A. The board, after consultation with the secretaries of the Department of Economic Development and Department of Revenue, and with the approval of the governor, may enter into contracts to provide:

            (1) For the exemption from all or a portion of income taxes levied by the state of Louisiana for a period of five years, renewable once for a period of five years.

            (2) For the exemption of all or a portion of corporate franchise taxes levied by the state of Louisiana for a period of five years, renewable once for a period of five years.

            B. The board may enter into the contracts provided in Subsection A of this Section provided that:

            (1) The business enterprise and its contractors give preference and priority to Louisiana business enterprise and, in the absence of a Louisiana business enterprise, to Louisiana suppliers, contractors, and labor, except where not reasonably possible to do so without added expense, substantial inconvenience, or sacrifice in operational efficiency.

            (2) The request for such exemption is accompanied by an endorsement resolution approved by the governing body of the appropriate municipality, parish, port district, or industrial development board in whose jurisdiction the establishment is to be located.

            (3) The business is or shall be located within the boundaries of an urban revitalization zone.

            (4) The business located in an urban revitalization zone and receiving the benefits of this Chapter certifies that at least thirty-five percent of its employees:

            (a) Are residents of the same or a contiguous revitalization zone as the location of the business.

            (b) Were receiving some form of public assistance prior to employment.

            (c) Were considered unemployable by traditional standards or lacking in basic skills.

            (d) Any combination of the above. Such certification must be updated annually if the business is to continue receiving the benefits of this Chapter.

            C. The board, after consultation with the secretaries of the Department of Economic Development and the Department of Revenue and with the approval of the governor, may enter into contracts to provide for a three thousand six hundred dollar tax credit per net new employee as determined by the company’s average annual employment reported under the Louisiana Employment Security Law. This tax credit may be applied to any state income tax liability or any state franchise tax liability and shall be used for the taxable year in which the increase in average annual employment occurred. However, if the entire credit cannot be used in the year earned, the excess of the credit over the aggregate tax liabilities against which the credit can be applied shall constitute an overpayment, as defined in La. Rev. Stat. 47:1621(A), and the secretary shall make a refund of such overpayment from the current collections of the taxes imposed by Chapter 1 and Chapter 5 of Subtitle II of Title 47 of the Louisiana Revised Statutes of 1950, as amended. The right to a refund of any such overpayment shall not be subject to the requirement of La. Rev. Stat. 47:1621(B).

            D. The department, in cooperation with the Louisiana Workforce Commission, may enter into agreements with employers located in urban revitalization zones under which the employers may receive Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act funds, to the extent that these funds are received from the federal government.

            E. Notwithstanding any provision of this Chapter or other law to the contrary, the incentives provided by this Section shall be in lieu of any incentives under the Enterprise Zone Program.

            F. No contracts shall be entered into on or after July 1, 2017.

            Acts 2005, No. 466, §1, eff. July 1, 2005; Acts 2008, No. 743, §7, eff. July 1, 2008; Acts 2015, No. 125, §3, eff. July 1, 2015, §6, eff. July 1, 2018; Acts 2015, No. 426, §6; Acts 2016, 1^st Ex. Sess., No. 29, §2, eff. April 1, 2016; Acts 2017, No. 323, §2, eff. June 22, 2017; Acts 2017, No. 400, §4, eff. June 26, 2017.

            NOTE: See Acts 2016, 1^st Ex. Sess., No. 29, §2, regarding effectiveness.