Florida Senate - 2019                                    SB 1474
       
       
        
       By Senator Torres
       
       
       
       
       
       15-01446-19                                           20191474__
    1                        A bill to be entitled                      
    2         An act relating to workforce retention; creating s.
    3         559.952, F.S.; providing a short title; creating s.
    4         559.9521, F.S.; providing definitions; creating s.
    5         559.9522, F.S.; requiring certain employers that
    6         intend to relocate out of state or cease operation to
    7         notify the Department of Business and Professional
    8         Regulation within a specified period; providing a
    9         civil penalty; requiring the department to compile a
   10         semiannual list of employers that relocate out of
   11         state or cease operation; creating s. 559.9523, F.S.;
   12         providing that such employers are ineligible for state
   13         grants, loans, or tax benefits for a specified period;
   14         requiring such employers to remit certain funds to the
   15         department under certain circumstances; providing
   16         exceptions; creating s. 559.9524, F.S.; requiring the
   17         head of each state agency to ensure that certain
   18         services are performed by state contractors within the
   19         state; requiring compliance by certain contractors by
   20         a specified date; creating s. 559.9525, F.S.;
   21         providing construction; providing a directive to the
   22         Division of Law Revision; providing an effective date.
   23          
   24  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
   25  
   26         Section 1. Section 559.952, Florida Statutes, is created to
   27  read:
   28         559.952Short title.—Sections 559.952-559.9525 may be cited
   29  as the “Florida Jobs Retention Act of 2019.”
   30         Section 2. Section 559.9521, Florida Statutes, is created
   31  to read:
   32         559.9521Definitions.—As used in this act, the term:
   33         (1)“Employer” means a business enterprise that:
   34         (a)Has been in operation in this state for at least 6
   35  months;
   36         (b)Employs 75 or more individuals who, in the aggregate,
   37  work at least 1,500 hours per week, not including hours of
   38  overtime, for the purpose of providing customer service or
   39  conducting back-office operations; and
   40         (c)Receives any direct or indirect state grant, state
   41  guaranteed loan, or state tax benefit.
   42         (2)“Department” means the Department of Business and
   43  Professional Regulation.
   44         Section 3. Section 559.9522, Florida Statutes, is created
   45  to read:
   46         559.9522Employers intending to relocate out of state or
   47  cease operation.—
   48         (1)NOTICE REQUIREMENT.—An employer that intends to:
   49         (a)Relocate a Florida business, or one or more facilities
   50  or operating units within such business comprising at least 30
   51  percent of the business’s or operating unit’s total volume when
   52  measured against the previous 12-month average volume of
   53  operations, out of the state; or
   54         (b)Cease operation of such business, facilities, or
   55  operating units
   56  
   57  must notify the department at least 180 days before such
   58  relocation or cessation.
   59         (2)PENALTY.—An employer that violates subsection (1) is
   60  subject to a civil penalty of up to $10,000 per day for each day
   61  the employer failed to provide the notice required under
   62  subsection (1). However, the department may reduce the penalty
   63  amount if just cause is shown.
   64         (3)LIST COMPILATION.—The department shall compile and
   65  publish on its website a semiannual list of all employers that
   66  relocate or cease operation as described in subsection (1).
   67         Section 4. Section 559.9523, Florida Statutes, is created
   68  to read:
   69         559.9523Grants and guaranteed loans.—
   70         (1)INELIGIBILITY.—Except as provided in subsection (3) and
   71  notwithstanding any other law, an employer included on the list
   72  described in s. 559.9522 is ineligible for any direct or
   73  indirect state grant, state-guaranteed loan, or state tax
   74  benefit for 5 years after the date such list is published.
   75         (2)REVERSION.—Except as provided in subsection (3) and
   76  notwithstanding any other law, an employer included on the list
   77  described in s. 559.9522 shall remit to the department the
   78  remaining prorated value of any state grant, state-guaranteed
   79  loan, state tax benefit, or any other state governmental support
   80  received on or after the effective date of this act.
   81         (3)EXCEPTIONS.—The department, in consultation with the
   82  appropriate state agency providing a loan, grant, or tax
   83  benefit, may waive the requirements of this section if the
   84  employer applying for such loan, grant, or benefit demonstrates
   85  that returning such loan, grant, or benefit would result in:
   86         (a)Substantial job loss in this state; or
   87         (b)Harm to the environment.
   88         Section 5. Section 559.9524, Florida Statutes, is created
   89  to read:
   90         559.9524In-state procurement.—The head of each state
   91  agency shall ensure that all state-business-related customer
   92  service work is performed by state contractors or their agents
   93  or subcontractors entirely within the state. A state contractor
   94  who currently performs state-business-related customer service
   95  work outside the state must comply with this act within 2 years
   96  after the effective date of this act. If such a contractor hires
   97  additional customer service employees who will perform work on
   98  state agency contracts, those new employees must immediately be
   99  employed within the state.
  100         Section 6. Section 559.9525, Florida Statutes, is created
  101  to read:
  102         559.9525State benefits for workers.—This act may not be
  103  construed to allow withholding or denial of payments,
  104  compensation, or benefits under any other state law, including
  105  state unemployment compensation, disability payments, or worker
  106  retraining or readjustment funds, to workers employed by
  107  employers that relocate out of this state or that cease
  108  operation.
  109         Section 7. The Division of Law Revision is directed to
  110  replace the phrase “the effective date of this act” wherever it
  111  occurs in this act with the date the act becomes effective.
  112         Section 8. This act shall take effect 240 days after
  113  becoming a law.