House File 2402 - Introduced
HOUSE FILE
BY FALLON
Passed House, Date Passed Senate, Date
Vote: Ayes Nays Vote: Ayes Nays
Approved
A BILL FOR
1 An Act relating to economic development programs and making
2 appropriations.
3 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:
4 TLSB 6335HH 81
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PAG LIN
1 1 Section 1. NEW SECTION. 15E.315 REGULATORY EFFICIENCY
1 2 COMMISSION.
1 3 1. A regulatory efficiency commission is established for
1 4 purposes of identifying unneeded, outdated, or ineffective
1 5 regulations, fines, and fees that hinder business development
1 6 or efficient governmental operation relative to business
1 7 development activities. The commission shall also develop
1 8 methods for streamlining business access to regulatory
1 9 information. The commission shall maintain an ongoing process
1 10 for inviting, receiving, and considering suggestions from the
1 11 public, business owners, employees, and others for regulatory
1 12 changes. Commission staffing shall be provided by the
1 13 department.
1 14 2. The commission shall consist of ten voting members
1 15 appointed by the governor and four ex officio members.
1 16 Members appointed by the governor are subject to confirmation
1 17 by the senate and shall serve three=year staggered terms as
1 18 designated by the governor beginning and ending as provided in
1 19 section 69.19. A vacancy in membership shall be filled in the
1 20 same manner as the original appointment. The members shall
1 21 serve without compensation, but shall be reimbursed for actual
1 22 and necessary expenses incurred in the performance of official
1 23 duties as a member. The members of the commission shall
1 24 select a chairperson and any other officers deemed by the
1 25 commission to be necessary from their membership. The
1 26 commission shall meet at least quarterly but may meet as often
1 27 as necessary. Meetings shall be set by a majority of the
1 28 commission or upon the call of the chairperson. A majority of
1 29 the commission members shall constitute a quorum.
1 30 a. The ten voting members shall consist of the following:
1 31 (1) Two members shall be economic development
1 32 representatives from two different chambers of commerce. One
1 33 shall be from a metropolitan area with more than fifty
1 34 thousand people and one shall be from a metropolitan area with
1 35 fifty thousand people or less.
2 1 (2) Two members representing agricultural interests, at
2 2 least one of whom is involved in marketing farm products
2 3 directly to consumers or businesses.
2 4 (3) One member representing the Iowa association of
2 5 business and industry.
2 6 (4) One member representing commercial=based businesses.
2 7 (5) One member representing manufacturing=based
2 8 businesses.
2 9 (6) One member representing an environmental organization.
2 10 (7) One member representing labor interests.
2 11 (8) One member representing consumer advocacy
2 12 organizations.
2 13 b. The four ex officio members shall be members of the
2 14 general assembly. Two members shall be from the senate and
2 15 two members shall be from the house of representatives, with
2 16 not more than one member from each chamber being from the same
2 17 political party. The two senators shall be designated by the
2 18 president of the senate after consultation with the majority
2 19 and minority leaders of the senate. The two representatives
2 20 shall be designated by the speaker of the house of
2 21 representatives after consultation with the majority and
2 22 minority leaders of the house of representatives. Legislative
2 23 members shall serve in an ex officio, nonvoting capacity.
2 24 3. The commission shall submit a written report annually
2 25 by December 15 to the governor and the general assembly. The
2 26 report shall include the findings and legislative
2 27 recommendations of the commission. The report shall be
2 28 distributed by the secretary of the senate and the chief clerk
2 29 of the house of representatives to the chairpersons and
2 30 members of the administrative rules review committee and to
2 31 the standing committees in the senate and the house of
2 32 representatives that deal with economic development and
2 33 economic growth.
2 34 Sec. 2. NEW SECTION. 15E.316 REGULATORY OMBUDSMAN
2 35 OFFICE.
3 1 The department shall establish a regulatory ombudsman
3 2 office for purposes of assisting businesses with regulatory
3 3 issues. The office shall assist businesses with state program
3 4 and regulatory applications, direct businesses to proper
3 5 entities for specialized assistance, and provide businesses
3 6 with general information regarding programs and regulatory
3 7 issues.
3 8 Sec. 3. Section 303.3B, Code Supplement 2005, is amended
3 9 by adding the following new subsections:
3 10 NEW SUBSECTION. 4. A city may form a cultural and
3 11 entertainment district administrative committee for purposes
3 12 of administering and fostering activities in the district. At
3 13 least half of the committee membership must include members
3 14 who are younger than thirty=five years of age at the time of
3 15 appointment to the committee.
