House File 2569 - Introduced HOUSE FILE 2569 BY COMMITTEE ON STATE GOVERNMENT (SUCCESSOR TO HF 2136) A BILL FOR An Act relating to the establishment of a grant fund and a 1 grant program administered by the economic development 2 authority to assist eligible out-of-state candidates 3 residing in Puerto Rico with relocation expenses to 4 move to the state to fill specific jobs, and making an 5 appropriation. 6 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA: 7 TLSB 5503HV (2) 88 ko/jh

H.F. 2569 Section 1. NEW SECTION . 15.371 Grow Iowa’s talent pool 1 grant program and fund. 2 1. As used in this section, unless the context otherwise 3 requires: 4 a. “Eligible business” means a business meeting the 5 requirements of subsection 5. 6 b. “Fund” means the grow Iowa’s talent pool grant fund. 7 c. “Located in” means the place at which a business’s 8 operations are located and where at least ninety-five percent 9 of the business’s employees work, or where employees that are 10 paid at least ninety-five percent of the business’s payroll 11 work. 12 d. “Program” means the grow Iowa’s talent pool grant 13 program. 14 e. “Rural community” means any city or township located 15 in the state that has a population of fifty thousand or less, 16 except those located wholly within one or more of the eleven 17 most populous counties in the state, as determined by the most 18 recent population estimates issued by the United States bureau 19 of census. 20 2. a. A grow Iowa’s talent pool grant fund is created 21 in the state treasury under the control of the authority and 22 consisting of any moneys appropriated to the fund by the 23 general assembly and any other moneys available and obtained or 24 accepted by the authority for placement in the fund. The fund 25 shall be used to provide grants as provided under the program. 26 The authority shall use any moneys specifically appropriated 27 for purposes of this section only for the purposes of this 28 section. 29 b. There is appropriated from the general fund of the state 30 to the authority for deposit in the fund for the fiscal year 31 beginning July 1, 2020, the sum of two hundred fifty thousand 32 dollars. Of the moneys appropriated under this paragraph, 33 sixty percent shall be reserved for grant awards to eligible 34 businesses located in rural communities. 35 -1- LSB 5503HV (2) 88 ko/jh 1/ 7

H.F. 2569 c. The director of the authority may transfer any 1 unobligated and unencumbered moneys in any fund created 2 pursuant to section 15.106A, subsection 1, paragraph “o” , for 3 deposit in the fund. 4 d. Notwithstanding section 12C.7, subsection 2, interest 5 or earnings on moneys in the fund shall accrue to the 6 authority and shall be used for purposes of this section. 7 Notwithstanding section 8.33, moneys in the fund at the end 8 of each fiscal year shall not revert to any other fund but 9 shall remain in the fund for expenditure for subsequent fiscal 10 years. All repayments or recaptures of grants provided under 11 this section shall accrue to the authority and shall be used 12 for purposes of this section. 13 e. The authority may use not more than five percent of the 14 moneys in the fund at the beginning of the fiscal year for 15 purposes of administrative costs, marketing, and other program 16 support. 17 3. The authority shall establish and administer a grow 18 Iowa’s talent pool grant program for purposes of awarding 19 grants to eligible businesses. 20 4. The authority shall begin to award grants from the fund 21 not later than January 1, 2021. 22 5. A business is eligible to apply for a grant under the 23 program if the business meets all of the following criteria at 24 the time of the business’s application: 25 a. The business is located in Iowa. 26 b. If the business has been a going concern for two years or 27 more, the business has not been found to be in violation of any 28 environmental or worker safety laws or rules. 29 c. The business only employs individuals legally authorized 30 to work in the state. 31 d. The business is not in bankruptcy and is not imminently 32 contemplating filing for bankruptcy. 33 e. The business has a candidate pending hire for a job with 34 the business that pays the laborshed wage and the candidate 35 -2- LSB 5503HV (2) 88 ko/jh 2/ 7

H.F. 2569 currently resides in Puerto Rico. For purposes of this 1 paragraph, “laborshed wage” means the wage level represented 2 by a wage within two standard deviations from the mean wage 3 within the laborshed area in which the business is located, as 4 calculated by the authority, by rule, using the most current 5 covered wage and employment data available from the department 6 of workforce development for the laborshed area. 7 f. The business offers health insurance for its employees 8 and the employees’ dependents. 9 g. The business has at least one letter of support from 10 community leaders of the community in which the candidate will 11 be working that supports the relocation of the candidate to the 12 community. 13 h. The business can demonstrate the ability to match the 14 grant awarded by the authority in an amount equal to one dollar 15 for every dollar of the grant awarded by the authority. 16 6. Upon approval by the authority of a business’s 17 application, the business shall enter into an agreement with 18 the authority which shall include but not be limited to all of 19 the following provisions: 20 a. The business shall use the grant, and the matching 21 dollar-for-dollar contribution from the business, specifically 22 for relocation-related expenses for the candidate for whom 23 the business was awarded the grant. The relocation-related 24 expenses must be substantiated by the candidate. 25 Relocation-related expenses may include any of the following: 26 (1) The cost of the candidate’s transportation to the state. 27 (2) The costs to pack and move the candidate’s personal 28 possessions. 29 (3) Housing and utility deposits for the candidate’s 30 housing in the state. 31 (4) Up to three months rent for the candidate’s housing in 32 the state. 33 (5) Temporary storage fees for the candidate’s personal 34 possessions. 35 -3- LSB 5503HV (2) 88 ko/jh 3/ 7

