HF 1642

as introduced - 80th Legislature (1997 - 1998) Posted on 12/15/2009 12:00am

  1.1                          A bill for an act
  1.2             relating to economic development; expanding the 
  1.3             eligibility to qualify for inclusion within an 
  1.4             enterprise zone; amending Minnesota Statutes 1996, 
  1.5             sections 469.301, by adding a subdivision; 469.303; 
  1.6             and 469.305, subdivision 1. 
  1.7   BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.8      Section 1.  Minnesota Statutes 1996, section 469.301, is 
  1.9   amended by adding a subdivision to read: 
  1.10     Subd. 9.  [DEMONSTRATION PROJECT AREA.] (a) "Demonstration 
  1.11  project area" means the following locations in the city of St. 
  1.12  Paul: 
  1.13     (1) 1247 St. Anthony Highrise; 
  1.14     (2) Mount Airy Homes; 
  1.15     (3) McDonough Homes; 
  1.16     (4) Torre De San Miguel; and 
  1.17     (5) Concord Square Homes. 
  1.18     (b) This subdivision applies from the effective date of 
  1.19  this act through June 30, 2000. 
  1.20     Sec. 2.  Minnesota Statutes 1996, section 469.303, is 
  1.21  amended to read: 
  1.22     469.303 [ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS.] 
  1.23     (a) An area within the city is eligible for designation as 
  1.24  an enterprise zone if the area (1) includes census tracts 
  1.25  eligible for a federal empowerment zone or enterprise community 
  1.26  as defined by the United States Department of Housing and Urban 
  2.1   Development under Public Law Number 103-66, notwithstanding the 
  2.2   maximum zone population standard under the federal empowerment 
  2.3   zone program for cities with a population under 500,000 or; (2) 
  2.4   an area within a city of the second class that is designated as 
  2.5   an economically depressed area by the United States Department 
  2.6   of Commerce.; or (3) includes property located in St. Paul in a 
  2.7   transit zone, as defined in section 473.3915, subdivision 3. 
  2.8      (b) A county is eligible for designation as an enterprise 
  2.9   zone if the county has had a net out-migration in population 
  2.10  from 1980 to 1990 according to the 1990 federal decennial census 
  2.11  and the county borders a contiguous state to the south. 
  2.12     (c) Paragraphs (a), clause (3), and (b) apply from the 
  2.13  effective date of this act through June 30, 2000. 
  2.14     Sec. 3.  Minnesota Statutes 1996, section 469.305, 
  2.15  subdivision 1, is amended to read: 
  2.16     Subdivision 1.  [INCENTIVE GRANTS.] An incentive grant is 
  2.17  available to businesses located in an enterprise zone that meet 
  2.18  the conditions of this section.  Each city designated as an 
  2.19  enterprise zone is allocated $3,000,000 to be used to provide 
  2.20  grants under this section for the duration of the program.  Each 
  2.21  city of the second class designated as an economically depressed 
  2.22  area by the United States Department of Commerce is allocated 
  2.23  $300,000 to be used to provide grants under this section for the 
  2.24  duration of the program.  For fiscal year 1998 and subsequent 
  2.25  years, the proration in section 469.31 shall continue to apply 
  2.26  until the amount designated in this subdivision is expended. 
  2.27     The incentive grant is in an amount equal to 20 percent of 
  2.28  the wages paid to an employee, not to exceed $5,000 per employee 
  2.29  per calendar year.  The incentive grant is available to an 
  2.30  employer for a zone resident or a resident living in the 
  2.31  demonstration project area employed in the zone at full-time 
  2.32  wage levels of not less than 170 percent of minimum wage.  The 
  2.33  incentive grant is not available to workers employed in 
  2.34  construction or employees of financial institutions, gambling 
  2.35  enterprises, public utilities, sports, fitness, and health 
  2.36  facilities, or racetracks.  The employee must be employed at 
  3.1   that rate at the time the business applies for a grant, and must 
  3.2   have been employed for at least one year at the business.  A 
  3.3   grant may be provided only for new jobs; for purposes of this 
  3.4   section, a "new job" is a job that did not exist in Minnesota 
  3.5   before May 6, 1994.  The incentive grant authority is available 
  3.6   for the five calendar years after the application has been 
  3.7   approved to the extent the allocation to the city remains 
  3.8   available to fund the grants, and if the city certifies to the 
  3.9   commissioner on an annual basis that the business is in 
  3.10  compliance with the plan to recruit, hire, train, and retain 
  3.11  zone residents. 
  3.12     Sec. 4.  [EFFECTIVE DATE.] 
  3.13     Sections 1 to 3 are effective the day following final 
  3.14  enactment, except that the incentive grants in section 3 
  3.15  available to residents living in the demonstration project area 
  3.16  are available only through June 30, 2000.