Iowa-2019-HF2136-Introduced

H.F. 2136 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 million dollars. Of the 32 moneys appropriated under this paragraph, sixty percent shall 33 be reserved for grant awards to eligible businesses located in 34 rural communities. 35 -1- LSB 5503YH (10) 88 ko/jh 1/ 6

H.F. 2136 c. Notwithstanding section 12C.7, subsection 2, interest 1 or earnings on moneys in the fund shall accrue to the 2 authority and shall be used for purposes of this section. 3 Notwithstanding section 8.33, moneys in the fund at the end 4 of each fiscal year shall not revert to any other fund but 5 shall remain in the fund for expenditure for subsequent fiscal 6 years. All repayments or recaptures of grants provided under 7 this section shall accrue to the authority and shall be used 8 for purposes of this section. 9 d. The authority may use not more than five percent of the 10 moneys in the fund at the beginning of the fiscal year for 11 purposes of administrative costs, marketing, and other program 12 support. 13 3. The authority shall establish and administer a grow 14 Iowa’s talent pool grant program for purposes of awarding 15 grants to eligible businesses. 16 4. The authority shall begin to award grants from the fund 17 not later than January 1, 2021. 18 5. A business is eligible to apply for a grant under the 19 program if the business meets all of the following criteria at 20 the time of the business’s application: 21 a. The business is located in Iowa. 22 b. If the business has been a going concern for two years or 23 more, the business has not been found to be in violation of any 24 environmental or worker safety laws or rules. 25 c. The business only employs individuals legally authorized 26 to work in the state. 27 d. The business is not in bankruptcy and is not imminently 28 contemplating filing for bankruptcy. 29 e. The business has a candidate pending hire for a job with 30 the business that pays a minimum of fifteen dollars per hour 31 and the candidate currently resides in Puerto Rico. 32 f. The business has at least one letter of support from 33 community leaders of the community in which the candidate will 34 be working that supports the relocation of the candidate to the 35 -2- LSB 5503YH (10) 88 ko/jh 2/ 6

H.F. 2136 community. 1 g. The business can demonstrate the ability to match the 2 grant awarded by the authority in an amount equal to one dollar 3 for every dollar of the grant awarded by the authority. 4 6. Upon approval by the authority of a business’s 5 application, the business shall enter into an agreement with 6 the authority which shall include but not be limited to all of 7 the following provisions: 8 a. The business shall use the grant, and the matching 9 dollar-for-dollar contribution from the business, specifically 10 for relocation-related expenses for the candidate for whom 11 the business was awarded the grant. The relocation-related 12 expenses must be substantiated by the candidate. 13 Relocation-related expenses may include any of the following: 14 (1) The cost of the candidate’s transportation to the state. 15 (2) The costs to pack and move the candidate’s personal 16 possessions. 17 (3) Housing and utility deposits for the candidate’s 18 housing in the state. 19 (4) Up to three months rent for the candidate’s housing in 20 the state. 21 (5) Temporary storage fees for the candidate’s personal 22 possessions. 23 (6) A transportation allowance. 24 b. If the business, after being awarded a grant, does 25 not continue to meet all of the eligibility criteria under 26 subsection 5, all or a portion of the grant received is subject 27 to disallowance, recapture, or immediate repayment. 28 c. If, after being awarded a grant, the business ceases 29 operations or removes a significant portion of its operations 30 to a location outside of the state, all or a portion of the 31 grant received is subject to disallowance, recapture, or 32 immediate repayment. 33 7. A grant awarded to an eligible business pursuant to the 34 program shall not exceed five thousand dollars per relocating 35 -3- LSB 5503YH (10) 88 ko/jh 3/ 6

