Florida Senate - 2013 PROPOSED COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE
Bill No. SB 1012
Barcode 175152
576-04145-13
Proposed Committee Substitute by the Committee on Appropriations
(Appropriations Subcommittee on Transportation, Tourism, and
Economic Development)
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to the Economic Gardening Technical
3 Assistance Program; amending s. 288.1082, F.S.;
4 expanding the Economic Gardening Technical Assistance
5 Pilot Program into a statewide program; requiring the
6 Department of Economic Opportunity to contract with
7 the Florida Economic Gardening Institute at the
8 University of Central Florida to administer the
9 program; revising and providing eligibility
10 requirements for the program; providing definitions;
11 amending s. 288.1081, F.S.; conforming a reference to
12 the Economic Gardening Technical Assistance Pilot
13 Program to changes made by the act; providing an
14 effective date.
15
16 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
17
18 Section 1. Section 288.1082, Florida Statutes, is amended
19 to read:
20 288.1082 Economic Gardening Technical Assistance Pilot
21 Program.—
22 (1) There is created within the department the Economic
23 Gardening Technical Assistance Pilot Program. The purpose of the
24 pilot program is to stimulate investment in Florida’s economy by
25 providing technical assistance for expanding businesses in the
26 state.
27 (2) The department shall contract with the Florida Economic
28 Gardening Institute at the University of Central Florida one or
29 more entities to administer the pilot program under this
30 section. The department shall award each contract in accordance
31 with the competitive bidding requirements in s. 287.057 to an
32 entity that demonstrates the ability to implement the pilot
33 program on a statewide basis, has an outreach plan, and has the
34 ability to provide counseling services, access to technology and
35 information, marketing services and advice, business management
36 support, and other similar services. In selecting these
37 entities, the department also must consider whether the entities
38 will qualify for matching funds to provide the technical
39 assistance.
40 (3) The Florida Economic Gardening Institute A contracted
41 entity administering the pilot program shall provide technical
42 assistance for eligible businesses which includes, but is not
43 limited to:
44 (a) Access to free or affordable information services and
45 consulting services, including information on markets,
46 customers, and competitors, such as business databases,
47 geographic information systems, and search engine marketing.
48 (b) Development of business connections, including
49 interaction and exchange among business owners and resource
50 providers, such as trade associations, think tanks, academic
51 institutions, business roundtables, peer-to-peer learning
52 sessions, and mentoring programs.
53 (4)(a) To be eligible for assistance under the pilot
54 program, a business must:
55 1. Be a for-profit, privately held, investment-grade
56 business. that
57 2. Have employed employs at least 10 persons but not more
58 than 99 50 persons at the end of the preceding fiscal year., has
59 maintained its principal place of business in the state for at
60 least the previous 2 years,
61 3. Have generated generates at least $1 million but not
62 more than $50 $25 million in annual revenue during the preceding
63 fiscal year., qualifies for the tax refund program for qualified
64 target industry businesses under s. 288.106, and,
65 4. During 2 3 of the previous 6 5 years, have has increased
66 either both its number of full-time equivalent employees in this
67 state or and its gross revenues.
68 5. Generate a minimum of 51 percent of its revenue outside
69 the state, be located in a “rural community” as defined in s.
70 288.0656, or be classified within a qualifying NAICS code.
71 (b) As used in this section, the term:
72 1. “NAICS” means those classifications contained in the
73 North American Industry Classification System, as published in
74 2012 by the Office of Management and Budget, Executive Office of
75 the President.
76 2. “Qualifying NAICS code” means any NAICS code within any
77 of the following NAICS sectors: 31-33, Manufacturing; 42,
78 Wholesale Trade; 51, Information; 52, Finance and Insurance; 54,
79 Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services; 55, Management
80 of Companies and Enterprises; or 56, Administrative and Support
81 and Waste Management and Remediation Services.
82 (c)(b) The Florida Economic Gardening Institute A
83 contracted entity administering the pilot program, in selecting
84 the eligible businesses to receive assistance, shall choose
85 businesses in more than one industry cluster and, to the maximum
86 extent practicable, shall choose businesses that are
87 geographically distributed throughout Florida or are in
88 partnership with businesses that are geographically distributed
89 throughout Florida.
