1     
RURAL ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT INCENTIVES

2     
2019 GENERAL SESSION

3     
STATE OF UTAH

4     
Chief Sponsor: Carl R. Albrecht

5     
Senate Sponsor: Ralph Okerlund

6     

7     LONG TITLE
8     General Description:
9          This bill modifies provisions related to the rural employment expansion grant program.
10     Highlighted Provisions:
11          This bill:
12          ▸     modifies the maximum grant amount that the Governor's Office of Economic
13     Development may award to a business entity in a fiscal year as part of the rural
14     employment expansion grant program.
15     Money Appropriated in this Bill:
16          None
17     Other Special Clauses:
18          None
19     Utah Code Sections Affected:
20     AMENDS:
21          63N-4-402, as enacted by Laws of Utah 2018, Chapter 340
22          63N-4-404, as enacted by Laws of Utah 2018, Chapter 340
23     

24     Be it enacted by the Legislature of the state of Utah:
25          Section 1. Section 63N-4-402 is amended to read:
26          63N-4-402. Definitions.
27          As used in this part:

28          (1) (a) "Business entity" means a sole proprietorship, partnership, association, joint
29     venture, corporation, firm, trust, foundation, or other organization or entity used in carrying on
30     a business.
31          (b) "Business entity" does not include a business primarily engaged in the following:
32          (i) construction;
33          (ii) staffing;
34          (iii) retail trade; or
35          (iv) public utility activities.
36          (2) "Immediate family member" means a spouse, child, parent, sibling, grandparent, or
37     grandchild.
38          (3) "New full-time employee position" means a position that has been newly created in
39     addition to the highest baseline count of employment positions that existed within a business
40     entity during the previous taxable year and is filled by an employee working at least 30 hours
41     per week:
42          (a) in a county of the fourth, fifth, or sixth class;
43          (b) for a period of at least 12 consecutive months;
44          (c) in a position that does not primarily involve:
45          (i) construction;
46          (ii) retail trade; or
47          (iii) public utility activities;
48          (d) where the annual gross wage of the position at the end of the 12 consecutive
49     months described in Subsection (3)(b), not including healthcare or other paid or unpaid
50     benefits, is at least 125% of the average wage of the county in which the position exists; and
51          (e) who is not an immediate family member of an owner or officer of the business
52     entity.
53          (4) (a) "Owner or officer" means an individual who owns an ownership interest in an
54     entity or holds a position where the person has authority to manage, direct, control, or make
55     decisions for:
56          (i) the entity or a portion of the entity; or
57          (ii) an employee, agent, or independent contractor of the entity.
58          (b) "Owner or officer" includes:

59          (i) a member of a board of directors or other governing body of an entity; or
60          (ii) a partner in any type of partnership.
61          (5) "Rural employment expansion grant" means a grant available under this part.
62          Section 2. Section 63N-4-404 is amended to read:
63          63N-4-404. Rural employment expansion grant application process.
64          (1) For a fiscal year beginning on or after July 1, 2018, a business entity seeking to
65     receive a rural employment expansion grant as provided in this part shall provide the office
66     with an application for a rural employment expansion grant in a form approved by the office
67     that includes:
68          (a) a certification, by an officer of the business entity, of each signature on the
69     application;
70          (b) a document that specifies the projected number and anticipated wage level of the
71     new full-time employee positions that the business entity plans to create as the basis for
72     qualifying for a rural employment expansion grant; and
73          (c) any additional information required by the office.
74          (2) (a) If, after review of an application provided by a business entity as described in
75     Subsection (1), the office determines that the application is inadequate to provide a reasonable
76     justification for authorizing the rural employment expansion grant, the office shall:
77          (i) deny the application; or
78          (ii) inform the business entity that the application is inadequate and ask the business
79     entity to submit additional documentation.
80          (b) (i) If the office denies an application, the business entity may appeal the denial to
81     the office.
82          (ii) The office shall review any appeal within 10 business days and make a final
83     determination of the business entity's eligibility for a grant under this part.
84          (3) If, after review of an application provided by a business entity as described in
85     Subsection (1), the office determines that the application provides reasonable justification for
86     authorizing a rural employment expansion grant and if there are available funds for the grant,
87     the office shall enter into a written agreement with the business entity that:
88          (a) indicates the maximum rural employment expansion grant amount the business
89     entity is authorized to receive;

90          (b) includes a document signed by an officer of the business entity that expressly
91     directs and authorizes the State Tax Commission to disclose to the office the business entity's
92     tax returns and other information that would otherwise be subject to confidentiality under
93     Section 59-1-403 or Section 6103, Internal Revenue Code;
94          (c) describes the documentation required to demonstrate that the business entity has
95     created the new full-time employee positions described in the application provided under
96     Subsection (1); and
97          (d) specifies the deadlines to provide the documentation described in Subsection (3)(c).
98          (4) (a) Subject to available funds, the office may award a rural employment expansion
99     grant to a business entity as follows:
100          (i) $4,000 for each new full-time employee position in a county where the average
101     county wage is equal to or greater than the state average wage;
102          (ii) $5,000 for each new full-time employee position in a county where the average
103     county wage is between 85% and 99% of the state average wage; and
104          (iii) $6,000 for each new full-time employee position in a county where the average
105     county wage is less than 85% of the state average wage.
106          (b) A business entity may qualify for no more than [$25,000] $250,000 in rural
107     employment expansion grants in any fiscal year.
108          (5) (a) Subject to available funds, the office shall award a business entity a grant in the
109     amount allowed under this part if the business entity provides documentation to the office:
110          (i) in a form prescribed by the office under Subsection (3)(c);
111          (ii) before the deadline described in Subsection (3)(d); and
112          (iii) that demonstrates that the business applicant has created new full-time employee
113     positions.
114          (b) If a business entity does not provide the documentation described in Subsection
115     (3)(c) before the deadline described in Subsection (3)(d), the business entity is ineligible to
116     receive a rural employment expansion grant unless the business entity submits a new
117     application to be reviewed by the office in accordance with Subsection 63N-2-903(1)(a).
118          (6) Nothing in this part prevents a business entity that has received a rural employment
119     expansion grant from concurrently applying for or receiving another grant or incentive
120     administered by the office.