H.F. 2136 candidate. 1 8. An eligible business may receive more than one grant 2 under this section. An eligible business must submit a new 3 application for each grant. 4 9. The authority shall, by January 15 of each year, submit 5 a report on the program to the general assembly. The report 6 shall include all of the following information for each 7 business that is awarded a grant under the program in the 8 immediately preceding calendar year: 9 a. The number of candidates relocated by the business. 10 b. The job, and the pay rate, for which each candidate 11 relocated. 12 c. The total amount of the grant the authority awarded to 13 the business. 14 d. The city and county in which the business is located. 15 e. Whether the business is a start-up or a going concern. 16 f. The current number of open jobs at the business. 17 10. The authority shall adopt rules pursuant to chapter 17A 18 as necessary to administer the program. 19 EXPLANATION 20 The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with 21 the explanation’s substance by the members of the general assembly. 22 This bill relates to the establishment of a grant fund 23 and a grant program administered by the economic development 24 authority to assist eligible out-of-state candidates residing 25 in Puerto Rico with relocation expenses to move to the state 26 to fill specific jobs. 27 The bill creates a grow Iowa’s talent pool grant fund 28 (fund) in the state treasury under the control of the economic 29 development authority (authority) that consists of any moneys 30 appropriated to the fund by the general assembly and any other 31 moneys available to the authority for placement in the fund. 32 The fund must be used to provide grants as provided under 33 the grow Iowa’s talent pool grant program (program) and the 34 authority must use any moneys specifically appropriated for 35 -4- LSB 5503YH (10) 88 ko/jh 4/ 6

H.F. 2136 purposes of the program only for purposes of the program. 1 The bill establishes a $2 million standing appropriation 2 from the general fund of the state to the authority for deposit 3 in the fund for the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2020. Of the 4 appropriated moneys, 60 percent must be reserved for grants 5 to eligible businesses located in rural communities. “Rural 6 community” is defined in the bill as any city or township 7 located in the state that has a population of 50,000 or less, 8 except those located wholly within 1 or more of the 11 most 9 populous counties in the state, as determined by the most 10 recent population estimates issued by the United States bureau 11 of census. 12 Interest or earnings on moneys in the fund accrue to the 13 authority and must be used for purposes of the program. Moneys 14 in the fund at the end of each fiscal year do not revert to 15 any other fund but remain in the fund for expenditure for 16 subsequent fiscal years. All repayments or recaptures of 17 grants provided under the program accrue to the authority to 18 be used for purposes of the program. The authority may use not 19 more than 5 percent of the moneys in the fund at the beginning 20 of the fiscal year for purposes of administrative costs, 21 marketing, and other program support. The authority must begin 22 to award grants from the fund not later than January 1, 2021. 23 The bill requires the authority to establish and administer 24 the program for purposes of awarding grants to eligible 25 businesses. A business is eligible to apply for a grant 26 under the program if, at the time the business applies, the 27 business is located in Iowa, as defined in the bill; if the 28 business has been a going concern for two years or more, 29 the business has not been found to be in violation of any 30 environmental or worker safety laws or rules; the business 31 only employs individuals legally authorized to work in the 32 state; the business is not in bankruptcy and is not imminently 33 contemplating filing for bankruptcy; the business has a 34 candidate pending hire for a job at the business that pays a 35 -5- LSB 5503YH (10) 88 ko/jh 5/ 6

H.F. 2136 minimum of $15 per hour and the candidate currently resides in 1 Puerto Rico; the business has at least one letter of support 2 from community leaders of the community in which the candidate 3 will be working that supports the candidate’s relocation; and 4 the business can demonstrate the ability to match a grant 5 awarded by the authority in an amount equal to $1 for every 6 dollar awarded by the authority. 7 A grant awarded to an eligible business cannot exceed $5,000 8 per relocating candidate. Upon approval of a business’s 9 application, the business must enter into an agreement 10 with the authority that must include a provision requiring 11 the business to use the grant assistance, and the matching 12 dollar-for-dollar contribution from the business, specifically 13 for relocation-related expenses, as detailed in the bill, for 14 the candidate for whom the business was awarded the grant. The 15 candidate must substantiate the relocation-related expenses. 16 The agreement must also have provisions allowing for all or 17 a portion of the grant received to be subject to disallowance, 18 recapture, or immediate repayment, in certain circumstances as 19 outlined in the bill. 20 An eligible business may receive more than one grant under 21 the program and must submit a new application for each award. 22 The bill requires the authority to submit an annual report on 23 the program to the general assembly. The report must include 24 information as outlined in the bill for each business that is 25 awarded a grant under the program in the immediately preceding 26 calendar year. 27 The authority is required to adopt rules pursuant to Code 28 chapter 17A as necessary to administer the program. 29 -6- LSB 5503YH (10) 88 ko/jh 6/ 6