3 16 NEW SUBSECTION. 5. The department shall establish and
3 17 administer a cultural and entertainment district events
3 18 program for purposes of providing financial assistance for
3 19 cultural and entertainment events located in cultural and
3 20 entertainment districts certified pursuant to this section.
3 21 Financial assistance under the program shall take the form of
3 22 grants.
3 23 Sec. 4. Section 404A.4, subsection 4, Code Supplement
3 24 2005, is amended to read as follows:
3 25 4. The For the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2006, the
3 26 total amount of tax credits that may be approved for the
3 27 fiscal year under this chapter shall not exceed twenty million
3 28 dollars. For the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2007, and
3 29 every fiscal year thereafter, the total amount of tax credits
3 30 that may be approved for a the fiscal year under this chapter
3 31 shall not exceed two million four hundred thousand dollars.
3 32 For the fiscal period beginning July 1, 2005, and ending June
3 33 30, 2015, an additional four million dollars of tax credits
3 34 may be approved each fiscal year for purposes of projects
3 35 located in cultural and entertainment districts certified
4 1 pursuant to section 303.3B. Any of the additional tax credits
4 2 allocated for projects located in certified cultural and
4 3 entertainment districts that are not approved during a fiscal
4 4 year shall be applied to reserved tax credits issued in
4 5 accordance with section 404A.3 in order of original
4 6 reservation. The department of cultural affairs shall
4 7 establish by rule the procedures for the application, review,
4 8 selection, and awarding of certifications of completion. The
4 9 departments of economic development, cultural affairs, and
4 10 revenue shall each adopt rules to jointly administer this
4 11 subsection and shall provide by rule for the method to be used
4 12 to determine for which fiscal year the tax credits are
4 13 available. With the exception of tax credits issued pursuant
4 14 to contracts entered into prior to July 1, 2005, tax credits
4 15 shall not be reserved for more than five years.
4 16 Sec. 5. APPROPRIATIONS.
4 17 1. MAIN STREET PROGRAM.
4 18 a. For the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2006, and ending
4 19 June 30, 2007, there is appropriated from the general fund of
4 20 the state to the department of cultural affairs $1,000,000 for
4 21 purposes of the main street program.
4 22 b. The department of economic development shall transfer
4 23 the administrative duties of the main street program to the
4 24 department of cultural affairs. The department of cultural
4 25 affairs shall adopt rules pursuant to chapter 17A for purposes
4 26 of administering the program. The department of cultural
4 27 affairs shall make the program available to cities of any size
4 28 in the state. Any approved project or activity originally
4 29 approved by the department of economic development under the
4 30 main street program remains valid. The transfer of
4 31 administrative duties to the department of cultural affairs
4 32 shall not constitute grounds for recision or modification of
4 33 main street program contracts entered into with the department
4 34 of economic development.
4 35 2. CULTURAL AND ENTERTAINMENT DISTRICT EVENTS PROGRAM.
5 1 For the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2006, and ending June
5 2 30, 2007, there is appropriated from the general fund of the
5 3 state to the department of cultural affairs $1,000,000 for
5 4 purposes of administering section 303.3B.
5 5 3. WORKFORCE TRAINING. For the fiscal year beginning July
5 6 1, 2006, and ending June 30, 2007, there is appropriated from
5 7 the general fund of the state to the department of economic
5 8 development $14,000,000 for deposit into the workforce
5 9 training and economic development funds of the community
5 10 colleges created pursuant to section 260C.18A.
5 11 4. LOAN AND CREDIT GUARANTEE.
5 12 a. For the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2006, and ending
5 13 June 30, 2007, there is appropriated from the general fund of
5 14 the state to the department of economic development
5 15 $10,000,000 for deposit into the loan and credit guarantee
5 16 fund created pursuant to section 15E.227.
5 17 b. The moneys appropriated under this subsection shall be
5 18 used by the department under the loan and credit guarantee
5 19 program for purposes of loan or credit guarantees to small
5 20 businesses in geographically diverse parts of the state.
5 21 Within two years of receiving a loan or credit guarantee under
5 22 the program, a small business must provide and pay at least
5 23 eighty percent of the cost of a standard medical and dental
5 24 insurance plan for full=time employees. A small business
5 25 receiving a loan or credit guarantee under the program shall
5 26 agree to pay a median wage for new full=time jobs of at least
5 27 thirteen dollars and thirty=five cents per hour indexed to
5 28 2004 dollars based on the gross national product implicit
5 29 price deflator published by the bureau of economic analysis of
5 30 the United States department of commerce or one hundred thirty
5 31 percent of the average wage in the county in which the small
5 32 business is located, whichever is higher. For purposes of
5 33 this paragraph, "small business" means a business with less
5 34 than fifty employees.
