15E.370  Butchery innovation and revitalization fund and program.
  1.  As used in this section unless the context otherwise requires:
  a.  “Department” means the department of agriculture and land stewardship.
  b.  “Financial assistance” means assistance provided only from the funds and assets legally available to the authority pursuant to this section and includes assistance in the form of grants, low-interest loans, and forgivable loans.
  c.  “Fund” means the butchery innovation and revitalization fund.
  d.  “Located in” means the place or places at which a business’s operations are located and where at least ninety-eight percent of the business’s employees work, or where employees that are paid at least ninety-eight percent of the business’s payroll work.
  e.  “Program” means the butchery innovation and revitalization program.
  2.  a.  The fund is created in the state treasury under the control of the authority and consists of any moneys appropriated to the fund by the general assembly and any other moneys available and obtained or accepted by the authority for placement in the fund. The fund shall be used to award financial assistance as provided under the program. The authority shall use any moneys specifically appropriated for purposes of this section only for the purposes of the program.
  b.  Notwithstanding section 8.33, moneys in the fund that remain unencumbered or unobligated at the close of the fiscal year shall not revert but shall remain available for expenditure for the purposes designated until the close of the succeeding fiscal year.
  c.  The authority may use not more than five percent of the moneys in the fund at the beginning of each fiscal year for purposes of administrative costs, marketing, technical assistance, and other program support.
  3.  The authority, in consultation with the department, shall establish and administer the program for the purpose of awarding financial assistance to eligible businesses for the following projects:
  a.  To expand or refurbish an existing, or to establish a new, state-inspected small-scale meat processing business.
  b.  To expand or refurbish an existing, or to establish a new, federally inspected small-scale meat processing business.
  c.  To expand or refurbish an existing, or to establish a new, licensed custom locker.
  d.  To expand or refurbish an existing, or to establish a new, mobile slaughter unit that operates in compliance with the most current mobile slaughter unit compliance guide issued by the United States department of agriculture food safety and inspection service.
  e.  To rent buildings, refrigeration facilities, freezer facilities, or equipment necessary to expand processing capacity, including mobile slaughter or refrigeration units used exclusively for meat or poultry processing.
  4.  The authority, in consultation with the department, shall establish eligibility criteria for the program by rule. The eligibility criteria must include all of the following:
  a.  The business must be located in this state.
  b.  The business must not have been subject to any regulatory enforcement action related to federal, state, or local environmental, worker safety, food processing, or food safety laws, rules, or regulations within the last five years.
  c.  The business must only employ individuals legally authorized to work in the state.
  d.  The business must not currently be in bankruptcy.
  e.  The business must employ less than seventy-five full-time, nonseasonal individuals.
  5.  A business seeking financial assistance under this section shall make application to the authority in the manner prescribed by the authority by rule.
  6.  Applications shall be accepted during one or more annual application periods to be determined by the authority by rule. Upon reviewing and scoring all applications that are received during an application period, and subject to funding availability, the authority may, in consultation with the department, award financial assistance to eligible businesses. A financial assistance award shall not exceed the amount of eligible project costs included in the eligible business’s application. Priority shall be given to eligible businesses whose proposed projects under subsection 3 will do any of the following:
  a.  Create new jobs.
  b.  Create or expand opportunities for local small-scale farmers to market processed meat under private labels.
  c.  Provide greater flexibility or convenience for local small-scale farmers to have animals processed.
  7.  A business that is awarded financial assistance under this section may apply for financial assistance under other programs administered by the authority.
  8.  The authority shall, in consultation with the department, adopt rules pursuant to chapter 17A to administer this section.
2021 Acts, ch 175, §1; 2022 Acts, ch 1021, §7; 2023 Acts, ch 88, §1, 2
For department of agriculture and land stewardship’s butchery innovation and revitalization program, see 2024 Acts, ch 1148, §28
2023 amendment to subsection 4, paragraph e applies to businesses that apply on or after July 1, 2023, to the butchery innovation and revitalization program established in this section; 2023 Acts, ch 88, §2