House File 322 - Introduced
HOUSE FILE
BY JOCHUM
Passed House, Date Passed Senate, Date
Vote: Ayes Nays Vote: Ayes Nays
Approved
A BILL FOR
1 An Act relating to disclosure of information on use of tax
2 revenues for economic development purposes, providing certain
3 remedies, and providing for the Act's implementation.
4 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:
5 TLSB 2046HH 81
6 sc/cf/24
PAG LIN
1 1 Section 1. NEW SECTION. 16B.1 SHORT TITLE.
1 2 This Act shall be referred to as the "Fiscal Disclosure and
1 3 Taxpayer Protection Act".
1 4 Sec. 2. NEW SECTION. 16B.2 FINDINGS AND INTENT.
1 5 The state finds that, despite an increase in spending for
1 6 the purpose of economic development, the real wage levels of
1 7 the state's average working families have suffered years of
1 8 decline and stagnation.
1 9 The state also finds that when workers receive low wages,
1 10 such jobs often impose hidden taxpayer costs upon the state's
1 11 citizens, in the form of medical assistance, food stamps,
1 12 earned income tax credits, utility and rent assistance, child
1 13 care assistance, and other forms of assistance provided to the
1 14 working poor and their families.
1 15 Therefore, in order to ensure that the state's economic
1 16 development resources are achieving their desired effect of
1 17 raising living standards for the state's working families, the
1 18 state finds that it is necessary to collect and analyze
1 19 additional information and to enact certain safeguards in its
1 20 development assistance.
1 21 Sec. 3. NEW SECTION. 16B.3 DEFINITIONS.
1 22 1. "Corporate parent" means any person or legal entity,
1 23 organization, business, partnership, group, or corporation
1 24 entity recognized by law, or combination thereof, that
1 25 possesses, owns, or controls an interest greater than fifty
1 26 percent of a recipient corporation.
1 27 2. "Date of assistance" means the date upon which a
1 28 granting body transmits the first dollar value of development
1 29 assistance to a recipient corporation.
1 30 3. "Development assistance" means any form of public
1 31 assistance, including tax expenditures, made for the purpose
1 32 of stimulating the economic development of a given
1 33 corporation, industry, geographic jurisdiction, or other
1 34 subset of the state's economy, including but not limited to
1 35 assistance in the form of industrial development bonds, loans,
2 1 loan guarantees, revolving loan funds, bond bank programs,
2 2 enterprise zone incentives or assistance, tax increment
2 3 financing, property tax exemptions or abatements, grants, fee
2 4 waivers, infrastructure assistance whose principal beneficiary
2 5 is a single business or defined group of businesses at the
2 6 time it is built or improved, matching funds, tax abatements,
2 7 tax credits and tax discounts of every kind, including
2 8 corporate income tax, personal income tax, excise tax,
2 9 insurance premium tax, sales and use taxes, job creation
2 10 credits and deductions, industrial investment credits and
2 11 deductions, and research and development tax credits and
2 12 deductions.
2 13 4. "Full=time job" means a job at which a new employee
2 14 works for a recipient corporation for at least thirty=five
2 15 hours per week on average.
2 16 5. "Granting body" means any public entity within the
2 17 state, including local governments, regional development
2 18 organizations, state and local public corporations, the state
2 19 government, and any state government department or agency,
2 20 which provides development assistance, including but not
2 21 limited to the department of economic development and the Iowa
2 22 finance authority.
2 23 6. "In effect" refers to any calendar year within which
2 24 development assistance is being provided. For one=time forms
2 25 of development assistance such as grants, "in effect" refers
2 26 to a period of not less than five years from the date of
2 27 assistance.
2 28 7. "Part=time job" means a job at which a new employee
2 29 works for a recipient corporation for less than thirty=five
2 30 hours per week on average.
2 31 8. "Property=taxing entity" means an entity in this state
2 32 that levies taxes upon real property, including a city,
2 33 county, school district, township, and benefited district.