90 (5)(a) A business receiving assistance under the pilot
91 program must enter into an agreement with the Florida Economic
92 Gardening Institute contracted entity administering the program
93 to establish the business’s commitment to participate
94 participation in the pilot program. The agreement must require,
95 at a minimum, that the business:
96 1. Attend a minimum number of meetings between the business
97 and the Florida Economic Gardening Institute contracted entity
98 administering the pilot program.
99 2. Report job creation data in the manner prescribed by the
100 Florida Economic Gardening Institute contracted entity
101 administering the pilot program.
102 3. Provide financial data in the manner prescribed by the
103 Florida Economic Gardening Institute contracted entity
104 administering the program.
105 (b) The Florida Economic Gardening Institute department or
106 the contracted entity administering the pilot program may
107 prescribe in the agreement additional reporting requirements
108 that are necessary to track the progress of the business and
109 monitor the business’s implementation of the assistance. The
110 institute contracted entity shall report the information to the
111 department on a quarterly basis.
112 (6) The Florida Economic Gardening Institute A contracted
113 entity administering the pilot program is authorized to promote
114 the general business interests or industrial interests of the
115 state.
116 (7) The department shall review the progress of the Florida
117 Economic Gardening Institute contracted entity administering the
118 pilot program at least once each 6 months and shall determine
119 whether the institute contracted entity is meeting its
120 contractual obligations for administering the pilot program. The
121 department may terminate and rebid a contract if the institute
122 contracted entity does not meet its contractual obligations.
123 (8) On December 31 of each year, the department shall
124 submit a report to the Governor, the President of the Senate,
125 and the Speaker of the House of Representatives which describes
126 in detail the progress of the pilot program. The report must
127 include, at a minimum, the number of businesses receiving
128 assistance, the number of full-time equivalent jobs created as a
129 result of the assistance, if any, the amount of wages paid to
130 employees in the newly created jobs, and the locations and types
131 of economic activity undertaken by the businesses.
132 (9) The department may adopt rules under ss. 120.536(1) and
133 120.54 to administer this section.
134 Section 2. Paragraphs (a) and (b) of subsection (3) of
135 section 288.1081, Florida Statutes, are amended to read:
136 288.1081 Economic Gardening Business Loan Pilot Program.—
137 (3)(a) To be eligible for a loan under the pilot program,
138 an applicant must be a business eligible for assistance under
139 the Economic Gardening Technical Assistance Pilot Program as
140 provided in s. 288.1082(4)(a).
141 (b) A loan applicant must submit a written application to
142 the loan administrator in the format prescribed by the loan
143 administrator. The application must include:
144 1. The applicant’s federal employer identification number,
145 reemployment assistance account number, and sales or other tax
146 registration number.
147 2. The street address of the applicant’s principal place of
148 business in this state.
149 3. A description of the type of economic activity, product,
150 or research and development undertaken by the applicant,
151 including the six-digit North American Industry Classification
152 System code for each type of economic activity conducted by the
153 applicant.
154 4. The applicant’s annual revenue, number of employees,
155 number of full-time equivalent employees, and other information
156 necessary to verify the applicant’s eligibility for the pilot
157 program under s. 288.1082(4)(a).
158 5. The projected investment in the business, if any, which
159 the applicant proposes in conjunction with the loan.
160 6. The total investment in the business from all sources,
161 if any, which the applicant proposes in conjunction with the
162 loan.
163 7. The number of net new full-time equivalent jobs that, as
164 a result of the loan, the applicant proposes to create in this
165 state as of December 31 of each year and the average annual wage
166 of the proposed jobs.
167 8. The total number of full-time equivalent employees the
168 applicant currently employs in this state.
169 9. The date that the applicant anticipates it needs the
170 loan.
171 10. A detailed explanation of why the loan is needed to
172 assist the applicant in expanding jobs in the state.
173 11. A statement that all of the applicant’s available
174 corporate assets are pledged as collateral for the amount of the
175 loan.
176 12. A statement that the applicant, upon receiving the
177 loan, agrees not to seek additional long-term debt without prior
178 approval of the loan administrator.
179 13. A statement that the loan is a joint obligation of the
180 business and of each person who owns at least 20 percent of the
181 business.
182 14. Any additional information requested by the department
183 or the loan administrator.
184 Section 3. This act shall take effect July 1, 2013.