Florida Senate - 2013                                     SB 192
       
       
       
       By Senator Legg
       
       
       
       
       17-00188-13                                            2013192__
    1                        A bill to be entitled                      
    2         An act relating to targeted economic development;
    3         creating s. 288.126, F.S.; requiring the Department of
    4         Economic Opportunity to create economic development
    5         zones for science, technology, engineering, and
    6         mathematics; authorizing a STEM zone in counties with
    7         a state university classified as having very high
    8         research activity located in its jurisdiction;
    9         requiring the county to apply to the department for a
   10         STEM zone designation; requiring the application to
   11         appoint a STEM zone development agency; providing
   12         criteria for the agency; requiring the STEM zone
   13         development agency to appoint a STEM zone development
   14         board; providing criteria for the board; providing
   15         that the incentives and benefits provided for
   16         enterprise zones are available to the STEM zones;
   17         specifying the incentives and benefits available in
   18         the STEM zones; requiring the department to develop a
   19         grant program that applies to a STEM zone; providing
   20         criteria for the awarding of a grant; directing the
   21         STEM zone development agency to perform certain
   22         functions; requiring the department to work with the
   23         STEM zone development agency, the Department of
   24         Education, and Workforce Florida, Inc., to develop
   25         accountability requirements and measurable objectives;
   26         providing criteria; requiring that all incentives and
   27         benefits provided for enterprise zones be made
   28         available to STEM zones by a specified date; assigning
   29         duties for the administration of STEM zones to the
   30         local governing bodies that have jurisdiction over
   31         such zones; providing for boundaries of the zones,
   32         eligibility criteria for the incentives, and benefits
   33         provided in the zones; requiring that the applicable
   34         requirements for employee residency for higher refund
   35         or credit thresholds be based on employee residency in
   36         the STEM zone or an enterprise zone; establishing
   37         priorities for funding certain projects; limiting the
   38         annual amount of such incentives; authorizing the
   39         carryforward of any unused amount of incentives for a
   40         specified period; providing for the issuance of
   41         certificates to eligible businesses; requiring the
   42         local governing body to certify to the Department of
   43         Revenue or the Department of Economic Opportunity
   44         which businesses or properties are eligible for the
   45         incentives; requiring the Department of Revenue to
   46         send written instructions to eligible businesses on
   47         claiming the credit on a sales and use tax return
   48         initiated through an electronic data interchange;
   49         providing an effective date.
   50  
   51  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
   52  
   53         Section 1. Section 288.126, Florida Statutes, is created to
   54  read:
   55         288.126Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics
   56  zone programs.—
   57         (1) The Department of Economic Opportunity shall create
   58  economic development zones relating to science, technology,
   59  engineering, and mathematics (STEM). All incentives and benefits
   60  provided for enterprise zones pursuant to state law shall be
   61  available to the STEM zones designated pursuant to this section.
   62  A STEM zone must be created in a county that has a state
   63  university that is classified as having very high research
   64  activity in the analysis by the Carnegie Foundation for the
   65  Advancement of Teaching.
   66         (2) Each county that has a qualifying research institution
   67  must apply to the department to receive designation as a STEM
   68  zone. In the application, the county shall appoint a STEM zone
   69  development agency. The STEM zone development agency must:
   70         (a) Be a nonuniversity, not-for-profit corporation under s.
   71  501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code.
   72         (b) Own or operate at least 50 acres of property that is
   73  adjacent to the qualifying research institution.
   74         (c) Have experience with both private, not-for-profit
   75  partnerships and public, not-for-profit partnerships.
   76         (d) Have a public attendance for programs which exceeds
   77  150,000 persons per year.
   78         (e) Have a facility with a minimum of 10,000 square feet of
   79  exhibit or conference space available to showcase STEM
   80  technologies.
   81         (f) Have significant experience in an informal STEM
   82  learning environment.
   83         (g) Employ at least 10 full-time, in-house educational and
   84  training staff employees.
   85         (h) Have experience with federal educational and
   86  scientific-type grants.
   87         (i) Create and submit quarterly reports to the governing
   88  body of the county which evaluate the progress in implementing
   89  the strategic plan or measurable goals set by the STEM zone
   90  development board as described in section (3).
   91         (3)(a) The STEM zone development agency shall appoint a
   92  STEM zone development board. The board shall consist of at least
   93  9 commissioners, but not more than 15 commissioners. At least
   94  two commissioners shall be associated with the STEM zone
   95  development agency, two commissioners shall come from the host
   96  county, and two commissioners shall be from local for-profit or
   97  not-for-profit corporations that are related to science,
   98  technology, engineering, and mathematics programs. At least one
   99  commissioner may be from each of the following areas: a
  100  qualifying research institution, a local school district, and a
  101  local municipality.
  102         (b) The STEM zone development board shall:
  103         1.Assist in the development, implementation, and annual
  104  review and update of the strategic plan or measurable goals.
  105         2.Oversee and monitor the implementation of the strategic
  106  plan or measurable goals.
  107         3.Identify and recommend to the local governing body of
  108  the county or the municipality ways to remove regulatory
  109  barriers.
