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:
55 288.126 Science, 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.