| 1 | A bill to be entitled |
| 2 | An act relating to the Space and Aerospace Catalyst |
| 3 | and Enhancement Program; creating s. 288.1087, F.S.; |
| 4 | providing legislative intent; creating the Space and |
| 5 | Aerospace Catalyst and Enhancement Program in the |
| 6 | Office of Tourism, Trade, and Economic Development; |
| 7 | providing that funds be used to upgrade space-related |
| 8 | infrastructure or business facilities or to enter into |
| 9 | partnerships with applicable businesses on space or |
| 10 | aerospace-related projects; requiring that Space |
| 11 | Florida and its partners provide certain information |
| 12 | in their application to the Office of Tourism, Trade, |
| 13 | and Economic Development; requiring that Space Florida |
| 14 | contract with a nationally recognized consultant to |
| 15 | develop an economic impact assessment model that |
| 16 | evaluates the costs, benefits, useful life, and other |
| 17 | relevant factors related to space and aerospace |
| 18 | projects; requiring that the model be available to |
| 19 | Space Florida by a specified date; providing for the |
| 20 | criteria that a project must meet to receive funding; |
| 21 | providing for the waiver of such criteria; requiring |
| 22 | that the director of the Office of Tourism, Trade, and |
| 23 | Economic Development recommend approval or disapproval |
| 24 | of a proposed project; requiring that the |
| 25 | recommendation be sent to the Governor; providing that |
| 26 | the Governor consult with the President of the Senate |
| 27 | and the Speaker of the House of Representatives before |
| 28 | giving final approval; providing that the Legislative |
| 29 | Budget Commission review a project that has received |
| 30 | final approval before releasing the funds; requiring |
| 31 | that the director of the Office of Tourism, Trade, and |
| 32 | Economic Development and the recipient of the funds |
| 33 | enter into a contract containing certain conditions; |
| 34 | requiring that Space Florida compile and include |
| 35 | information relating to each project in its annual |
| 36 | report; providing an effective date. |
| 37 |
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| 38 | Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: |
| 39 |
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| 40 | Section 1. Section 288.1087, Florida Statutes, is created |
| 41 | to read: |
| 42 | 288.1087 Space and Aerospace Catalyst and Enhancement |
| 43 | Program.-- |
| 44 | (1)(a) The Legislature finds that attracting, retaining, |
| 45 | entering into partnerships with, and providing favorable |
| 46 | conditions for space and aerospace entrepreneurial endeavors is |
| 47 | necessary to provide widespread economic benefits to the state. |
| 48 | The Legislature also finds that public investment in the space |
| 49 | and aerospace industries will provide high-quality employment |
| 50 | opportunities for the residents of the state, increase the |
| 51 | overall tax base, invigorate the state's entrepreneurial climate |
| 52 | through the resulting business and employment opportunities, and |
| 53 | stimulate and enhance the state's universities and community |
| 54 | colleges. Further, the Legislature finds that international |
| 55 | competition exists for space and aerospace infrastructure, |
| 56 | facilities, and business opportunities, and in most instances, |
| 57 | when all available resources for economic development have been |
| 58 | used, the state encounters competitive disadvantages. The |
| 59 | Legislature finds that business incentives create a competitive |
| 60 | environment for space and aerospace businesses to make it |
| 61 | feasible for private investors to provide infrastructure in |
| 62 | those areas. |
| 63 | (b) The Legislature, therefore, declares that sufficient |
| 64 | resources shall be made available to respond to extraordinary |
| 65 | economic opportunities in the space and aerospace business |
| 66 | sectors, to address the need for space and aerospace business |
| 67 | facilities and infrastructure, and to compete for key space and |
| 68 | aerospace businesses interested in entering into partnerships |
| 69 | with the state. |
| 70 | (2) There is created in the Office of Tourism, Trade, and |
| 71 | Economic Development the Space and Aerospace Catalyst and |
| 72 | Enhancement Program that shall be available to Space Florida. |
| 73 | The moneys appropriated for the program shall be used to provide |
| 74 | or upgrade space-related infrastructure or business facilities |
| 75 | and to compete for key space and aerospace-associated businesses |
| 76 | interested in entering into partnerships with the state. The |
| 77 | moneys shall be distributed to Space Florida once the conditions |
| 78 | specified in subsection (5) are met. |
| 79 | (3) Space Florida and its partners shall submit to the |
| 80 | Office of Tourism, Trade, and Economic Development a joint |
| 81 | application detailing their proposed project. The application |
| 82 | shall include the following information: |
| 83 | (a) A description of the type of space and aerospace |
| 84 | infrastructure project, its operations, and the product or |