  110         4.Identify for a county or municipality the financial
  111  needs of, and local resources or assistance available to,
  112  eligible businesses in the zone.
  113         5.Promote the STEM zone incentives to residents and
  114  businesses within the STEM zone.
  115         6.Recommend to the county boundary changes in a STEM zone
  116  such that a STEM zone does not exceed 2 square miles.
  117         7.Work with organizations affiliated with a high-ranking
  118  state research university to promote the purpose and goals of
  119  the STEM zone.
  120         8.Dispense funds to promote, develop, and expand the STEM
  121  zone and educational training programs.
  122         9.Develop an education curriculum focusing on science,
  123  technology, engineering, and mathematics for grades pre-K
  124  through 12 to further enhance the skill set of the state’s
  125  students in order to compete for jobs.
  126         10.Work with companies within the STEM zone to develop
  127  training and certification programs needed to train a workforce
  128  to have skills that are needed by companies and businesses in
  129  this state.
  130         11.Work with Workforce Florida, Inc., to retrain, educate,
  131  and certify unemployed workers in new skills.
  132         12. Work with Workforce Florida, Inc., to develop and make
  133  available grant programs within the STEM zone that foster the
  134  expansion of workforce education and training strategies,
  135  activities, and resources in conjunction with one-stop-career
  136  centers in the region. Each program must include a coach or a
  137  mentor who connects a participant to an employer and acts as a
  138  workforce guidance counselor. The coach or mentor shall create a
  139  career path chart for each program participant.
  140         13. Provide directives to the STEM zone development agency.
  141         (4)(a) In order to provide incentives, each local governing
  142  body that has jurisdiction over a STEM zone must, by local
  143  ordinance, establish the boundary of the STEM zone, specify
  144  applicable standards, and determine eligibility criteria for the
  145  application of state and local incentives and benefits in the
  146  STEM zone. However, in order to receive benefits provided under
  147  s. 288.106, a business must be a qualified target industry
  148  business under s. 288.106 for state purposes. A STEM zone’s
  149  boundary may be revised by local ordinance. Such incentives and
  150  benefits include those in ss. 212.08, 212.096, 220.181, 220.182,
  151  220.183, 220.196, 288.106, and 624.5105 and the public utility
  152  discounts provided in s. 290.007(8). For purposes of this
  153  section, any applicable requirements for employee residency for
  154  higher refund or credit thresholds must be based on employee
  155  residency in the STEM zone or an enterprise zone.
  156         (b) A county that has a designated a STEM zone in its
  157  jurisdiction may waive its impact fees for new construction
  158  within the STEM zone.
  159         (c) Enterprise Florida, Inc., may increase the loan amount
  160  it may guarantee to $10 million for projects in a STEM zone.
  161         (d) The department and each county with a STEM zone in its
  162  jurisdiction shall review its rules or regulations that affect
  163  the relocation or expansion of a business to a STEM zone to
  164  determine if a rule or regulation may be modified or repealed to
  165  facilitate relocation or expansion.
  166         (5) The department shall develop a high-tech grant program
  167  that applies in the STEM zone. The grant program shall solicit
  168  competitive applications to organizations that propose to
  169  encourage and reward groundbreaking ideas that greatly expand
  170  innovation, commercialization, and new enterprise formation
  171  across the state. A grant shall be awarded to applicants who
  172  submit the best strategies to:
  173         (a) Create proof of concept centers that greatly increase
  174  innovation within their organizations; or
  175         (b) Create processes to commercialize or implement
  176  innovation and build networks that can use that innovation and
  177  entrepreneurship for local economic development.
  178         (6) The STEM zone development agency, with cooperation of
  179  other state agencies, shall:
  180         (a) Partner with science, technology, engineering, or
  181  mathematics companies, Workforce Florida, Inc., and local
  182  workforce boards to offer workforce training programs to train
  183  unemployed, underemployed, and new workers in skills that are
  184  needed in the science, technology, engineering, or mathematics
  185  fields.
  186         (b) Offer training programs for persons who traditionally
  187  are not typical candidates to transition into science,
  188  technology, engineering, or mathematics careers; ease the
  189  transition for dislocated or transitioning workers into science,
  190  technology, engineering, or mathematics fields; and integrate
  191  state, regional, and local efforts into a more powerful set of
  192  partnerships and coordinated strategies.
  193         (c) Build a gateway to science, technology, engineering, or
  194  mathematics careers by helping to prepare an educated, skilled
  195  workforce in the context of its investments in preparing talent
  196  for economic development in regional economies.
  197         (d) Enhance the capacity of talent development institutions
  198  to produce more and better skilled workers in the science,
  199  technology, engineering, and mathematics fields through
  200  investment of department resources and through greater
  201  integration and alignment of existing public and private
  202  resources, so that more workers have access to postsecondary
  203  opportunities.
  204         (e) Stimulate and support innovation, entrepreneurship, and
  205  economic growth that can expand employment opportunities in the
  206  science, technology, engineering, and mathematics fields.
