An Act To Help Facilitate New Career Opportunities and Attract Major Private Investment
Sec. 1. 10 MRSA §963-A, sub-§10, ¶T, as amended by PL 2013, c. 378, §2, is further amended to read:
Sec. 2. 10 MRSA §963-A, sub-§10, ¶U, as enacted by PL 2013, c. 378, §3, is further amended to read:
Sec. 3. 10 MRSA §963-A, sub-§10, ¶V is enacted to read:
Sec. 4. 10 MRSA §963-A, sub-§49-K is enacted to read:
Sec. 5. 10 MRSA §1043, sub-§2, ¶J, as amended by PL 2003, c. 506, §2, is further amended to read:
(1) Whether individuals or entities obligated to repay the obligations have demonstrated sufficient revenues from the project or from other sources to repay the obligations, and a strong probability that those revenues will continue to be available for the term of the revenue obligation securities;
(2) Whether the applicant demonstrates a strong probability that the project will continue to operate and provide the public benefits projected to be created for the term of the revenue obligation securities;
(3) Whether the applicant demonstrates that the benefits projected to be created by the project are enhanced through the use of financing assistance from the authority;
(4) Whether the applicant's creditworthiness is demonstrated by such factors as historical financial performance, management ability, its plan for marketing its product or service and its ability to access conventional financing;
(5) Whether the applicant meets or exceeds industry average financial performance ratios commonly accepted in determining creditworthiness in that industry;
(6) Whether the applicant demonstrates that the need for authority assistance is due to the reduced cost and increased flexibility of the financing for the project that result from authority assistance and not from an inability to obtain necessary financing without the capital reserve fund security provided by the authority; and
(7) Whether collateral securing the repayment obligation is reasonably sufficient under the circumstances.
Financing assistance for any one major business expansion project may not exceed $25,000,000 in loan amount. For any one transformational business expansion project, the financing assistance amount is up to $400,000,000 in loan amount. The authority may establish, pursuant to rules adopted in accordance with Title 5, chapter 375, subchapter 2, application procedures, approval criteria and reasonable fees for major business expansion projects and transformational business expansion projects;
Sec. 6. 10 MRSA §1053, sub-§6, as amended by PL 2011, c. 586, §5, is further amended to read:
The amount of revenue obligation securities issued to refund securities previously issued may not be taken into account in determining the principal amount of securities outstanding, as long as proceeds of the refunding securities are applied as promptly as possible to the refunding of the previously issued securities. In computing the total amount of revenue obligation securities of the authority that may at any time be outstanding for any purpose, the amounts of the outstanding revenue obligation securities that have been issued as capital appreciation bonds or as similar instruments are valued as of any date of calculation at their then current accreted value rather than their face value.
Sec. 7. 26 MRSA §2031, sub-§5, ¶¶G and H, as enacted by PL 1995, c. 665, Pt. DD, §5 and affected by §12, are amended to read:
Sec. 8. 26 MRSA §2031, sub-§5, ¶I is enacted to read:
Sec. 9. 26 MRSA §2031, sub-§8, as amended by PL 2009, c. 213, Pt. JJJ, §1, is further amended to read:
An applicant that is not a business shall demonstrate, in partnership with a business or a consortium of businesses, the ability to link training services with actual job creation, expansion, upgrade or retention. Training provided under this section is considered approved training under the unemployment insurance laws and the laws regarding dislocated workers administered by the Department of Labor.
Training funds authorized under this section must be paid to the employer on a reimbursement basis.
Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, a qualified applicant for a transformational business expansion project certified pursuant to Title 30-A, section 5250-J, subsection 4-D is eligible for funds available under the Competitive Skills Scholarship Program established pursuant to section 2033.
Sec. 10. 26 MRSA c. 43 is enacted to read:
CHAPTER 43
RIGHT TO REFRAIN FROM JOINING A UNION IN TRANSFORMATIONAL BUSINESS EXPANSION PROJECT
§ 3501. Definitions
As used in this chapter, unless the context otherwise indicates, the following terms have the following meanings.
§ 3502. Right to refrain
Notwithstanding any law to the contrary, a person may not be required, as a condition of employment or continuation of employment in a transformational business expansion project, to:
§ 3503. Agreements in violation
An agreement, understanding or practice, written or oral, implied or expressed, between a labor organization and an employer that violates a provision of this chapter is unlawful and without any legal effect.
§ 3504. Penalty
A person who violates any provision of this chapter commits a Class D crime.
§ 3505. Injunctive relief
A person injured as a result of another person's violation or threatened violation of the provisions of this chapter is entitled to injunctive relief against the person violating or threatening to violate this chapter.
