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Sub. H. B. No. 18 As Reported by the Senate Ways and Means and Economic Development CommitteeAs Reported by the Senate Ways and Means and Economic Development Committee
129th General Assembly | Regular Session | 2011-2012 |
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Cosponsors:
Representatives Adams, J., Beck, Blair, Blessing, Boose, Combs, Derickson, Dovilla, Hayes, Henne, Huffman, Pillich, Ruhl, Snitchler, Stinziano, Uecker, Letson, Anielski, Barnes, Bubp, Buchy, Driehaus, Duffey, Garland, Grossman, Hackett, Hagan, C., Hall, Hill, Johnson, Kozlowski, Landis, Lundy, Maag, Martin, McClain, Milkovich, Newbold, Sears, Slaby, Sprague, Terhar, Winburn, Young Speaker Batchelder
Senators Schaffer, Patton
A BILL
To enact section 122.176 of the Revised Code to
authorize grants to an employer that moves
operations into a previously vacant facility and
increases payroll by hiring and employing
employees at the facility.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF OHIO:
Section 1. That section 122.176 of the Revised Code be
enacted to read as follows:
Sec. 122.176. (A) For purposes of this section:
(1) "Vacant commercial space" means space that has been
unoccupied and available for use in a trade or business for the
twelve months immediately preceding the lease or purchase date
described in division (B) of this section, located in either of
the following:
(a) A building, seventy-five per cent or more of the square
footage of which has been unoccupied and available for use in a
trade or business for the twelve months immediately preceding the
initial lease or purchase date described in division (B) of this
section;
(b) A business park, seventy-five per cent or more of the
square footage of which has been unoccupied and available for use
in a trade or business for the twelve months immediately preceding
the initial lease or purchase date described in division (B) of
this section.
For the purpose of determining whether a building, the
construction of which is not complete, has been unoccupied for the
required length of time, the building first becomes "unoccupied"
when its construction discontinues as determined by the person who
owned the property at that time.
(2) "Business park" means two or more buildings located on
the same or adjacent parcels held under common ownership.
(3) "Building" means a building as defined in section 3781.06
of the Revised Code the construction of which is at least
eighty-five per cent complete and that may be lawfully occupied.
(4) "Qualifying employee" means an employee employed by an
employer, provided the employee is employed at the vacant
commercial space for a minimum of forty hours per week and has
been so employed for at least one year, the employer pays the
employee at a wage rate equal to or greater than the minimum wage
rate applicable under Chapter 4111. of the Revised Code,
employment of the employee increases the employer's payroll above
the employer's base employment threshold, and the employee had not
been employed by the employer within sixty days before the date
the employer purchases or enters into a lease for a vacant
commercial space.
(5) "Base employment threshold" means the total payroll of
the employer on the date the employer purchases or enters into a
lease for a vacant commercial space.
(B) This section does not apply to the federal government,
the state, the state's political subdivisions, or nonprofit
organizations.
An employer required to deduct and withhold income tax from
an employee's compensation under section 5747.06 and remit such
amounts under section 5747.07 of the Revised Code may apply to the
director of development for a grant from the vacant facilities
grant fund, provided that, on or after the effective date of this
section as enacted by H.B. 18 of the 129th general assembly, the
employer occupies under a lease or purchases vacant commercial
space at which the employer employs at least fifty employees or at
least fifty per cent of its employees who are employed in this
state. An employer may qualify for the grant only once. The amount
of the grant awarded under this section shall be five hundred
dollars for each qualifying employee. No grant application shall
be accepted by the director three years or later after the
effective date of this section.
An employer does not qualify for a grant under this section
if, during the year of the employer's application, the employer is
eligible to claim a tax credit or other incentive under an
agreement with the tax credit authority.
The director shall prescribe application materials and
explanations. An employer applying for a grant under this section
shall submit the following with the employer's application to the
director:
(1) An affidavit from the person who, in the case of a lease
of vacant commercial space, owns the property or, in the case of a
purchase, is the most recent owner of the property indicating that
the building meets the requirements of a vacant commercial space;
(2) Payroll records indicating, for each qualifying employee,
that the employee was employed for one year or longer at the
vacant commercial space;
(3) Quarterly reports of wage information submitted by the
employer to the department of job and family services pursuant to
section 4141.20 of the Revised Code indicating the employer's
qualifying employees and the employer's base employment threshold;
(4) A statement that the employer agrees to provide to the
director any receipts, invoices, or similar documents
demonstrating that the employer used the grant for the activities
described in division (C) of this section.
Upon receipt of an application, the director shall review the
application and attached materials and approve the application if,
to the director's satisfaction, the employer fulfills all the
grant requirements of this section, and if, in the judgment of the
director, the unencumbered balance in the vacant facilities grant
fund is sufficient to fund the amount of the grant. Upon approval
of a grant application, the director shall authorize the award of
the grant from the vacant facilities grant fund to the employer.
(C) An employer receiving a grant under this section from the
vacant facilities grant fund must use the grant for the
acquisition, construction, enlargement, improvement, or equipment
of property, structures, equipment, and facilities used by the
employer in business at the vacant commercial space occupied by
the employer.
(D) An employer may claim a grant under this section with
respect to a building, the construction of which is not complete,
only if the employer submits both of the following with the
employer's application:
(1) A copy of a certificate of occupancy from the appropriate
building authority indicating that the building may lawfully be
occupied pursuant to chapters 3781. and 3791. of the Revised Code;
(2) An affidavit from the person who owned the property at
the time construction discontinued indicating the date
construction discontinued.
(E) There is hereby created in the state treasury the vacant
facilities grant fund, which shall consist of money appropriated
to the fund by the general assembly. Money in the fund shall be
used solely for the purposes of this section.
Section 2. On July 1, 2012, or as soon as possible
thereafter, the Director of Budget and Management, in consultation
with the Director of Development, shall identify within the
Department of Development's budget up to $2,000,000 in unexpended,
unencumbered cash to be used to capitalize the Vacant Facilities
Grant Fund established in section 122.176 of the Revised Code.
When such funds have been identified, the Director of Budget and
Management shall transfer up to $2,000,000 cash from the
identified sources to the Vacant Facilities Grant Fund. The amount
transferred is hereby appropriated for fiscal year 2013.
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