2 34 9. "Small business" means a corporation whose corporate
2 35 parents, and all subsidiaries thereof, employed fewer than an
3 1 average of twenty full=time equivalent employees or which had
3 2 gross receipts of less than one million dollars in all United
3 3 States jurisdictions during the calendar year for which
3 4 disclosure is required.
3 5 10. "Specific project site" means a distinct operational
3 6 unit to which any development assistance is applied.
3 7 11. "Temporary job" means a job at which a new employee is
3 8 hired for a specific duration of time or season.
3 9 12. "Value of assistance" means the face value of any and
3 10 all forms of development assistance.
3 11 Sec. 4. NEW SECTION. 16B.4 DISCLOSURE OF STATE TAX
3 12 EXPENDITURES.
3 13 1. Effective July 1, 2006, and each succeeding year, the
3 14 department of revenue shall provide a detailed tax expenditure
3 15 budget disclosure report to the general assembly, derived from
3 16 state income tax filings or other relevant state filings for
3 17 the previous calendar year. The disclosure report shall
3 18 include, but not be limited to, the following data:
3 19 a. The dollar amount of tax expenditures made by the
3 20 state, in the form of uncollected revenues, for each
3 21 individual tax credit provided by the state, including credits
3 22 for wages of certain qualified employees, enterprise zone
3 23 incentives or assistance, tax increment financing, grants,
3 24 matching funds, tax abatements, and tax credits and tax
3 25 discounts of every kind, including corporate income, personal
3 26 income, excise, insurance premium, sales and use, job
3 27 creation, industrial investment, and research and development
3 28 tax credits and deductions.
3 29 b. For each of the tax expenditures in paragraph "a",
3 30 except as specified in paragraph "c", an itemization of the
3 31 name of each individual corporate taxpayer which claimed the
3 32 credit of any value equal to or greater than five thousand
3 33 dollars, and the specific dollar amount credited to the
3 34 corporation's tax liability under that credit for that year.
3 35 c. Credits claimed by individual corporations of less than
4 1 five thousand dollars shall not be itemized as required in
4 2 paragraph "b". Instead, in reporting credits for each tax
4 3 expenditure, the department of revenue shall aggregate all
4 4 claims of less than five thousand dollars and report them as a
4 5 single nonspecified group, with the number of claimants
4 6 stated.
4 7 2. All data produced by the department of revenue and
4 8 received by the general assembly in compliance with this
4 9 chapter shall be a public record subject to examination and
4 10 copying under chapter 22, notwithstanding sections 422.20,
4 11 422.72, and 423.42, or any other provision of state law to the
4 12 contrary pertaining to confidentiality of information.
4 13 Sec. 5. NEW SECTION. 16B.5 DISCLOSURE OF PROPERTY TAX
4 14 REDUCTIONS AND ABATEMENTS.
4 15 1. On or before April 1, 2006, the department of revenue
4 16 shall prescribe a standardized disclosure form for use by all
4 17 property=taxing entities. The form shall require, but not be
4 18 limited to, the following data:
4 19 a. The name of the property owner.
4 20 b. The address and description of the property.
4 21 c. The date upon which any individual property tax
4 22 reduction or abatement first took effect.
4 23 d. The date upon which any individual property tax
4 24 reduction or abatement is scheduled to expire.
4 25 e. The rate or schedule of each individual property tax
4 26 reduction or abatement for the period between the date it took
4 27 effect and the date it is scheduled to expire.
4 28 f. The entity's aggregate foregone revenue for the
4 29 calendar year as a result of each property tax reduction or
4 30 abatement.
4 31 g. A compilation and summary of the entity's total
4 32 foregone revenue as a result of all property tax reductions or
4 33 abatements, including a summary of foregone revenue for each
4 34 kind of reduction or abatement.
4 35 h. The respective shares of the entity's property tax
5 1 revenues for the reported year which were disbursed to each
5 2 property=taxing entity.