§ 3506. Damages
A person injured as a result of a violation or threatened violation of the provisions of this chapter may recover all damages, including court costs and reasonable attorney's fees, resulting from the violation or threatened violation. A recovery of damages under this section is independent of and in addition to the penalty provided in section 3504.
§ 3507. Duty to investigate and enforce
The Attorney General shall investigate complaints of a violation or threatened violation of this chapter and shall prosecute any person violating any of its provisions. The Attorney General shall use all means in the command of the Attorney General to ensure effective enforcement of this chapter.
§ 3508. Jurisdiction
The Superior Court has jurisdiction to hear and decide prosecutions of all offenses under this chapter.
§ 3509. Exceptions
This chapter does not apply to the following:
Sec. 11. 30-A MRSA §5250-J, sub-§4-D is enacted to read:
(1) "Certified applicant" means a qualified applicant that has received a certificate of approval for a transformational business expansion project pursuant to this subsection.
(2) "Employment" means, for each calendar year, the amount determined by adding the total number of qualified employees of a certified applicant on each of 6 consecutive measurement days of that calendar year as chosen by the certified applicant and then dividing that sum by 6.
(3) "Full-time employee" means a person who works at least 36 hours per week.
(4) "Incentives" means:
(a) The income tax credit for investment in a qualified transformational business expansion project pursuant to Title 36, section 5219-NN;
(b) The reimbursement of sales tax pursuant to Title 36, section 2021;
(c) Reimbursement of Maine income tax withholding pursuant to Title 36, section 6754, subsection 1, paragraph E;
(d) Long-term, credit-enhanced financing pursuant to Title 10, chapter 110, subchapter 3;
(e) Workforce development training and recruitment assistance pursuant to the Governor's Jobs Initiative Program established pursuant to Title 26, chapter 25, subchapter 4; and
(f) Energy cost reimbursement pursuant to Title 35-A, section 10124.
(5) "Qualified applicant" means an applicant for benefits available under this subsection for a transformational business expansion project that satisfies the following criteria:
(a) The applicant owns or operates or proposes to construct a business facility within this State; and
(b) The applicant proposes to make a qualified investment and demonstrates that the investment would not occur within the State absent the availability of the incentives offered to the transformational business expansion project.
(6) "Qualified employee" means an individual:
(a) Who is employed at a military redevelopment zone as a full-time employee of a qualified transformational business expansion project and is employed as a direct result of the project, excluding an employee or position shifted by the employer to the project location from another location in the State;
(b) Whose income from employment under division (a) is taxable under Title 36, chapter 803;
(c) For whom a retirement program is provided subject to the federal Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, 29 United States Code, Sections 101 to 1461, as amended;
(d) For whom health insurance is available; and
(e) Whose income calculated on a calendar year basis is greater than the most recent per capita annual income in the State as determined by the United States Department of Commerce.
(7) "Qualified investment" means expenditures incurred by a qualified transformational business expansion project on or after October 1, 2015. "Qualified investment" does not include investments in an electric rate stabilization project, as defined in Title 10, section 963-A, subsection 7-A, or in a project primarily involved in the provision of housing or retail sales to consumers.
(8) "Qualified transformational business expansion project" means a business that is a qualified Pine Tree Development Zone business and that proposes to make a qualified investment of at least $25,000,000 in, and add at least 500 qualified employees at, a military redevelopment zone within 10 years from the date of certification under paragraph B. The business must demonstrate that the qualified investment would not occur absent the availability of the incentives made available under this subsection. For purposes of this subsection, employees added or that will be added for certification as a qualified Pine Tree Development Zone business must be added with respect to the project for which the business is certified as a qualified transformational business expansion project under this subsection.
(1) In addition to an application for certification as a qualified Pine Tree Development Zone business under section 5250-O, a business must submit an application to the commissioner to receive incentives under this subsection. The application must contain information, in a form prescribed by the commissioner, demonstrating that the business meets the requirements for a qualified transformational business expansion project.
(2) The commissioner, within 7 days of receipt of the application under subsection 1 for certification as a qualified applicant, shall review the information contained in the application and issue a written determination as to whether the applicant is a qualified transformational business expansion project eligible to apply for incentives to the Governor, the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives. No later than 2 days following notice of that determination, if the commissioner determines that the applicant is a qualified transformational business expansion project, the commissioner shall issue a certificate of approval to the applicant. If the commissioner determines that the applicant is not a qualified transformational business expansion project, the commissioner shall issue a denial of the application.
