SF 1084

Introduction - 82nd Legislature (2001 - 2002)

Posted on 12/15/2009 12:00 a.m.

  1.1                          A bill for an act 
  1.2             relating to business subsidies; providing additional 
  1.3             requirements for review of decisions to grant business 
  1.4             subsidies; amending Minnesota Statutes 2000, section 
  1.5             116J.994, subdivisions 2, 5, and by adding a 
  1.6             subdivision. 
  1.7   BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.8      Section 1.  Minnesota Statutes 2000, section 116J.994, 
  1.9   subdivision 2, is amended to read: 
  1.10     Subd. 2.  [DEVELOPING A SET OF CRITERIA.] A business 
  1.11  subsidy may not be granted until the grantor has adopted 
  1.12  criteria after a public hearing for awarding business subsidies 
  1.13  that comply with this section.  The criteria may not be adopted 
  1.14  on a case-by-case basis.  The criteria must set specific minimum 
  1.15  requirements that recipients must meet in order to be eligible 
  1.16  to receive business subsidies.  The criteria must include a 
  1.17  specific wage floor for the wages to be paid for the jobs 
  1.18  created.  The wage floor may be stated as a specific dollar 
  1.19  amount or may be stated as a formula that will generate a 
  1.20  specific dollar amount.  A grantor may deviate from its criteria 
  1.21  by documenting in writing the reason for the deviation and 
  1.22  attaching a copy of the document to its next annual report to 
  1.23  the department.  The commissioner of trade and economic 
  1.24  development may assist local government agencies in developing 
  1.25  criteria. standards for the following: 
  1.26     (1) the project's impact on the mix of businesses in the 
  2.1   area, including the presence or absence of fast-growing and 
  2.2   slow-growing industries and of local suppliers for existing 
  2.3   businesses; 
  2.4      (2) the project's potential for creating high-quality job 
  2.5   growth, including the number of new jobs to be created and the 
  2.6   wages that will be paid in those jobs and the potential in those 
  2.7   jobs for further education and career advancement; 
  2.8      (3) the degree to which any expected job retention is in 
  2.9   response to a genuine threat of imminent job loss; 
  2.10     (4) the effects of the project on the stability of the 
  2.11  community, including whether the project will constitute 
  2.12  significant investment in an economically disadvantaged area, or 
  2.13  will generate additional investment in the area; and 
  2.14     (5) the expected effects on the property tax base for all 
  2.15  taxing jurisdictions, both short term and long term, and both 
  2.16  directly and indirectly. 
  2.17     A decision to grant a business subsidy must be based on the 
  2.18  subsidy's compliance with the criteria established by the 
  2.19  grantor pursuant to this subdivision, and must be supported by 
  2.20  documentation and other evidence sufficient to permit an 
  2.21  independent review of the decision.  A copy of the criteria must 
  2.22  be submitted to the department of trade and economic development 
  2.23  along with the first annual report following the enactment of 
  2.24  this section or with the first annual report after it has 
  2.25  adopted criteria, whichever is earlier. 
  2.26     Sec. 2.  Minnesota Statutes 2000, section 116J.994, 
  2.27  subdivision 5, is amended to read: 
  2.28     Subd. 5.  [PUBLIC NOTICE AND HEARING.] (a) Before granting 
  2.29  a business subsidy that exceeds $500,000 for a state government 
  2.30  grantor and $100,000 for a local government grantor, the grantor 
  2.31  must provide public notice and a hearing on the subsidy, and 
  2.32  must provide the opportunity for additional administrative 
  2.33  review as provided in subdivision 5a.  A public hearing and 
  2.34  notice under this subdivision is not required if a hearing and 
  2.35  notice on the subsidy is otherwise required by law. 
  2.36     (b) Public notice of a proposed business subsidy under this 
  3.1   subdivision by a state government grantor, other than the iron 
  3.2   range resources and rehabilitation board, must be published in 
  3.3   the State Register.  Public notice of a proposed business 
  3.4   subsidy under this subdivision by a local government grantor or 
  3.5   the iron range resources and rehabilitation board must be 
  3.6   published in a local newspaper of general circulation.  The 
  3.7   public notice must identify the location at which information 
  3.8   about the business subsidy, including a summary of the terms of 
  3.9   the subsidy, is available.  Published notice should be 
  3.10  sufficiently conspicuous in size and placement to distinguish 
  3.11  the notice from the surrounding text.  The grantor must make the 
  3.12  information available in printed paper copies and, if possible, 
  3.13  on the Internet.  The government agency must provide at least a 
  3.14  ten-day notice for the public hearing. 
  3.15     (c) The public notice must include the date, time, and 
  3.16  place of the hearing. 
  3.17     (d) The public hearing by a state government grantor other 
  3.18  than the iron range resources and rehabilitation board must be 
  3.19  held in St. Paul. 
  3.20     (e) If more than one nonstate grantor provides a business 
  3.21  subsidy to the same recipient, the nonstate grantors may 
  3.22  designate one nonstate grantor to hold a single public hearing 
  3.23  regarding the business subsidies provided by all nonstate 
  3.24  grantors.  For the purposes of this paragraph, "nonstate 
  3.25  grantor" includes the iron range resources and rehabilitation 
  3.26  board. 
  3.27     Sec. 3.  Minnesota Statutes 2000, section 116J.994, is 
  3.28  amended by adding a subdivision to read: 
  3.29     Subd. 5a.  [ADDITIONAL ADMINISTRATIVE REVIEW.] (a) The 
  3.30  requirements of this subdivision apply to all subsidies 
  3.31  subjected to additional administrative review under subdivision 
  3.32  5.  Review under this subdivision is limited to the issues of 
  3.33  whether the grantor has complied with sections 116J.993 to 
  3.34  116J.995 in granting the subsidy, and whether the subsidy meets 
  3.35  the criteria established by the grantor pursuant to subdivision 
  3.36  2.  No subsidy may be given while a subsidy decision is being 
  4.1   reviewed administratively or judicially under this subdivision. 
  4.2      (b) If the grantor of a subsidy is a state government 
  4.3   grantor, then any resident of the state of Minnesota may inform 
  4.4   the grantor, within 15 days after the public hearing provided 
  4.5   pursuant to subdivision 5, that the person intends to contest 
  4.6   the subsidy.  If any person contests the subsidy, the office of 
  4.7   administrative hearings shall conduct a hearing in accordance 
  4.8   with the applicable provisions of chapter 14 for hearings of 
  4.9   contested cases. 
  4.10     (c) If the grantor of the subsidy is a local government 
  4.11  grantor, then any person who is a resident of the jurisdiction 
  4.12  served by the grantor may notify the grantor, within 15 days 
  4.13  after the public hearing provided pursuant to subdivision 5, 
  4.14  that the person intends to contest the subsidy.  When it 
  4.15  receives notice that a subsidy will be contested, the local 
  4.16  government grantor shall transmit the request to the office of 
  4.17  administrative hearings.  The office of administrative hearings 
  4.18  shall provide assistance to the local grantor by conducting a 
  4.19  hearing and providing findings, conclusions, and a 
  4.20  recommendation for action by the local government grantor.  The 
  4.21  local grantor shall be assessed for these services in the manner 
  4.22  provided in section 14.53.  If the hearing has been held 
  4.23  pursuant to this paragraph, a subsequent decision by the local 
  4.24  grantor to grant the subsidy is subject to judicial review on 
  4.25  the same basis as the final decision of a state agency, 
  4.26  according to sections 14.63 to 14.68.