Florida Senate - 2013                                    SB 1012
       
       
       
       By Senator Hays
       
       
       
       
       11-00992A-13                                          20131012__
    1                        A bill to be entitled                      
    2         An act relating to the Economic Gardening Technical
    3         Assistance Program; amending s. 288.1082, F.S.;
    4         expanding the Economic Gardening Technical Assistance
    5         Pilot Program into a statewide program; requiring the
    6         Department of Economic Opportunity to contract with
    7         the Florida Economic Gardening Institute at the
    8         University of Central Florida to administer the
    9         program; revising and providing eligibility
   10         requirements for the program; providing definitions;
   11         amending s. 288.1081, F.S.; conforming a reference to
   12         the Economic Gardening Technical Assistance Pilot
   13         Program to changes made by the act; providing an
   14         appropriation; providing an effective date.
   15  
   16  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
   17  
   18         Section 1. Section 288.1082, Florida Statutes, is amended
   19  to read:
   20         288.1082 Economic Gardening Technical Assistance Pilot
   21  Program.—
   22         (1) There is created within the department the Economic
   23  Gardening Technical Assistance Pilot Program. The purpose of the
   24  pilot program is to stimulate investment in Florida’s economy by
   25  providing technical assistance for expanding businesses in the
   26  state.
   27         (2) The department shall contract with the Florida Economic
   28  Gardening Institute at the University of Central Florida one or
   29  more entities to administer the pilot program under this
   30  section. The department shall award each contract in accordance
   31  with the competitive bidding requirements in s. 287.057 to an
   32  entity that demonstrates the ability to implement the pilot
   33  program on a statewide basis, has an outreach plan, and has the
   34  ability to provide counseling services, access to technology and
   35  information, marketing services and advice, business management
   36  support, and other similar services. In selecting these
   37  entities, the department also must consider whether the entities
   38  will qualify for matching funds to provide the technical
   39  assistance.
   40         (3) The Florida Economic Gardening Institute A contracted
   41  entity administering the pilot program shall provide technical
   42  assistance for eligible businesses which includes, but is not
   43  limited to:
   44         (a) Access to free or affordable information services and
   45  consulting services, including information on markets,
   46  customers, and competitors, such as business databases,
   47  geographic information systems, and search engine marketing.
   48         (b) Development of business connections, including
   49  interaction and exchange among business owners and resource
   50  providers, such as trade associations, think tanks, academic
   51  institutions, business roundtables, peer-to-peer learning
   52  sessions, and mentoring programs.
   53         (4)(a) To be eligible for assistance under the pilot
   54  program, a business must:
   55         1. Be a for-profit, privately held, investment-grade
   56  business. that
   57         2. Have employed employs at least 10 persons but not more
   58  than 99 50 persons at the end of the preceding fiscal year., has
   59  maintained its principal place of business in the state for at
   60  least the previous 2 years,
   61         3. Have generated generates at least $1 million but not
   62  more than $50 $25 million in annual revenue during the preceding
   63  fiscal year., qualifies for the tax refund program for qualified
   64  target industry businesses under s. 288.106, and,
   65         4. During 2 3 of the previous 6 5 years, have has increased
   66  either both its number of full-time equivalent employees in this
   67  state or and its gross revenues.
   68         5. Generate a minimum of 51 percent of its revenue outside
   69  the state, be located in a “rural community” as defined in s.
   70  288.0656, or be classified within a qualifying NAICS code.
   71         (b) As used in this section, the term:
   72         1. “NAICS” means those classifications contained in the
   73  North American Industry Classification System, as published in
   74  2012 by the Office of Management and Budget, Executive Office of
   75  the President.
   76         2. “Qualifying NAICS code” means any NAICS code within any
   77  of the following NAICS sectors: 31-33, Manufacturing; 42,
   78  Wholesale Trade; 51, Information; 52, Finance and Insurance; 54,
   79  Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services; 55, Management
   80  of Companies and Enterprises; or 56, Administrative and Support
   81  and Waste Management and Remediation Services.
   82         (c)(b)The Florida Economic Gardening Institute A
   83  contracted entity administering the pilot program, in selecting
   84  the eligible businesses to receive assistance, shall choose
   85  businesses in more than one industry cluster and, to the maximum
   86  extent practicable, shall choose businesses that are
   87  geographically distributed throughout Florida or are in
   88  partnership with businesses that are geographically distributed
   89  throughout Florida.
   90         (5)(a) A business receiving assistance under the pilot
   91  program must enter into an agreement with the Florida Economic
   92  Gardening Institute contracted entity administering the program
