2.2-5102.1 - Virginia Economic Development Incentive Grants.
§ 2.2-5102.1. Virginia Economic Development Incentive Grants.
A. Subject to the appropriation by the General Assembly of sufficient moneysto the Economic Development Incentive Grant subfund, any eligible companythat meets the requirements of this section and is not awarded a grant under§ 2.2-5101 or 2.2-5102 for the same project shall be eligible to apply for aneconomic development incentive grant as provided in this section.
B. The Partnership shall establish an application process by which eligiblecompanies may apply for a grant under this section. An application for agrant under this section shall not be approved for payment until thePartnership has verified that the applicable requirements of the memorandumof agreement have been satisfied.
C. The amount of the economic development incentive grant that an eligiblecompany may receive under this section shall be determined at the solediscretion of the Governor based on the recommendation of the Secretary. Thedetermination of the appropriate amount for an economic development incentivegrant shall be based on the application of guidelines that establish criteriafor correlating the amount of a grant to the relative value to theCommonwealth of the new investment and employment.
D. The Partnership shall assist the Secretary in developing objectiveguidelines that shall be used in awarding economic development incentivegrants. No grant shall be awarded until the Secretary has provided copies ofsuch guidelines for review to the chairmen of the House Committee onAppropriations and the Senate Committee on Finance. The preparation of theguidelines shall be exempt from the requirements of Article 2 (§ 2.2-4006 etseq.) of the Administrative Process Act (§ 2.2-4000 et seq.). The guidelinesshall require determinations regarding the amount of investment performancegrants to address:
1. The number of new jobs created by the capital investment;
2. The wages paid for the new jobs and the amount by which wages exceed theaverage wage for the locality or region;
3. The amount of the capital investment;
4. The net present value of benefits to Virginia;
5. The amount of other incentives offered by the Commonwealth and thelocality; and
6. The importance of the facility to the economy of the locality or region.
The guidelines shall also address the eligibility of companies that make acapital investment in phases over a period of years, and limits oneligibility for multiple grants by the same company within stated periods oftime.
E. For eligible projects awarded grants prior to July 1, 2010, the aggregateamount of economic development incentive grants payable under this section inany fiscal year shall not exceed $6 million, and the aggregate amount of suchgrants outstanding that were awarded prior to July 1, 2010, shall not exceed$30 million. For eligible projects awarded grants on or after July 1, 2010,the aggregate amount of economic development incentive grants payable underthis section in any fiscal year shall not exceed $6 million and the aggregateamount of such grants outstanding on or after July 1, 2010, shall not exceed$30 million.
F. Any eligible company shall be eligible to receive a grant from the Fund inno fewer than five installments beginning in the third year after thePartnership has verified that the requirements applicable to such grant havebeen satisfied. All such terms shall be negotiated and set forth in amemorandum of agreement.
G. The Comptroller shall not draw any warrants to issue checks for grantsunder this chapter without a specific legislative appropriation as specifiedin conditions and restrictions on expenditures in the appropriation act. Thepayment of any grant under this section shall be in accordance with the termsand conditions set forth in a memorandum of agreement between a majoreligible employer and the Commonwealth. These terms and conditions shallsupplement the provisions of this chapter and shall include but not belimited to the terms of the payment of the grant. The payment of the grantshall be made in full or in proportion to a major eligible employer'sfulfillment of the terms of the memorandum of agreement.
(2005, c. 431; 2007, c. 576; 2010, cc. 735, 768.)