5 3 2. Effective April 1, 2007, and each subsequent year,
5 4 every property=taxing entity in this state shall use this
5 5 standardized form to report to the department of revenue all
5 6 property tax reductions or abatements which were in effect
5 7 during the previous fiscal year.
5 8 3. The department of revenue shall, by June 1, 2007, and
5 9 for each subsequent year, compile and publish all data on all
5 10 of the disclosure forms in both written and electronic form.
5 11 4. If a property=taxing entity fails to comply with
5 12 subsection 2, the department of revenue shall within ten
5 13 working days of the April 1 filing deadline notify the
5 14 department of economic development of such failure. Upon
5 15 receipt of such notice, the department of economic development
5 16 shall suspend within three working days any current
5 17 development assistance activities under its control in the
5 18 property=taxing entity's jurisdiction, and shall be prohibited
5 19 from proceeding with any current or future development
5 20 assistance in the noncompliant jurisdiction unless and until
5 21 the department of economic development receives proof from the
5 22 department of revenue that the property=taxing entity has
5 23 complied with subsection 2.
5 24 5. If any of the state's various agencies fail to enforce
5 25 subsection 3 or 4, any person who paid personal income taxes
5 26 or sales and use taxes to the state in the calendar year prior
5 27 to the year in dispute shall have standing to sue to compel
5 28 the state to enforce the provisions of this chapter. The
5 29 court shall award such taxpayer plaintiff who prevails
5 30 reasonable attorney fees and costs in any such enforcement
5 31 action.
5 32 6. All data generated in compliance with subsections 1 and
5 33 2 shall be fully subject to examination and copying under
5 34 chapter 22.
5 35 Sec. 6. NEW SECTION. 16B.6 STANDARDIZED APPLICATIONS FOR
6 1 DEVELOPMENT ASSISTANCE.
6 2 1. On or before April 1, 2006, the department of economic
6 3 development shall prescribe a standardized application form
6 4 for development assistance for use by all granting bodies.
6 5 The form shall include, but not be limited to, the following
6 6 data:
6 7 a. An application tracking number which is specific to
6 8 both the granting agency and to each application.
6 9 b. The name, street and mailing addresses, telephone
6 10 number, and chief officer of the granting body.
6 11 c. The name, street and mailing addresses, telephone
6 12 number, and chief officer of the corporate parent of the
6 13 applicant corporation.
6 14 d. The name, street and mailing addresses, telephone
6 15 number, six=digit North American industry classification
6 16 system number, and chief officer of the applicant corporation
6 17 at the specific project site for which development assistance
6 18 is sought.
6 19 e. The applicant corporation's total number of employees
6 20 at the specific project site on the date of the application,
6 21 broken down by full=time, part=time, and temporary employees.
6 22 f. The total number of employees in this state of the
6 23 applicant corporation's corporate parent, and all subsidiaries
6 24 thereof, as of December 31 of the year preceding the date of
6 25 application, broken down by full=time, part=time, and
6 26 temporary employees.
6 27 g. The kind or kinds of development assistance and value
6 28 or values of development assistance being applied for.
6 29 h. The number of new jobs to be created by the development
6 30 assistance, broken down by full=time, part=time, and temporary
6 31 employees.
6 32 i. The average hourly wage to be paid to the new employees
6 33 within one year of hiring, broken down by number of full=time,
6 34 part=time, and temporary employees, and specified by wage
6 35 groupings as follows: six dollars or less an hour, six
7 1 dollars and one cent to seven dollars an hour, seven dollars
7 2 and one cent to eight dollars an hour, eight dollars and one
7 3 cent to nine dollars an hour, nine dollars and one cent to ten
7 4 dollars an hour, ten dollars and one cent to eleven dollars an
7 5 hour, eleven dollars and one cent to twelve dollars an hour,
7 6 twelve dollars and one cent to thirteen dollars an hour,
7 7 thirteen dollars and one cent to fourteen dollars an hour, and
7 8 fourteen dollars and one cent or more per hour.
