CHAPTER 470
An Act to amend and reenact §§15.2-1301 and 62.1-132.3:2 of
the Code of Virginia, relating to Port of Virginia Economic and Infrastructure
Development Grant Program.
[H 672]
Approved April 1, 2014
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia:
1. That §§15.2-1301 and 62.1-132.3:2 of the Code of Virginia
are amended and reenacted as follows:
§15.2-1301. Voluntary economic growth-sharing agreements.
A. Any county, city or town, or combination thereof, may enter
voluntarily into an agreement with any other county, city or town, or
combination thereof, whereby the locality may agree for any purpose otherwise
permitted, including the provision on a multi-jurisdictional basis of one or
more public services or facilities or any type of economic development project,
to enter into binding fiscal arrangements for fixed time periods, to exceed one
year, to share in the benefits of the economic growth of their localities.
However, if any such agreement contains any provision addressing any issue
provided for in Chapters 32, 33, 36, 38, 39, or 41 of this title, the agreement
shall be subject to the review and implementation process established by
Chapter 34 of this title.
B. The terms and conditions of the revenue, tax base or
economic growth-sharing agreement as provided in subsection A shall be
determined by the affected localities and shall be approved by the governing
body of each locality participating in the agreement, provided the governing
body of each such locality first holds a public hearing which shall be
advertised once a week for two successive weeks in a newspaper of general
circulation in the locality. However, the public hearing shall not take place
until the Commission on Local Government has issued its findings in accordance
with subsection D. For purposes of this section, "revenue, tax base, and
economic growth-sharing agreements" means any agreement authorized by
subsection A which obligates any locality to pay another locality all or any portion
of designated taxes or other revenues received by that political subdivision,
but shall not include any interlocal service agreement.
C. Any revenue, tax base or economic growth-sharing agreement
entered into under the provisions of this section that creates a debt pursuant
to Article VII, Section 10 (b) of the Constitution of Virginia, shall require
the board of supervisors to hold a special election on the question as provided
in §15.2-3401.
D. Revenue, tax base, and economic growth-sharing agreements
drafted under the provisions of this chapter shall be submitted to the
Commission on Local Government for review as provided in subdivision 4 of §
15.2-2903. However, no such review shall be required for two or more localities
located in the Port of Virginia Economic and Infrastructure Development Zone,
established pursuant to § 62.1-132.3:2, to enter entering
into an economic growth-sharing agreement pursuant to this section in order
to facilitate the reception of grants for qualified companies in such locality
pursuant to the Port of Virginia Economic and Infrastructure Development Grant
Fund and Program established pursuant to §62.1-132.3:2.
§62.1-132.3:2. Port of Virginia Economic and Infrastructure
Development Grant Fund and Program.
A. From such funds as may be appropriated by the General
Assembly and any gifts, grants, or donations from public or private sources,
and any funds transferred at the request of the Executive Director from the
Port Opportunity Fund created pursuant to §62.1-132.3:1, there is hereby
created in the state treasury a special nonreverting, permanent fund to be
known as the Port of Virginia Economic and Infrastructure Development Zone
Grant Fund (the Fund), to be administered by the Virginia Port Authority. The
Fund shall be established on the books of the Comptroller. Any moneys remaining
in the Fund at the end of each fiscal year, including interest thereon, shall
not revert to the general fund but shall remain in the Fund. Expenditures and
disbursements from the Fund, which shall be in the form of grants, shall be
made by the State Treasurer on warrants issued by the Comptroller upon written
request signed by the Executive Director. Moneys in the Fund shall be used
solely for the purpose of grants to qualified applicants to the Port of
Virginia Economic and Infrastructure Development Zone Grant Program.
B. The Virginia General Assembly does hereby designate the
following localities to be part of the Port of Virginia Economic and
Infrastructure Development Zone: the Counties of Brunswick, Chesterfield,
Charles City, Clarke, Dinwiddie, Frederick, Gloucester, Greensville, Henrico,
Hanover, Isle of Wight, James City, Mecklenburg, Montgomery, New Kent, Page,
Prince George, Shenandoah, Southampton, Surry, Sussex, Warren, and York; and
the Cities of Chesapeake, Colonial Heights, Emporia, Franklin, Hampton,
Hopewell, Newport News, Norfolk, Petersburg, Poquoson, Portsmouth, Richmond,
Suffolk, Virginia Beach, Williamsburg, and Winchester.
C. As used in this section, unless the context requires
a different meaning:
"New, permanent full-time position" means a job of
an indefinite duration, created by a qualified company as a result of
operations within the Zone Commonwealth, requiring a minimum of
35 hours of an employee's time per week for the entire normal year of the
company's operations, which normal year shall consist of at least 48 weeks, or
a position of indefinite duration that requires a minimum of 35 hours of an
employee's time per week for the portion of the taxable year in which the
employee was initially hired for the qualified company's location within the
Zone Commonwealth. Seasonal "New, permanent full-time
position" includes security positions as required within a foreign trade
zone, established pursuant to Foreign Trade Zones Act of 1934, as amended (19
U.S.C. §§81a through 81u). "New, permanent full-time position" does
not include seasonal or temporary positions, or jobs created when a
position is shifted from an existing location in the Commonwealth to the qualified
company's new or expanded location within the Zone, and
or positions in building and grounds maintenance, security, and
or other positions that are ancillary to the principal activities performed
by the employees at the qualified company's location within the Zone shall
not qualify as new, permanent full-time positions Commonwealth.