H.F. 2569 (6) A transportation allowance. 1 b. If the business, after being awarded a grant, does 2 not continue to meet all of the eligibility criteria under 3 subsection 5, all or a portion of the grant received is subject 4 to disallowance, recapture, or immediate repayment. 5 c. If, after being awarded a grant, the business ceases 6 operations or removes a significant portion of its operations 7 to a location outside of the state, all or a portion of the 8 grant received is subject to disallowance, recapture, or 9 immediate repayment. 10 7. A grant awarded to an eligible business pursuant to the 11 program shall not exceed five thousand dollars per relocating 12 candidate. 13 8. An eligible business may receive more than one grant 14 under this section. An eligible business must submit a new 15 application for each grant. 16 9. The authority shall, by January 15 of each year, submit 17 a report on the program to the general assembly. The report 18 shall include all of the following information for each 19 business that is awarded a grant under the program in the 20 immediately preceding calendar year: 21 a. The number of candidates relocated by the business. 22 b. The job, and the pay rate, for which each candidate 23 relocated. 24 c. The total amount of the grant the authority awarded to 25 the business. 26 d. The city and county in which the business is located. 27 e. Whether the business is a start-up or a going concern. 28 f. The current number of open jobs at the business. 29 10. The authority shall adopt rules pursuant to chapter 17A 30 as necessary to administer the program. 31 EXPLANATION 32 The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with 33 the explanation’s substance by the members of the general assembly. 34 This bill relates to the establishment of a grant fund 35 -4- LSB 5503HV (2) 88 ko/jh 4/ 7

H.F. 2569 and a grant program administered by the economic development 1 authority to assist eligible out-of-state candidates residing 2 in Puerto Rico with relocation expenses to move to the state 3 to fill specific jobs. 4 The bill creates a grow Iowa’s talent pool grant fund 5 (fund) in the state treasury under the control of the economic 6 development authority (authority) that consists of any moneys 7 appropriated to the fund by the general assembly and any other 8 moneys available to the authority for placement in the fund. 9 The fund must be used to provide grants as provided under 10 the grow Iowa’s talent pool grant program (program) and the 11 authority must use any moneys specifically appropriated for 12 purposes of the program only for purposes of the program. 13 The bill appropriates $250,000 from the general fund of the 14 state to the authority for deposit in the fund for the fiscal 15 year beginning July 1, 2020. Of the appropriated moneys, 60 16 percent must be reserved for grants to eligible businesses 17 located in rural communities. “Rural community” is defined in 18 the bill as any city or township located in the state that has 19 a population of 50,000 or less, except those located wholly 20 within 1 or more of the 11 most populous counties in the state, 21 as determined by the most recent population estimates issued by 22 the United States bureau of census. 23 Interest or earnings on moneys in the fund accrue to the 24 authority and must be used for purposes of the program. Moneys 25 in the fund at the end of each fiscal year do not revert to 26 any other fund but remain in the fund for expenditure for 27 subsequent fiscal years. All repayments or recaptures of 28 grants provided under the program accrue to the authority to 29 be used for purposes of the program. The director of the 30 authority may transfer any unobligated and unencumbered moneys 31 in any fund created pursuant to Code section 15.106A(1)(o) 32 for deposit in the fund. The authority may use not more than 33 5 percent of the moneys in the fund at the beginning of the 34 fiscal year for purposes of administrative costs, marketing, 35 -5- LSB 5503HV (2) 88 ko/jh 5/ 7

H.F. 2569 and other program support. The authority must begin to award 1 grants from the fund not later than January 1, 2021. 2 The bill requires the authority to establish and administer 3 the program for purposes of awarding grants to eligible 4 businesses. A business is eligible to apply for a grant 5 under the program if, at the time the business applies, the 6 business is located in Iowa, as defined in the bill; if the 7 business has been a going concern for two years or more, 8 the business has not been found to be in violation of any 9 environmental or worker safety laws or rules; the business 10 only employs individuals legally authorized to work in the 11 state; the business is not in bankruptcy and is not imminently 12 contemplating filing for bankruptcy; the business has a 13 candidate pending hire for a job at the business that pays 14 the laborshed wage and the candidate currently resides in 15 Puerto Rico; the business offers health insurance for its 16 employees and the employees’ dependents; the business has at 17 least one letter of support from community leaders of the 18 community in which the candidate will be working that supports 19 the candidate’s relocation; and the business can demonstrate 20 the ability to match a grant awarded by the authority in an 21 amount equal to $1 for every dollar awarded by the authority. 22 “Laborshed wage” is defined in the bill as the wage level 23 represented by a wage within two standard deviations from the 24 mean wage within the laborshed area in which the business is 25 located, as calculated by the authority, by rule, using the 26 most current covered wage and employment data available from 27 the department of workforce development for the laborshed area. 28 A grant awarded to an eligible business cannot exceed $5,000 29 per relocating candidate. Upon approval of a business’s 30 application, the business must enter into an agreement 31 with the authority that must include a provision requiring 32 the business to use the grant assistance, and the matching 33 dollar-for-dollar contribution from the business, specifically 34 for relocation-related expenses, as detailed in the bill, for 35 -6- LSB 5503HV (2) 88 ko/jh 6/ 7

H.F. 2569 the candidate for whom the business was awarded the grant. The 1 candidate must substantiate the relocation-related expenses. 2 The agreement must also have provisions allowing for all or 3 a portion of the grant received to be subject to disallowance, 4 recapture, or immediate repayment, in certain circumstances as 5 outlined in the bill. 6 An eligible business may receive more than one grant under 7 the program and must submit a new application for each award. 8 The bill requires the authority to submit an annual report on 9 the program to the general assembly. The report must include 10 information as outlined in the bill for each business that is 11 awarded a grant under the program in the immediately preceding 12 calendar year. 13 The authority is required to adopt rules pursuant to Code 14 chapter 17A as necessary to administer the program. 15 -7- LSB 5503HV (2) 88 ko/jh 7/ 7