7 9 j. For applicant project sites located in a metropolitan
7 10 statistical area, as defined by the United States census
7 11 bureau, the average hourly wage paid nonmanagerial employees
7 12 in the applicant's industry in this state, as most recently
7 13 provided by the United States bureau of labor statistics to
7 14 the most specific North American industry classification
7 15 system number specification, as available.
7 16 k. For applicant project sites located outside of
7 17 metropolitan statistical areas, the average weekly wage paid
7 18 in the county, as most recently reported by the United States
7 19 department of commerce in its county business patterns
7 20 reports.
7 21 l. The nature of employer=paid health care coverage to be
7 22 provided within ninety days of hiring to the employees filling
7 23 the new jobs, including any costs to be borne by the new
7 24 employees.
7 25 m. A list of all other forms of development assistance the
7 26 applicant corporation is seeking for the specific project
7 27 site, and the name or names of the granting body or bodies
7 28 from which that development assistance is being sought.
7 29 n. A narrative, if necessary, describing how the applicant
7 30 corporation's use of the development assistance may reduce
7 31 employment at any site in any United States jurisdiction
7 32 controlled by the applicant corporation or its corporate
7 33 parent, including but not limited to events such as
7 34 automation, consolidation, merger, acquisition, product line
7 35 movement, business activity movement, or restructuring by
8 1 either the applicant corporation or its corporate parent.
8 2 o. Individual certifications by the chief officers of both
8 3 the applicant corporation and the granting body as to the
8 4 accuracy of the application, under penalty of perjury.
8 5 2. Beginning April 1, 2007, every granting body in this
8 6 state, jointly with applicant corporations, shall complete the
8 7 standardized application form as prescribed in subsection 1
8 8 each time a corporation applies for development assistance.
8 9 Sec. 7. NEW SECTION. 16B.7 DEVELOPMENT ASSISTANCE
8 10 DISCLOSURE.
8 11 1. Beginning February 1, 2008, and for each subsequent
8 12 year, every granting body in the state shall submit to the
8 13 department of economic development copies of all the
8 14 standardized application forms for development assistance, as
8 15 specified in section 16B.6, that the granting body has
8 16 received in the previous calendar year. The granting body
8 17 shall designate on each form whether the development
8 18 assistance is pending, was approved, or was not approved, and
8 19 for those applications that were approved, the date of
8 20 assistance if the date of assistance occurred in the previous
8 21 calendar year.
8 22 2. For those applications that were approved but for which
8 23 the date of assistance did not occur in the same calendar
8 24 year, each granting body shall report in its next subsequent
8 25 February 1 annual report to the department of economic
8 26 development the relevant dates of assistance.
8 27 3. For each development assistance application that was
8 28 approved, and for which the date of assistance has occurred in
8 29 a reporting year, each granting agency shall submit to the
8 30 department of economic development a progress report, which
8 31 shall include, but not be limited to, the following data:
8 32 a. The recipient corporation's tracking number.
8 33 b. The name, street and mailing addresses, telephone
8 34 number, and chief officer of the granting body.
8 35 c. The name, street and mailing addresses, telephone
9 1 number, six=digit North American industry classification
9 2 system number, and chief officer of the recipient corporation
9 3 at the specific project site for which the development
9 4 assistance was approved.
9 5 d. The kind of development assistance and value of
9 6 assistance that was approved.
9 7 e. The recipient corporation's total level of employment
9 8 at the specific project site on the date of the application
9 9 and the recipient corporation's total level of employment at
9 10 the specific project site on the date of the report, broken
9 11 down by full=time, part-time, and temporary employees, and a
9 12 computation of the gain or loss in each category.
9 13 f. The number of new jobs the recipient corporation stated
9 14 in its application would be created by the development
9 15 assistance, broken down by full=time, part=time, and
9 16 temporary.