   93  to establish the business’s commitment to participate
   94  participation in the pilot program. The agreement must require,
   95  at a minimum, that the business:
   96         1. Attend a minimum number of meetings between the business
   97  and the Florida Economic Gardening Institute contracted entity
   98  administering the pilot program.
   99         2. Report job creation data in the manner prescribed by the
  100  Florida Economic Gardening Institute contracted entity
  101  administering the pilot program.
  102         3. Provide financial data in the manner prescribed by the
  103  Florida Economic Gardening Institute contracted entity
  104  administering the program.
  105         (b) The Florida Economic Gardening Institute department or
  106  the contracted entity administering the pilot program may
  107  prescribe in the agreement additional reporting requirements
  108  that are necessary to track the progress of the business and
  109  monitor the business’s implementation of the assistance. The
  110  institute contracted entity shall report the information to the
  111  department on a quarterly basis.
  112         (6) The Florida Economic Gardening Institute A contracted
  113  entity administering the pilot program is authorized to promote
  114  the general business interests or industrial interests of the
  115  state.
  116         (7) The department shall review the progress of the Florida
  117  Economic Gardening Institute contracted entity administering the
  118  pilot program at least once each 6 months and shall determine
  119  whether the institute contracted entity is meeting its
  120  contractual obligations for administering the pilot program. The
  121  department may terminate and rebid a contract if the institute
  122  contracted entity does not meet its contractual obligations.
  123         (8) On December 31 of each year, the department shall
  124  submit a report to the Governor, the President of the Senate,
  125  and the Speaker of the House of Representatives which describes
  126  in detail the progress of the pilot program. The report must
  127  include, at a minimum, the number of businesses receiving
  128  assistance, the number of full-time equivalent jobs created as a
  129  result of the assistance, if any, the amount of wages paid to
  130  employees in the newly created jobs, and the locations and types
  131  of economic activity undertaken by the businesses.
  132         (9) The department may adopt rules under ss. 120.536(1) and
  133  120.54 to administer this section.
  134         Section 2. Paragraphs (a) and (b) of subsection (3) of
  135  section 288.1081, Florida Statutes, are amended to read:
  136         288.1081 Economic Gardening Business Loan Pilot Program.—
  137         (3)(a) To be eligible for a loan under the pilot program,
  138  an applicant must be a business eligible for assistance under
  139  the Economic Gardening Technical Assistance Pilot Program as
  140  provided in s. 288.1082(4)(a).
  141         (b) A loan applicant must submit a written application to
  142  the loan administrator in the format prescribed by the loan
  143  administrator. The application must include:
  144         1. The applicant’s federal employer identification number,
  145  reemployment assistance account number, and sales or other tax
  146  registration number.
  147         2. The street address of the applicant’s principal place of
  148  business in this state.
  149         3. A description of the type of economic activity, product,
  150  or research and development undertaken by the applicant,
  151  including the six-digit North American Industry Classification
  152  System code for each type of economic activity conducted by the
  153  applicant.
  154         4. The applicant’s annual revenue, number of employees,
  155  number of full-time equivalent employees, and other information
  156  necessary to verify the applicant’s eligibility for the pilot
  157  program under s. 288.1082(4)(a).
  158         5. The projected investment in the business, if any, which
  159  the applicant proposes in conjunction with the loan.
  160         6. The total investment in the business from all sources,
  161  if any, which the applicant proposes in conjunction with the
  162  loan.
  163         7. The number of net new full-time equivalent jobs that, as
  164  a result of the loan, the applicant proposes to create in this
  165  state as of December 31 of each year and the average annual wage
  166  of the proposed jobs.
  167         8. The total number of full-time equivalent employees the
  168  applicant currently employs in this state.
  169         9. The date that the applicant anticipates it needs the
  170  loan.
  171         10. A detailed explanation of why the loan is needed to
  172  assist the applicant in expanding jobs in the state.
  173         11. A statement that all of the applicant’s available
  174  corporate assets are pledged as collateral for the amount of the
  175  loan.
  176         12. A statement that the applicant, upon receiving the
  177  loan, agrees not to seek additional long-term debt without prior
  178  approval of the loan administrator.
  179         13. A statement that the loan is a joint obligation of the
  180  business and of each person who owns at least 20 percent of the
  181  business.
  182         14. Any additional information requested by the department
  183  or the loan administrator.
  184         Section 3. The sum of $2 million in recurring funds is
  185  appropriated from the General Revenue Fund to the University of
  186  Central Florida to fund the Economic Gardening Technical
  187  Assistance Program and to implement this act during the 2013
  188  2014 fiscal year.
  189         Section 4. This act shall take effect July 1, 2013.