  207         (f) Develop educational objectives for STEM zones that:
  208         1.Increase funding for grant opportunities in order to
  209  implement additional educational programming related to science,
  210  technology, engineering, and mathematics.
  211         2.Offer incentives to a school district, a charter school,
  212  or a private school to implement and fully use a curriculum in
  213  science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.
  214         3. Reduce the required local effort by up to 10 percent for
  215  a county school district that participates in the STEM zone.
  216         4. Create regional centers of education and research for
  217  science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. The regional
  218  centers are a pipeline for students who excel in science,
  219  technology, engineering, and mathematics to their respective
  220  Florida research universities.
  221         5. Develop career awareness programs in science,
  222  technology, engineering, and mathematics with high school
  223  counselors, which feature mentoring programs and outreach from
  224  professionals.
  225         6. Develop vocational programs for science, technology,
  226  engineering, and mathematics to meet workforce demands of
  227  industry.
  228         7. Establish programs that promote the pursuit of careers
  229  in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics among
  230  underrepresented students in grades K through 12.
  231         8. Fund an advertising campaign designed to encourage local
  232  youth, particularly African American, Latin American, and women,
  233  to consider careers in fields of science, technology,
  234  engineering, and mathematics.
  235         9. Work with the state universities to incorporate training
  236  programs, activities, and internships for students who are
  237  pursing degrees related to science, technology, engineering, and
  238  mathematics which further enhance their education.
  239         (7) The department, in cooperation with the STEM zone
  240  development agency, the Department of Education, and Workforce
  241  Florida, Inc., shall develop accountability requirements and
  242  measureable objectives that include:
  243         (a) Requiring companies to:
  244         1. Sign an agreement with the STEM zone development agency
  245  to agree to be a partner in some form of education, volunteer,
  246  internship, or event or showcase program in order to encourage
  247  the community and children in our education system about the
  248  excitement in fields related to science, technology,
  249  engineering, or mathematics.
  250         2. Participate in a corporate training program.
  251         3. Submit to an annual audit by the state or local board if
  252  a tax credit, grant, loan, or other public assistance is
  253  received.
  254         (b) Establishing performance metrics to ensure the mission
  255  of the STEM zone is being carried out.
  256         (c) Reporting annually to the Legislature on the progress
  257  of implementing this section.
  258         (d) Developing measurable objectives for each STEM zone to
  259  be monitored by the STEM zone development board with the goal of
  260  creating more jobs in the fields of science, technology,
  261  engineering, and mathematics, producing a workforce that is
  262  highly qualified, and improving the quality of life in the
  263  state.
  264         (8)(a) Effective July 1, 2013, the total amount of state
  265  credits, refunds, and exemptions that may be provided by the
  266  local governing body of each STEM zone to eligible businesses
  267  for STEM zone economic incentives pursuant this section is
  268  $300,000 per designated STEM zone in any state fiscal year. The
  269  governing body of a STEM zone shall disallow a credit or refund
  270  for which an application is submitted after the zone’s
  271  respective $300,000 limit is reached. If the $300,000 incentive
  272  cap is not fully used in any one state fiscal year by a STEM
  273  zone, the unused amount under the cap may be carried forward for
  274  up to 5 years. The local governing body that has jurisdiction
  275  over the STEM zone is responsible for allocating the incentives,
  276  for verifying that businesses receiving such incentives are
  277  eligible for the incentives provided, and for ensuring that the
  278  incentives provided do not exceed the cap for the state fiscal
  279  year.
  280         (b) Upon approving an incentive for an eligible business,
  281  the local governing body that has jurisdiction over the STEM
  282  zone shall provide the taxpayer with a certificate indicating
  283  the name and federal employer identification number of the
  284  eligible business, the date the incentive is provided, the name
  285  of the STEM zone, the incentive type, and the incentive amount.
  286  The local governing body shall certify to the Department of
  287  Revenue or the Department of Economic Opportunity, whichever is
  288  applicable, which businesses or properties are eligible to
  289  receive any or all of the state incentives according to their
  290  statutory requirements. The local governing body that has
  291  jurisdiction over the STEM zone shall provide a copy of the
  292  certificate to the Department of Revenue and the Department of
  293  Economic Development as notification that such incentives were
  294  approved for the specific eligible business or property. For
  295  incentives to be claimed against the sales and use tax under
  296  chapter 212, the Department of Revenue shall send, within 14
  297  days after receipt, written instructions to an eligible business
  298  on how to claim the credit on a sales and use tax return
  299  initiated through an electronic data interchange. Any credit
  300  against the sales and use tax shall be deducted from any sales
  301  and use tax remitted by the dealer to the Department of Revenue
  302  by electronic funds transfer and may be deducted only on a sales
  303  and use tax return initiated through an electronic data
  304  interchange. The dealer shall separately state the credit on the
  305  electronic return. The net amount of tax due and payable must be
  306  remitted by electronic funds transfer. If the credit exceeds the
  307  amount owed on the sales and use tax return, such excess amount
  308  may be carried forward for a period not to exceed 12 months
  309  after the date that the credit is initially claimed.
  310         Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2013.