| 85 | services associated with the facility. |
| 86 | (b) The number of full-time equivalent jobs that will be |
| 87 | created by the space and aerospace infrastructure project, the |
| 88 | total estimated average annual wages of those jobs, and the |
| 89 | types of business activities and jobs stimulated by the |
| 90 | investment. |
| 91 | (c) The cumulative amount of investment of public and, if |
| 92 | applicable, private funds that will be dedicated to the project |
| 93 | within a specified period. |
| 94 | (d) A description of the stimulating effect that the |
| 95 | project is expected to have on a particular business sector in |
| 96 | the state or regional economy or on the state's universities and |
| 97 | community colleges. |
| 98 | (e) A statement of how the public investment is expected |
| 99 | to affect the applicant's decision to locate or expand its |
| 100 | business in the state. |
| 101 | (f) If Space Florida is entering into a public-private |
| 102 | partnership with a space-related business entity, a financial |
| 103 | analysis of the entity, including an evaluation of the entity's |
| 104 | short-term liquidity ratio as measured by its assets to |
| 105 | liability, the entity's profitability ratio, the entity's long- |
| 106 | term solvency as measured by its debt-to-equity ratio, and the |
| 107 | entity's most recent financial audit statement and the related |
| 108 | auditor's management letter. |
| 109 | (4) Space Florida shall enter into a contract with a |
| 110 | nationally recognized economic consultant to develop an economic |
| 111 | impact assessment model that evaluates the costs, benefits, |
| 112 | useful life, and other relevant factors related to space and |
| 113 | aerospace projects. The model must be available for use by Space |
| 114 | Florida no later than December 31, 2009. |
| 115 | (5) In order to receive funds through the Space and |
| 116 | Aerospace Catalyst and Enhancement Program, a project must: |
| 117 | (a) Assist Space Florida in carrying out its |
| 118 | responsibilities under part II of chapter 331; |
| 119 | (b) Create the potential for or retain existing high- |
| 120 | quality, high-salary jobs in the space and aerospace industries |
| 121 | in the state; |
| 122 | (c) Have a potential positive payback ratio of at least 5 |
| 123 | to 1; |
| 124 | (d) Be an inducement to the project's location or |
| 125 | expansion in the state; |
| 126 | (e) Be supported by the local community in which the |
| 127 | project is located; |
| 128 | (f) If a public-private partnership, include a match to |
| 129 | the state investment; and |
| 130 | (g) Have undergone the economic analysis in subsection |
| 131 | (4). |
| 132 | (6) The Office of Tourism, Trade, and Economic Development |
| 133 | may waive the criteria specified in subsection (5) based on |
| 134 | extraordinary circumstances and if the project would |
| 135 | significantly benefit the local or regional economy. |
| 136 | (7)(a) After receiving the application and the economic |
| 137 | impact assessment, the director of the Office of Tourism, Trade, |
| 138 | and Economic Development, in consultation with Space Florida, |
| 139 | shall recommend the approval or disapproval of each proposed |
| 140 | project. The recommendation must include performance conditions |
| 141 | that the project must meet in order to obtain funding. |
| 142 | (b) The director's recommendation approving a project |
| 143 | shall be sent to the Governor, who shall further evaluate the |
| 144 | project. The Governor shall consult with the President of the |
| 145 | Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives before |
| 146 | giving a project final approval. |
| 147 | (c) The Executive Office of the Governor shall present an |
| 148 | approved project and the funding request for the project to the |
| 149 | Legislative Budget Commission, which shall conduct its review |
| 150 | and release the funds pursuant to the legislative consultation |
| 151 | and review requirements set forth in s. 216.177. |
| 152 | (d) After receiving final approval for a project, the |
| 153 | director of the Office of Tourism, Trade, and Economic |
| 154 | Development and the recipient shall enter into a contract that |
| 155 | sets forth the conditions for receiving moneys for the project. |
| 156 | The contract must include the total amount of funds awarded, the |
| 157 | performance conditions that must be met in order to obtain the |
| 158 | award, a baseline of current service and a measure of enhanced |
| 159 | capability, the methodology for validating performance, the |
| 160 | schedule of payments, and sanctions for failure to meet |
| 161 | performance conditions. The contract must state that payment is |
| 162 | contingent upon sufficient appropriation of funds by the |
| 163 | Legislature and upon sufficient release of appropriated funds by |
| 164 | the Legislative Budget Commission. |
| 165 | (8) Space Florida shall compile information about each |
| 166 | project that is funded through the Space and Aerospace Catalyst |
| 167 | and Enhancement Program and include the information in its |
| 168 | annual report. |
| 169 | Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2009. |