(3) The commissioner shall revoke a certificate issued under this subsection:
(a) If the qualified transformational business expansion project does not invest at least $10,000,000 and hire at least 250 qualified employees within 5 years of the date of the certificate issued under this subsection; or
(b) If the qualified transformational business expansion project does not invest at least $25,000,000 and hire at least 500 qualified employees within 10 years of the date of the certificate issued under this subsection.
A qualified transformational business expansion project whose certificate issued under this subsection has been revoked may not apply or qualify for incentives for a period of 10 years after the date of revocation of the certificate.
(1) The number of qualified employees of the qualified transformational business expansion project for the calendar year immediately preceding the report year; and
(2) The incremental level of qualified investments made for the calendar year immediately preceding the report year.
The commissioner shall audit the report filed under this paragraph to ensure continued eligibility for the incentives provided under this subsection.
Sec. 12. 35-A MRSA §10124 is enacted to read:
§ 10124. Reimbursement for transformational business expansion projects
Sec. 13. 36 MRSA §2021 is enacted to read:
§ 2021. Reimbursement of certain taxes related to qualified transformational business expansion projects
(1) Are owned by more than one person prior to their acquisition by the qualified transformational business expansion project whose certification accompanies the reimbursement claim pursuant to subsection 3; or
(2) Have been used for a business purpose by a person other than the qualified transformational business expansion project whose certification accompanies the reimbursement claim pursuant to subsection 3.
Sec. 14. 36 MRSA §5219-NN is enacted to read:
§ 5219-NN. Credit for qualified transformational business expansion project
If the qualified transformational business expansion project is a taxable corporation that has affiliated groups, as defined in section 5102, subsection 1-B, engaged in a unitary business, as defined in section 5102, subsection 10-A, the property and payroll values in the State of the unitary affiliated groups must be included in the apportionment fraction. The resulting fraction must be multiplied by the total tax liability otherwise due under this Part of the qualified transformational business expansion project and those affiliated groups.
If the apportionment provisions of this subsection do not fairly reflect the amount of the credit associated with the taxpayer's qualified transformational business expansion project activity, the taxpayer may petition for, or the State Tax Assessor may require, in respect to all or any part of the taxpayer's business activity, the employment of another reasonable method to effectuate an equitable apportionment of the credit associated with the taxpayer's qualified transformational business expansion project activity.
Sec. 15. 36 MRSA §6754, sub-§1, ¶E is enacted to read:
summary
The purpose of this bill is to improve Maine's overall competitiveness and ability to attract major private investment to the State by creating a mechanism for competing for major business expansion and creation projects, referred to as transformational business expansion projects, which are the construction, development, rehabilitation, expansion, modernization or acquisition of any building, structure, system, machinery, equipment or facility in a military redevelopment zone that has a projected cost of $25,000,000 or more and the operation of which is projected to result in a net gain of at least 500 job opportunities. An applicant who is certified by the Commissioner of Economic and Community Development as a transformational business expansion project is eligible for the following incentives and benefits:
1. A 20-year corporate income tax credit that includes a 100% credit for the first 10 years that the project is in operation and a 50% credit for the next 10 years that the project is in operation;
2. A sales tax exemption and reimbursement for expenditures made for the project for up to 20 years;
3. An annual reimbursement for up to 5 years from the Efficiency Maine Trust for electric rates that exceed the national average industrial rate as determined by the United States Energy Information Administration and certified by the Public Utilities Commission;
4. Employment tax increment financing benefits for qualified investments. The reimbursement is equal to 80% of Maine income tax withheld each year for which reimbursement is requested and attributed to qualified employees for a period of no more than 10 years. For years of operation beginning after the 10th year until the 20th year, the certified applicant is eligible for a reimbursement of 50% of Maine income tax withheld each year for which reimbursement is requested. This benefit expires after December 31, 2034;
5. Access to a pool of up to $400,000,000 in loans and up to $100,000,000 in bond funding for transformational business expansion projects to provide long-term, credit-enhanced financing at taxable bond rates. Financing assistance for a single project may not exceed $400,000,000;
6. Access to workforce development assistance, training and recruitment by the Commissioner of Economic and Community Development and the Commissioner of Labor, who are required to work with agencies across State Government involved in employment or skill training to identify and marshal financial resources to help a transformational business expansion project recruit and train workers; and
7. Access to the benefits available under the Governor's Jobs Initiative Program, including access to funds from the Competitive Skills Scholarship Program.
Additionally, this bill prohibits requiring a person, as a condition of employment or continuation of employment at a transformational business expansion project, to join a labor organization or pay any labor organization dues or fees and establishes, in a manner similar to laws governing the shipbuilding facility credit, a preference for Maine workers, companies and bidders as part of the contractual inducement for the qualified applicant to make a qualified investment and for the State to provide the incentives.