9 17 g. The total level of employment in this state of the
9 18 recipient corporation's corporate parent, and all subsidiaries
9 19 thereof, as of December 31 of the year preceding the date of
9 20 application and the total level of employment in the state of
9 21 the recipient corporation's corporate parent, and all
9 22 subsidiaries thereof, as of each December 31 up through the
9 23 reporting year, broken down by full=time, part=time, and
9 24 temporary, and a statement of the gain or loss in each
9 25 category from the earliest reported year to the most recent.
9 26 h. The average hourly wage paid as of December 31 of the
9 27 reporting year to employees filling the new jobs at the
9 28 specific project site, broken down by full=time, part=time,
9 29 and temporary employees and specified by the wage groupings in
9 30 section 16B.6, subsection 1, paragraph "i".
9 31 i. The nature of employer=paid health care coverage being
9 32 provided within ninety days of hiring to the employees filling
9 33 the new jobs, including any costs being borne by the new
9 34 employees.
9 35 j. A statement describing how the recipient corporation's
10 1 use of the development assistance during the reporting year
10 2 has reduced employment at any site in any United States
10 3 jurisdiction controlled by the recipient corporation or its
10 4 corporate parent, including but not limited to events such as
10 5 automation, consolidation, merger, acquisition, product line
10 6 movement, business activity movement, or restructuring by
10 7 either the recipient corporation or its corporate parent.
10 8 k. Notarized individual certifications signed by the chief
10 9 officers of both the recipient corporation and the granting
10 10 body as to the accuracy of the progress report.
10 11 4. The granting body and the department of economic
10 12 development shall have full investigative authority to verify
10 13 the recipient corporation's progress report data, including
10 14 but not limited to inspection of the specific project site and
10 15 analysis of tax and payroll records.
10 16 5. By June 1, 2008, and by June 1 of each subsequent year,
10 17 the department of economic development shall compile and
10 18 publish all data in all of the development assistance progress
10 19 reports in both written and electronic form.
10 20 6. Every aspect of all development assistance
10 21 applications, progress reports, and the department of economic
10 22 development's compilation of applications and progress reports
10 23 shall be fully subject to examination and copying under
10 24 chapter 22.
10 25 7. If a granting body fails to comply with subsections 1
10 26 through 3, or if a granting body or corporation fails to
10 27 comply with subsection 3, paragraph "k", the department of
10 28 economic development shall, within ten business days of the
10 29 February 1 filing deadline, suspend any current development
10 30 assistance activities under its control in the granting body's
10 31 jurisdiction, and shall be prohibited from proceeding with any
10 32 current or future development assistance activities under its
10 33 control in the granting body's jurisdiction, unless and until
10 34 the department of economic development receives proof that the
10 35 negligent granting body or corporation has complied with
11 1 subsections 1 through 3.
11 2 Sec. 8. NEW SECTION. 16B.8 JOB CREATION AND JOB QUALITY
11 3 STANDARDS.
11 4 1. In considering development assistance applications, all
11 5 granting bodies shall perform the following analyses
11 6 concerning the projected wages and benefits:
11 7 a. A comparison of the aggregate projected wage, as
11 8 specified in section 16B.6, subsection 1, paragraph "i", with
11 9 existing wages, as specified and defined under section 16B.6,
11 10 subsection 1, paragraphs "j" and "k". To derive the aggregate
11 11 projected wage, the granting body shall compute the weighted
11 12 hourly average wage for all new employees, including full=
11 13 time, part=time, and temporary employees. If the aggregate
11 14 projected wage is less than eighty=five percent of existing
11 15 wages, the application shall be denied. For small businesses,
11 16 if the aggregate projected wage is less than seventy=five
11 17 percent of existing wages, the application shall be denied.
