|
|
| To enact section 122.176 of the Revised Code to | 1 |
| authorize grants to an employer that moves | 2 |
| operations into a previously vacant facility and | 3 |
| increases payroll by hiring and employing | 4 |
| employees at the facility. | 5 |
| Section 1. That section 122.176 of the Revised Code be | 6 |
| enacted to read as follows: | 7 |
| Sec. 122.176. (A) For purposes of this section: | 8 |
| (1) "Vacant commercial space" means space that has been | 9 |
| unoccupied and available for use in a trade or business for the | 10 |
| twelve months immediately preceding the lease or purchase date | 11 |
| described in division (B) of this section, located in either of | 12 |
| the following: | 13 |
| (a) A building, seventy-five per cent or more of the square | 14 |
| footage of which has been unoccupied and available for use in a | 15 |
| trade or business for the twelve months immediately preceding the | 16 |
| initial lease or purchase date described in division (B) of this | 17 |
| section; | 18 |
| (b) A business park, seventy-five per cent or more of the | 19 |
| square footage of which has been unoccupied and available for use | 20 |
| in a trade or business for the twelve months immediately preceding | 21 |
| the initial lease or purchase date described in division (B) of | 22 |
| this section. | 23 |
| For the purpose of determining whether a building, the | 24 |
| construction of which is not complete, has been unoccupied for the | 25 |
| required length of time, the building first becomes "unoccupied" | 26 |
| when its construction discontinues as determined by the person who | 27 |
| owned the property at that time. | 28 |
| (2) "Business park" means two or more buildings located on | 29 |
| the same or adjacent parcels held under common ownership. | 30 |
| (3) "Building" means a building as defined in section 3781.06 | 31 |
| of the Revised Code the construction of which is at least | 32 |
| eighty-five per cent complete and that may be lawfully occupied. | 33 |
| (4) "Qualifying employee" means an employee employed by an | 34 |
| employer, provided the employee is employed at the vacant | 35 |
| commercial space for a minimum of forty hours per week and has | 36 |
| been so employed for at least one year, the employer pays the | 37 |
| employee at a wage rate equal to or greater than the minimum wage | 38 |
| rate applicable under Chapter 4111. of the Revised Code, | 39 |
| employment of the employee increases the employer's payroll above | 40 |
| the employer's base employment threshold, and the employee had not | 41 |
| been employed by the employer within sixty days before the date | 42 |
| the employer purchases or enters into a lease for a vacant | 43 |
| commercial space. | 44 |
| (5) "Base employment threshold" means the total payroll of | 45 |
| the employer on the date the employer purchases or enters into a | 46 |
| lease for a vacant commercial space. | 47 |
| (B) This section does not apply to the federal government, | 48 |
| the state, the state's political subdivisions, or nonprofit | 49 |
| organizations. | 50 |
| An employer required to deduct and withhold income tax from | 51 |
| an employee's compensation under section 5747.06 and remit such | 52 |
| amounts under section 5747.07 of the Revised Code may apply to the | 53 |
| director of development for a grant from the vacant facilities | 54 |
| grant fund, provided that, on or after the effective date of this | 55 |
| section as enacted by H.B. 18 of the 129th general assembly, the | 56 |
| employer occupies under a lease or purchases vacant commercial | 57 |
| space at which the employer employs at least fifty employees or at | 58 |
| least fifty per cent of its employees who are employed in this | 59 |
| state. An employer may qualify for the grant only once. The amount | 60 |
| of the grant awarded under this section shall be five hundred | 61 |
| dollars for each qualifying employee. No grant application shall | 62 |
| be accepted by the director three years or later after the | 63 |
| effective date of this section. | 64 |
| An employer does not qualify for a grant under this section | 65 |
| if, during the year of the employer's application, the employer is | 66 |
| eligible to claim a tax credit or other incentive under an | 67 |
| agreement with the tax credit authority. | 68 |
| The director shall prescribe application materials and | 69 |
| explanations. An employer applying for a grant under this section | 70 |
| shall submit the following with the employer's application to the | 71 |
| director: | 72 |
| (1) An affidavit from the person who, in the case of a lease | 73 |
| of vacant commercial space, owns the property or, in the case of a | 74 |
| purchase, is the most recent owner of the property indicating that | 75 |
| the building meets the requirements of a vacant commercial space; | 76 |
| (2) Payroll records indicating, for each qualifying employee, | 77 |
| that the employee was employed for one year or longer at the | 78 |
| vacant commercial space; | 79 |
| (3) Quarterly reports of wage information submitted by the | 80 |
| employer to the department of job and family services pursuant to | 81 |
| section 4141.20 of the Revised Code indicating the employer's | 82 |
| qualifying employees and the employer's base employment threshold; | 83 |
| (4) A statement that the employer agrees to provide to the | 84 |
| director any receipts, invoices, or similar documents | 85 |
| demonstrating that the employer used the grant for the activities | 86 |
| described in division (C) of this section. | 87 |
| Upon receipt of an application, the director shall review the | 88 |
| application and attached materials and approve the application if, | 89 |
| to the director's satisfaction, the employer fulfills all the | 90 |
| grant requirements of this section, and if, in the judgment of the | 91 |
| director, the unencumbered balance in the vacant facilities grant | 92 |
| fund is sufficient to fund the amount of the grant. Upon approval | 93 |
| of a grant application, the director shall authorize the award of | 94 |
| the grant from the vacant facilities grant fund to the employer. | 95 |
| (C) An employer receiving a grant under this section from the | 96 |
| vacant facilities grant fund must use the grant for the | 97 |
| acquisition, construction, enlargement, improvement, or equipment | 98 |
| of property, structures, equipment, and facilities used by the | 99 |
| employer in business at the vacant commercial space occupied by | 100 |
| the employer. | 101 |
| (D) An employer may claim a grant under this section with | 102 |
| respect to a building, the construction of which is not complete, | 103 |
| only if the employer submits both of the following with the | 104 |
| employer's application: | 105 |
| (1) A copy of a certificate of occupancy from the appropriate | 106 |
| building authority indicating that the building may lawfully be | 107 |
| occupied pursuant to chapters 3781. and 3791. of the Revised Code; | 108 |
| (2) An affidavit from the person who owned the property at | 109 |
| the time construction discontinued indicating the date | 110 |
| construction discontinued. | 111 |
| (E) There is hereby created in the state treasury the vacant | 112 |
| facilities grant fund, which shall consist of money appropriated | 113 |
| to the fund by the general assembly. Money in the fund shall be | 114 |
| used solely for the purposes of this section. | 115 |
| Section 2. On July 1, 2012, or as soon as possible | 116 |
| thereafter, the Director of Budget and Management, in consultation | 117 |
| with the Director of Development, shall identify within the | 118 |
| Department of Development's budget up to $2,000,000 in unexpended, | 119 |
| unencumbered cash to be used to capitalize the Vacant Facilities | 120 |
| Grant Fund established in section 122.176 of the Revised Code. | 121 |
| When such funds have been identified, the Director of Budget and | 122 |
| Management shall transfer up to $2,000,000 cash from the | 123 |
| identified sources to the Vacant Facilities Grant Fund. The amount | 124 |
| transferred is hereby appropriated for fiscal year 2013. | 125 |