For the purposes of this Chapter, the following terms shall have the meanings indicated unless the context clearly indicates otherwise:

(1)  “Board” means the State Board of Commerce and Industry or its successor.

(2)  “Business” means any individual, firm, joint venture, association, corporation, estate, partnership, business trust, receiver, syndicate, or any other legal business entity.

(3) “Contract” means a contract executed between the board and a targeted non-manufacturing business, granting the exemption for a facility.

(4)  “Department” means the Department of Economic Development.

(5)  “Exemption” means the exemption from ad valorem property tax provided by La. Const. Art. VII, § 21(L) for targeted non-manufacturing business facilities and granted under this program.

(6)  “Facility” means the new or expanded site of a targeted non-manufacturing business’s activities in Louisiana, including buildings, improvements, equipment and other property necessary or beneficial to such operation, which is owned or leased for a term of more than five years by the business.  “Facility” does not include the land underlying the facility and other property pertaining to the facility on which ad valorem taxes have previously been paid, inventories, consumables, and property eligible for the manufacturing exemption provided by La. Const. Art. VII, § 21(F) .

(7)  “Headquarters jobs” means executive, administrative, or professional jobs based at a principal or regional office located in Louisiana, in which are located the principal or regional executive officers normally constituting a principal or regional headquarters providing corporate governance.  Such principal or regional executive officers include but shall not be limited to chief executive officer, chief operating officer, and other senior level officers or appropriate regional equivalents.

(8)  “New direct jobs” means permanent full-time positions of employment, meaning working thirty or more hours per week, exclusive of contract labor, based at the facility and filled by Louisiana residents, and not existing in the state prior to implementation of the project and the effective date of the contract.

(9)  “Program” means the program provided for in this Chapter for the granting of ad valorem tax exemptions pursuant to the authority granted under La. Const. Art. VII, § 21(L) .

(10)  “Project” means the establishment and operation of a new facility or expanded existing facility in Louisiana by a targeted non-manufacturing business.

(11)  “Secretary” means the secretary of the Department of Economic Development.

(12)  “Shared service center jobs” means jobs based at a business located in Louisiana that performs specific corporate operational tasks for the business or its affiliates or customers, such as accounting, human resources, payroll, or purchasing.

(13)  “Targeted non-manufacturing business” means a business, other than a manufacturer, that meets the requirements of La. Rev. Stat. 47:4354.

Acts 2012, No. 499, §1, eff. Jan. 1, 2013.