11 18 b. A wage computation to consider the value of health care
11 19 coverage provided to full=time employees, as specified in
11 20 section 16B.6, subsection 1, paragraph "l". If the applicant
11 21 corporation is not providing health care coverage to full=time
11 22 employees, the granting body shall subtract one dollar and
11 23 fifty cents an hour from the projected wage. If the recipient
11 24 corporation projects some health care costs to be borne by the
11 25 new full=time employees, the granting body shall, based on
11 26 data from the applicant corporation, estimate the hourly cost
11 27 to the new full=time employee of such costs and subtract that
11 28 amount from the projected wage. If the amount of the wage
11 29 after subtracting such cost is less than eighty percent of
11 30 existing wages as specified and defined under section 16B.6,
11 31 subsection 1, paragraphs "j" and "k", the application shall be
11 32 denied. For small businesses, if the amount of the wage after
11 33 subtracting such cost is less than seventy percent of existing
11 34 wages, the application shall be denied.
11 35 c. The granting bodies shall divide the value of
12 1 development assistance by the number of projected full=time
12 2 jobs, as reported in section 16B.6, subsection 1. If the
12 3 resulting sum exceeds thirty=five thousand dollars, the
12 4 application shall be denied.
12 5 2. A granting body's requirement under subsection 1 may be
12 6 waived by a bona fide collective bargaining agreement that
12 7 covers employees at the specific project site of the applicant
12 8 corporation, but only if the waiver is explicitly set forth in
12 9 the collective bargaining agreement in clear and unambiguous
12 10 terms. Unilateral implementation of terms and conditions of
12 11 employment by either party to a collective bargaining
12 12 agreement shall not constitute a waiver of subsection 1.
12 13 Sec. 9. NEW SECTION. 16B.9 RECAPTURE OF ASSISTANCE.
12 14 1. Recipient corporations are required to achieve their
12 15 job creation and wage and benefit goals within two years of
12 16 the date of development assistance. Recipient corporations
12 17 are also required to maintain their wage and benefit goals as
12 18 long as the assistance is in effect. Corporate parents of
12 19 recipient corporations are required to maintain at least
12 20 ninety percent of their original employment number in this
12 21 state, as specified in section 16B.6, subsection 1, paragraph
12 22 "f", and section 16B.7, subsection 3, paragraph "g".
12 23 2. Granting bodies shall, within ten working days after
12 24 the second anniversary of the date of assistance, fill out a
12 25 standardized progress report, as prescribed in section 16B.7,
12 26 subsection 3, and the recipient corporation shall sign the
12 27 progress report and certify its accuracy under penalty of
12 28 perjury. This second anniversary progress report shall be
12 29 filed by the granting body with the department of economic
12 30 development along with the granting body's next annual filing
12 31 of progress reports.
12 32 3. The granting body shall indicate on this second
12 33 anniversary progress report whether the recipient corporation
12 34 has achieved its job creation and wage and benefit goals, and
12 35 whether the corporate parent has maintained ninety percent of
13 1 its employment number in this state.
13 2 4. On all subsequent annual progress reports, the granting
13 3 body shall indicate whether or not the recipient corporation
13 4 is still in compliance with its job creation and wage and
13 5 benefit goals, and whether the corporate parent is still in
13 6 compliance with its employment maintenance requirement.
13 7 5. If for any progress report, beginning with the second
13 8 anniversary progress report, a granting body finds that a
13 9 recipient corporation has not achieved or maintained its job
13 10 creation or wage or benefit goals, or the corporate parent has
13 11 not maintained ninety percent of its employment number in the
13 12 state, the granting body must, within ten business days, file
13 13 a finding of development assistance default with the
13 14 department of economic development and with the recipient
13 15 corporation.
13 16 6. If a recipient corporation defaults on development
13 17 assistance, the recipient corporation must pay back to the
13 18 granting body that portion of the development assistance that
13 19 accrued to its benefit for the calendar year in which the
13 20 default occurred. For one=time forms of development
13 21 assistance, such as grants, a defaulting recipient corporation
13 22 must pay back to the granting body one=fifth of the value of
13 23 assistance for each year of default. Remittance of the
13 24 payback by the recipient corporation to the granting body
13 25 shall take place within sixty calendar days of the delivery of
13 26 the default notice to the recipient corporation.
