Florida Senate - 2018 COMMITTEE AMENDMENT Bill No. SB 104 Ì839404&Î839404 LEGISLATIVE ACTION Senate . House Comm: RCS . 10/17/2017 . . . . ————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————— ————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————— The Committee on Military and Veterans Affairs, Space, and Domestic Security (Garcia) recommended the following: 1 Senate Amendment (with title amendment) 2 3 Delete lines 45 - 106 4 and insert: 5 (3) A small business that hires a veteran as a new employee 6 may receive a one-time grant of: 7 (a) Fifteen hundred dollars for each newly hired veteran, 8 as defined in s. 1.01(14). 9 (b) Three thousand dollars for each newly hired disabled 10 veteran, as that term is described in s. 295.07(1)(a). 11 (4) The total dollar amount of grants awarded to a 12 participating small business under subsection (3) may not exceed 13 $10,500 per fiscal year. 14 (5) A small business must apply to, and enter into an 15 agreement with, the corporation in order to participate in the 16 program. The agreement must require that the small business: 17 (a) Hire and employ for at least 1 year a qualifying 18 veteran before becoming eligible for a grant awarded under 19 subsection (3). 20 (b) Report information regarding the employment status of 21 each qualifying veteran, if requested to do so by the 22 corporation. 23 (c) Pay each qualifying veteran an amount equal to at least 24 90 percent of the annual median income for veterans in this 25 state at the time of hire, based on the most recent American 26 Community Survey 1-year estimates published by the United States 27 Census Bureau. 28 (d) Use any awarded grant moneys to facilitate the creation 29 of additional jobs for and employment of veterans by the small 30 business; however, grant moneys may be used only for 31 manufacturing, equipment, and facility expenses or other 32 operating costs or fixed capital outlay projects. 33 (e) Not receive any additional grant for rehiring a veteran 34 who it previously claimed as an employee for purposes of 35 obtaining funds under the program. 36 (f) Is eligible to receive a grant award only for a veteran 37 initially hired on or after July 1, 2018, through June 30, 2023. 38 (6) The corporation shall notify the regional small 39 business development center that serves the county in which a 40 participating small business is located of the participation of 41 the small business in the grant program in order to facilitate 42 improved access to the resources of the Florida Small Business 43 Development Center Network. 44 (7) The Department of Economic Opportunity shall adopt 45 rules to implement and administer this section which specify 46 requirements for the application and approval process and the 47 documentation necessary to claim grant moneys awarded under this 48 section. 49 (8) By each December 31 for the duration of the grant 50 program, the corporation shall provide an annual report to the 51 Governor, the President of the Senate, and the Speaker of the 52 House of Representatives on the grant program’s progress and 53 outcomes for the preceding fiscal year. The report must include 54 the following: 55 (a) An accounting of how the corporation used the state 56 funds it received for the grant program. 57 (b) The number of small businesses receiving grant funds. 58 (c) The number of veterans and disabled veterans employed 59 by each small business receiving grant funds. 60 (d) The salary paid to each veteran employed. 61 (e) The length of time for which the small business 62 employed each veteran. 63 (f) The grant program’s economic benefit to the state and 64 the performance-based metrics and methodologies used to 65 calculate the grant program’s economic benefit to the state. 66 (9) The grant program terminates October 1, 2024. 67 68 ================= T I T L E A M E N D M E N T ================ 69 And the title is amended as follows: 70 Delete line 17 71 and insert: 72 participation; requiring the department to adopt 73 certain