"Qualified company" means a corporation, limited
liability company, partnership, joint, venture, or other business entity
that (i) locates or expands a facility within the Zone Commonwealth;
(ii) creates at least 25 new, permanent full-time positions for qualified
full-time employees at a facility within the Zone Commonwealth
during its first year of operation within the Zone or during the year
when the expansion occurs; (iii) is involved in maritime commerce or exports or
imports manufactured goods through the Port of Virginia; and (iv) is engaged in
one or more of the following: the distribution, freight forwarding, freight
handling, goods processing, manufacturing, warehousing, crossdocking,
transloading, or wholesaling of goods exported and imported through the Port of
Virginia; ship building and ship repair; dredging; marine construction; or
offshore energy exploration or extraction.
"Qualified full-time employee" means an employee
filling a new, permanent full-time position in the qualified company's location
within the Zone Commonwealth. A "qualified full-time
employee" does not include an employee (i) for whom a tax credit was
previously earned pursuant to §58.1-439 or 58.1-439.12:06 by a related party
as defined listed in §267(b) of the Internal Revenue Code or by
a trade or business under common control as defined in regulations issued
pursuant to §52(b) of the Internal Revenue Code; (ii) who was previously
employed in the same job function at an existing location in Virginia
the Commonwealth by a related party as defined listed in §
267(b) of the Internal Revenue Code; or (iii) whose job function was previously
performed at a different location in Virginia the Commonwealth by
an employee of a related party as defined listed in §267(b) of
the Internal Revenue Code or a trade or business under common control as
defined in regulations issued pursuant to §52(b) of the Internal
Revenue Code.
"Zone" means the Port of Virginia Economic and
Infrastructure Development Zone.
D. C. Beginning January 1, 2013 2014,
but not later than June 30, 2020, and subject to appropriation, any qualified
company that locates or expands a facility within the Port of Virginia
Economic and Infrastructure Development Zone Commonwealth shall be
eligible to apply for a one-time grant from the Fund, in an amount determined
as follows:
1. One thousand dollars per new, permanent full-time position
if the qualified company creates at least 25 new, permanent full-time positions
for qualified full-time employees during its first year of operation within
the Zone or during the year in which the expansion occurs;
2. Fifteen hundred dollars per new, permanent full-time
position if the qualified company creates at least 50 new, permanent full-time
positions for qualified full-time employees during its first year of operation
within the Zone or during the year in which the expansion occurs;
3. Two thousand dollars per new, permanent full-time position
if the qualified company creates at least 75 new, permanent full-time positions
for qualified full-time employees during its first year of operation within
the Zone or during the year in which the expansion occurs; and
4. Three thousand dollars per new, permanent full-time
position if the qualified company creates at least 100 new, permanent full-time
positions for qualified full-time employees during its first year of operation
within the Zone or during the year in which the expansion occurs.
E. D. The maximum amount of grant allowable per
qualified company in any given fiscal year is $500,000. The maximum amount of
grants allowable among all qualified companies in any given fiscal year is $5,000,000
$5 million.
F. E. To qualify for a grant pursuant to this
section, a qualified company must apply for the grant not later than March 31
in the year immediately following the location or expansion of a facility
within the Zone Commonwealth pursuant to an application process
developed by the Virginia Port Authority. Within 90 days after the filing
deadline, the Executive Director shall certify to the Comptroller and the
qualified company the amount of grant to which the qualified company is
entitled under this section. Payment of each grant shall be made by check issued
by the State Treasurer of Virginia on warrant of the Comptroller
within 60 days of such certification and in the order that each completed
eligible application is received. In the event that the amount of eligible
grants requested in a fiscal year exceeds the funds available in the Fund or $5,000,000
$5 million, such grants shall be paid in the next fiscal year in which
funds are available.
G. F. Prior to receipt of a grant, the qualified
company shall enter into a memorandum of understanding with the Virginia Port
Authority establishing the requirements for maintaining the number of new,
permanent full-time positions for qualified employees at the qualified
company's location within the Zone Commonwealth. If the number of
new, permanent full-time positions for any of the three years immediately
following receipt of a grant falls below the number of new, permanent full-time
positions created during the year for which the grant is claimed, the amount of
the grant must be recalculated using the decreased number of new, permanent
full-time positions and the qualified company shall repay the difference.
H. G. No qualified company shall apply for a
grant nor shall one be awarded under this section to an otherwise qualified
company if (i) a credit pursuant to §58.1-439 or 58.1-439.12:06 is claimed for
the same employees or for capital expenditures at the same facility by the
qualified company, by a related party as defined listed in §
267(b) of the Internal Revenue Code, or by a trade or business under common
control as defined in regulations issued pursuant to §52(b) of the
Internal Revenue Code or (ii) the qualified company was a party to a
reorganization as defined in §368(b) of the Internal Revenue Code, and any
corporation involved in the reorganization as defined in §368(a) of the
Internal Revenue Code previously received a grant under this section for the
same facility or operations.
I. H. The Virginia Port Authority, with the
assistance of the Virginia Economic Development Partnership, shall develop
guidelines establishing procedures and requirements for qualifying for the
grant, including the affirmative determination that each applicant is a
qualified company, as defined above, engaged in a port-related business. The
guidelines shall be exempt from the Administrative Process Act (§2.2-4000 et
seq.). For the purposes of administering this grant program, the Virginia
Port Authority and the Department of Taxation shall exchange information
regarding whether a qualified company, a related party as listed in §267(b) of
the Internal Revenue Code, or a trade or business under common control as
defined in regulations issued pursuant to §52(b) of the Internal Revenue Code
has claimed a credit pursuant to §58.1-439 or 58.1-439.12:06 for the same
employees or for capital expenditures at the same facility.
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