13 27 7. If a recipient corporation defaults on development
13 28 assistance in three consecutive calendar years, the granting
13 29 body shall declare the development assistance null and void,
13 30 and shall so notify the department of economic development and
13 31 the recipient corporation. Upon such declaration, the
13 32 recipient corporation must pay back to the granting body all
13 33 the remaining value of the development assistance it has not
13 34 already paid back. Remittance of the development assistance
13 35 payback by the recipient corporation to the granting body
14 1 shall take place within one hundred eighty calendar days of
14 2 the delivery of such notice to the recipient corporation.
14 3 8. Subsections 6 and 7 are applicable if the state
14 4 statute, ordinance, or development assistance agreement
14 5 authorizing the development assistance provides for a lesser
14 6 penalty upon default of the recipient corporation.
14 7 9. Every aspect of all development assistance default
14 8 notices, recapture remittances, associated correspondence, and
14 9 related proceedings shall be subject to examination and
14 10 copying under chapter 22.
14 11 10. If a granting body fails to enforce this chapter, any
14 12 person who paid personal income taxes or sales or use taxes to
14 13 the state in the calendar year prior to the year in dispute,
14 14 or any organization representing such taxpayers, shall be
14 15 entitled to bring a civil action in state court to compel
14 16 enforcement of the provisions of this chapter. The court
14 17 shall award to any prevailing taxpayer plaintiff or
14 18 organizational plaintiff reasonable attorney fees and actual
14 19 incurred costs in pursuing such enforcement action.
14 20 Sec. 10. IMPLEMENTATION OF ACT. Section 25B.2, subsection
14 21 3, shall not apply to this Act.
14 22 EXPLANATION
14 23 This bill requires the department of revenue to provide to
14 24 the general assembly a report disclosing tax expenditures by
14 25 the state in the form of uncollected revenues by virtue of all
14 26 types of tax credits allowed to businesses. The report is to
14 27 be provided July 1, 2006, and each succeeding year.
14 28 Beginning April 1, 2006, the department of revenue is also
14 29 required to create a standardized disclosure form for use by
14 30 local governments, beginning in 2007, to report to the
14 31 department of revenue on the amount of property tax reductions
14 32 or abatements allowed in the previous fiscal year. If the
14 33 local government does not comply, current development
14 34 assistance activities under the control of the department of
14 35 economic development will be suspended and future assistance
15 1 prohibited in the local government's jurisdiction until the
15 2 local government complies.
15 3 The bill provides that, by April 1, 2006, the department of
15 4 economic development is required to create a standardized
15 5 application form for use by entities granting economic
15 6 development assistance. The bill further provides that,
15 7 beginning February 1, 2008, entities granting economic
15 8 development assistance are required to submit to the
15 9 department of economic development each application for
15 10 assistance received and the disposition of the application.
15 11 The bill requires that entities granting economic
15 12 development assistance perform specified analyses relating to
15 13 projected wages and benefits of the employees whose employers
15 14 will be receiving economic development assistance.
15 15 The bill provides for recapture of economic development
15 16 assistance if the recipient businesses do not achieve their
15 17 job creation and wage and benefit goals within two years of
15 18 the date of assistance. A recipient business is also required
15 19 to maintain its wage and benefit goals as long as the business
15 20 is receiving economic development assistance.
15 21 The bill may include a state mandate as defined in Code
15 22 section 25B.3. The bill makes inapplicable Code section
15 23 25B.2, subsection 3, which would relieve a political
15 24 subdivision from complying with a state mandate if funding for
15 25 the cost of the state mandate is not provided or specified.
15 26 Therefore, political subdivisions are required to comply with
15 27 any state mandate included in the bill.
15 28 LSB 2046HH 81
15 29 sc:rj/cf/24