exercise an exemption from the local

 5  financial support requirement available to any applicant whose

 6  project is located in a brownfield area or a county with a

 7  population of 75,000 or fewer or a county with a population of

 8  100,000 or fewer which is contiguous to a county with a

 9  population of 75,000 or fewer. Any applicant that exercises

10  this option shall not be eligible for more than 80 percent of

11  the total tax refunds allowed such applicant under this

12  section.

13         (m)(l)  "New business" means a business which

14  heretofore did not exist in this state, first beginning

15  operations on a site located in this state and clearly

16  separate from any other commercial or industrial operations

17  owned by the same business.

18         (n)(m)  "Project" means the creation of a new business

19  or expansion of an existing business.

20         (o)(n)  "Director" means the Director of the Office of

21  Tourism, Trade, and Economic Development.

22         (p)(o)  "Target industry business" means a corporate

23  headquarters business, aerospace industry, or any business

24  that is engaged in one of the target industries identified

25  pursuant to the following criteria developed by the office in

26  consultation with Enterprise Florida, Inc.:

27         1.  Future growth.--Industry forecasts should indicate

28  strong expectation for future growth in both employment and

29  output, according to the most recent available data.  Special

30  consideration should be given to Florida's growing access to

31  international markets or to replacing imports.

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    Florida Senate - 2005                                  SB 2222
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 1         2.  Stability.--The industry should not be subject to

 2  periodic layoffs, whether due to seasonality or sensitivity to

 3  volatile economic variables such as weather.  The industry

 4  should also be relatively resistant to recession, so that the

 5  demand for products of this industry is not necessarily

 6  subject to decline during an economic downturn.

 7         3.  High wage.--The industry should pay relatively high

 8  wages compared to statewide or area averages.

 9         4.  Market and resource independent.--The location of

10  industry businesses should not be dependent on Florida markets

11  or resources as indicated by industry analysis. Special

12  consideration should be given to the development of strong

13  industrial clusters which include defense and homeland

14  security businesses.

15         5.  Industrial base diversification and

16  strengthening.--The industry should contribute toward

17  expanding or diversifying the state's or area's economic base,

18  as indicated by analysis of employment and output shares

19  compared to national and regional trends.  Special

20  consideration should be given to industries that strengthen

21  regional economies by adding value to basic products or

22  building regional industrial clusters as indicated by industry

23  analysis.

24         6.  Economic benefits.--The industry should have strong

25  positive impacts on or benefits to the state and regional

26  economies.

27  

28  The office, in consultation with Enterprise Florida, Inc.,

29  shall develop a list of such target industries annually and

30  submit such list as part of the final agency legislative

31  budget request submitted pursuant to s. 216.023(1). A target

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    Florida Senate - 2005                                  SB 2222
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 1  industry business may not include any industry engaged in

 2  retail activities; any electrical utility company; any

 3  phosphate or other solid minerals severance, mining, or

 4  processing operation; any oil or gas exploration or production

 5  operation; or any firm subject to regulation by the Division

 6  of Hotels and Restaurants of the Department of Business and

 7  Professional Regulation.

 8         (q)(p)  "Taxable year" means taxable year as defined in

 9  s. 220.03(1)(z).

10         (r)(q)  "Qualified target industry business" means a

11  target industry business that has been approved by the

12  director to be eligible for tax refunds pursuant to this

13  section.

14         (s)(r)  "Rural county" means a county with a population

15  of 75,000 or fewer or a county with a population of 100,000 or

16  fewer which is contiguous to a county with a population of

17  75,000 or fewer.

18         (t)(s)  "Rural city" means a city with a population of

19  10,000 or less, or a city with a population of greater than

20  10,000 but less than 20,000 which has been determined by the

21  Office of Tourism, Trade, and Economic Development to have

22  economic characteristics such as, but not limited to, a

23  significant percentage of residents on public assistance, a

24  significant percentage of residents with income below the

25  poverty level, or a significant percentage of the city's

26  employment base in agriculture-related industries.

27         (u)(t)  "Rural community" means:

28         1.  A county with a population of 75,000 or less.

29         2.  A county with a population of 100,000 or less that

30  is contiguous to a county with a population of 75,000 or less.

31  

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    Florida Senate - 2005                                  SB 2222
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 1         3.  A municipality within a county described in

 2  subparagraph 1. or subparagraph 2.

 3  

 4  For purposes of this paragraph, population shall be determined

 5  in accordance with the most recent official estimate pursuant

 6  to s. 186.901.

 7         (v)(u)  "Authorized local economic development agency"

 8  means any public or private entity, including those defined in

 9  s. 288.075, authorized by a county or municipality to promote

10  the general business or industrial interests of that county or

11  municipality.

12         Section 3.  Paragraph (e) of subsection (1) of section

13  288.107, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:

14         288.107  Brownfield redevelopment bonus refunds.--

15         (1)  DEFINITIONS.--As used in this section:

16         (e)  "Eligible business" means:

17         1.  A qualified target industry business as defined in

18  s. 288.106(1)(p) s. 288.106(1)(o); or

19         2.  A business that can demonstrate a fixed capital

20  investment of at least $2 million in mixed-use business

21  activities, including multiunit housing, commercial, retail,

22  and industrial in brownfield areas and which provides benefits

23  to its employees.

24         Section 4.  Section 290.00677, Florida Statutes, is

25  amended to read:

26         290.00677  Rural enterprise zones; special

27  qualifications.--

28         (1)  Notwithstanding the enterprise zone residency

29  requirements set out in s. 212.096(1)(c), eligible businesses

30  as defined by s. 212.096(1)(a), located in rural enterprise

31  zones as defined by s. 290.004, may receive the basic minimum

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    Florida Senate - 2005                                  SB 2222
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 1  credit provided under s. 212.096 for creating a new job and

 2  hiring a person residing within the jurisdiction of a rural

 3  county, as defined by s. 288.106(1)(s) s. 288.106(1)(r). All

 4  other provisions of s. 212.096, including, but not limited to,

 5  those relating to the award of enhanced credits, apply to such

 6  businesses.

 7         (2)  Notwithstanding the enterprise zone residency

 8  requirements set out in s. 220.03(1)(q), businesses as defined

 9  by s. 220.03(1)(c), located in rural enterprise zones as

10  defined in s. 290.004, may receive the basic minimum credit

11  provided under s. 220.181 for creating a new job and hiring a

12  person residing within the jurisdiction of a rural county, as

13  defined by s. 288.106(1)(s) s. 288.106(1)(r). All other

14  provisions of s. 220.181, including, but not limited to, those

15  relating to the award of enhanced credits apply to such

16  businesses.

17         Section 5.  This act shall take effect July 1, 2005.

18  

19            *****************************************

20                          SENATE SUMMARY

21    Increases the maximum refund from the Economic
      Development Trust Fund from $35 million a year to $40
22    million a year. Provides that funds for the aerospace
      industry be appropriated into a separate account. Defines
23    the term "aerospace industry" and redefines the term
      "target industry business."
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