5 35 5. SMALL BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT CENTERS.
6 1 a. For the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2006, and ending
6 2 June 30, 2007, there is appropriated from the general fund of
6 3 the state to Iowa state university of science and technology
6 4 $2,000,000 for the purposes provided in paragraph "b".
6 5 b. The moneys appropriated in this subsection shall be
6 6 allocated by Iowa state university to small business
6 7 development centers to develop and administer programs to
6 8 assist small businesses to plan for the transfer of ownership
6 9 of the business, including the transfer of all or a part of
6 10 the ownership of a business to an employee stock ownership
6 11 plan.
6 12 6. REGULATORY OMBUDSMAN OFFICE. For the fiscal year
6 13 beginning July 1, 2006, and ending June 30, 2007, there is
6 14 appropriated from the general fund of the state to the
6 15 department of economic development $250,000 for purposes of
6 16 administering section 15E.316, if enacted in this Act. The
6 17 department may create three full=time equivalent positions for
6 18 purposes of administering section 15E.316, if enacted in this
6 19 Act.
6 20 EXPLANATION
6 21 This bill relates to economic development programs and
6 22 makes appropriations.
6 23 The bill establishes a regulatory efficiency commission
6 24 consisting of 10 voting members and four ex officio members
6 25 for purposes of identifying unneeded, outdated, or ineffective
6 26 regulations, fines, and fees that hinder business development
6 27 or efficient governmental operation relative to business
6 28 development activities. The bill requires the commission to
6 29 develop methods for streamlining business access to regulatory
6 30 information and maintain an ongoing process for inviting,
6 31 receiving, and considering suggestions from the public,
6 32 business owners, employees, and others for regulatory changes.
6 33 The bill requires the commission to submit a written report
6 34 annually by December 15 to the governor and the general
6 35 assembly which includes findings and legislative
7 1 recommendations of the commission.
7 2 The bill requires the department of economic development to
7 3 establish a regulatory ombudsman office for purposes of
7 4 assisting businesses with regulatory issues.
7 5 The bill provides that a city may form a cultural and
7 6 entertainment district administrative committee for purposes
7 7 of administering and fostering activities in the district.
7 8 The bill provides that the department of cultural affairs
7 9 shall establish and administer a cultural and entertainment
7 10 district events program for purposes of providing financial
7 11 assistance for cultural and entertainment events located in
7 12 certified cultural and entertainment districts.
7 13 The bill provides that, for the fiscal year beginning July
7 14 1, 2006, the total amount of historic preservation and
7 15 cultural and entertainment district tax credits that may be
7 16 approved for the fiscal year shall not exceed $20 million.
7 17 The bill provides that for FY 2006=2007 there is
7 18 appropriated from the general fund of the state to the
7 19 department of cultural affairs $1 million for purposes of the
7 20 main street program. The bill requires the department of
7 21 economic development to transfer the administrative duties of
7 22 the main street program to the department of cultural affairs.
7 23 The bill requires the department of cultural affairs to make
7 24 the program available to cities of any size in the state.
7 25 The bill provides that for FY 2006=2007 there is
7 26 appropriated from the general fund of the state to the
7 27 department of cultural affairs $1 million for purposes of
7 28 administering the cultural and entertainment district events
7 29 program.
7 30 The bill provides that for FY 2006=2007 there is
7 31 appropriated from the general fund of the state to the
7 32 department of economic development $14 million for deposit
7 33 into the workforce training and economic development funds of
7 34 the community colleges.
7 35 The bill provides that for FY 2006=2007 there is
8 1 appropriated from the general fund of the state to the
8 2 department of economic development $10 million for deposit
8 3 into the loan and credit guarantee fund. The bill provides
8 4 that the moneys appropriated shall be used by the department
8 5 under the loan and credit guarantee program for purposes of
8 6 loan or credit guarantees to small businesses in
8 7 geographically diverse parts of the state.
8 8 The bill provides that for FY 2006=2007 there is
8 9 appropriated from the general fund of the state to the Iowa
8 10 state university of science and technology $2 million for the
8 11 university to allocate to small business development centers
8 12 to develop and administer programs to assist small businesses
8 13 to plan for the transfer of ownership of the business,
8 14 including the transfer of all or a part of the ownership of a
8 15 business to an employee stock ownership plan.
8 16 The bill provides that for FY 2006=2007 there is
8 17 appropriated from the general fund of the state to the
8 18 department of economic development $250,000 for purposes of
8 19 administering the regulatory ombudsman office.
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