S.F. 491 Section 1. NEW SECTION . 15.221 New remote worker grant 1 program. 2 1. a. The economic development authority shall, pursuant to 3 section 15.106A, subsection 1, paragraph “o” , establish a new 4 remote worker grant fund for the purpose of providing grants to 5 new remote workers pursuant to this section. 6 b. The fund may consist of any moneys appropriated by the 7 general assembly for purposes of this section and any other 8 moneys that are lawfully available to the authority, including 9 moneys transferred or deposited from other funds created 10 pursuant to section 15.106A, subsection 1, paragraph “o” . 11 c. The authority shall use any moneys specifically 12 appropriated for purposes of this section only for the purposes 13 of this section. 14 d. Notwithstanding section 8.33, moneys remaining in the 15 fund at the end of each fiscal year shall not revert to any fund 16 and shall remain in the fund. 17 e. There is appropriated from the general fund of the state 18 to the new remote worker grant fund the sum of two million 19 five hundred thousand dollars for the new remote worker grant 20 program. The moneys shall be allocated by the authority as 21 follows: 22 (1) For the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2021, five hundred 23 thousand dollars. 24 (2) For the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2022, five hundred 25 thousand dollars. 26 (3) For the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2023, five hundred 27 thousand dollars. 28 (4) For the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2024, five hundred 29 thousand dollars. 30 (5) For the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2025, five hundred 31 thousand dollars. 32 2. As used in this section, unless the context otherwise 33 requires: 34 a. “Coworking space” means a shared office space in which 35 -1- LSB 1221SV (2) 89 ko/jh 1/ 5

S.F. 491 individuals that are not employed by the same organization work 1 independently or collaboratively. 2 b. “New remote worker” means an individual who meets all of 3 the following requirements: 4 (1) Is a full-time employee, as defined by the individual’s 5 employer. 6 (2) Performs the majority of the worker’s duties for the 7 business remotely from a home office or a coworking space 8 located in this state. 9 (3) Is a resident of this state. 10 c. “Qualifying remote worker expenses” means actual, 11 substantiated costs that a new remote worker incurs for any 12 of the following that are necessary to perform the new remote 13 worker’s employment duties and that are not reimbursed by the 14 employer: 15 (1) Relocation to a community in this state with a 16 population of fifteen thousand or less as reported in the most 17 current federal decennial census. 18 (2) Computer software and hardware. 19 (3) Broadband access or upgrade. 20 (4) Membership in a coworking space or a similar space. 21 d. “Resident” means a natural person who has physically 22 resided in this state as the person’s principal and primary 23 residence or domicile for a period of not less than ninety 24 consecutive days immediately before applying for a grant under 25 the new remote worker grant program and who has been issued an 26 Iowa driver’s license or an Iowa nonoperator’s identification 27 card. 28 3. A new remote worker shall be eligible for a grant under 29 this program for qualifying new remote worker expenses in an 30 amount not to exceed five thousand dollars per calendar year 31 for a maximum of two calendar years. 32 4. A new remote worker that receives a grant under the 33 program must remain employed full-time and must remain a 34 resident of this state for a minimum of one calendar year after 35 -2- LSB 1221SV (2) 89 ko/jh 2/ 5

S.F. 491 the date of receipt of the grant or the grant is subject to 1 recapture by the authority. 2 5. The authority shall adopt rules pursuant to chapter 17A 3 to implement and administer this section. The authority may 4 adopt rules on an emergency basis as provided in section 17A.4, 5 subsection 3, and section 17A.5, subsection 2, to administer 6 this section and the rules shall be effective immediately upon 7 filing unless a later date is specified in the rules. Any 8 emergency rules adopted in accordance with this section shall 9 also be published as a notice of intended action as provided 10 in section 17A.4, subsection l. 11 6. The authority shall submit a report to the general 12 assembly and the governor’s office that provides the total 13 number of grants awarded, the amount of each grant, the city 14 and county in this state in which each grantee resides, whether 15 the new remote worker works out of the person’s home or a 16 coworking space, and if applicable, the city and county in 17 which the coworking space is located. The report shall be 18 submitted by January 31 of each year for the prior calendar 19 year. 20 Sec. 2. Section 422.7, Code 2021, is amended by adding the 21 following new subsection: 22 NEW SUBSECTION . 63. Subtract, to the extent included, the 23 amount of any grant provided pursuant to the new remote worker 24 grant program under section 15.221. 25 EXPLANATION 26 The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with 27 the explanation’s substance by the members of the general assembly. 28 This bill establishes a new remote worker grant fund 29 (fund) and a new remote worker grant program (program) to be 30 administered by the economic development authority (authority). 31 The bill requires the authority to establish the fund for 32 the purpose of providing grants exempt from state income tax 33 to new remote workers (worker). The fund consists of any 34 moneys appropriated by the general assembly and any other 35 -3- LSB 1221SV (2) 89 ko/jh 3/ 5

S.F. 491 moneys available to the authority, including moneys transferred 1 or deposited from other funds created under Code section 2 15.106A(1)(o). The authority must use any moneys specifically 3 appropriated for the program only for purposes of the program. 4 Moneys remaining in the fund at the end of each fiscal year do 5 not revert and remain in the fund. 6 The bill appropriates $2.5 million from the general fund of 7 the state to the fund for the program. For each fiscal year 8 during the period beginning July 1, 2021, and ending June 30, 9 2026, the authority is required to allocate $500,000 for the 10 program. 11 The bill defines a “worker” as an individual who is a 12 full-time employee as defined by the individual’s employer, who 13 performs the majority of the worker’s duties remotely from a 14 home office or a coworking space located in this state, and 15 who is a resident of this state. “Resident” is defined as 16 a natural person who has physically resided in this state as 17 the person’s principal and primary residence or domicile for a 18 period of not less than 90 consecutive days immediately before 19 applying for a grant and who has been issued an Iowa driver’s 20 license or an Iowa nonoperator’s identification card. 21 Under the bill, a worker is eligible for a grant for 22 qualifying remote worker expenses (expenses) in an amount not 23 to exceed $5,000 per calendar year. “Expenses” is defined in 24 the bill as actual, substantiated costs that a worker incurs 25 for relocation to a community in this state with a population 26 of 15,000 or less, computer software and hardware, broadband 27 access or upgrade, and membership in a coworking space. The 28 expenses must be necessary to perform the worker’s employment 29 duties and cannot also be reimbursed by the employer. 30 “Coworking space” is defined in the bill. 31 A worker is eligible for a grant for a maximum of two 32 calendar years. A worker that is awarded a grant under the 33 program must remain employed full-time and must remain a 34 resident of this state for a minimum of one calendar year after 35 -4- LSB 1221SV (2) 89 ko/jh 4/ 5

S.F. 491 the date of receipt of the grant, or the grant is subject to 1 recapture by the authority. The bill provides that the amount 2 of any grant awarded under the program is deducted from the 3 worker’s net income to the extent included for state income tax 4 purposes. 5 The bill requires the authority to adopt rules to implement 6 and administer the bill. The bill also permits the authority 7 to adopt emergency rules. 8 The authority must submit a report to the general assembly 9 and the governor’s office providing details related to the 10 grants and grantees. The report is due by January 31 of every 11 year for the immediately preceding calendar year. 12 -5- LSB 1221SV (2) 89 ko/jh 5/ 5