Virginia Code 2.2-5106: (Expires July 1, 2026) Virginia Collaborative Economic Development Performance Grants
A. Subject to the appropriation by the General Assembly of sufficient moneys to the Virginia Collaborative Economic Development Performance Grant Fund, participating localities may be eligible for grants as provided in this section, subject to the conditions set forth in this section and in the guidelines developed pursuant to subsection E. In order to be eligible to apply for a grant, the participating localities shall have contributed to a project or effort described in a collaborative economic development plan an amount as determined pursuant to subsection C, and the participating localities shall demonstrate that the projects or efforts undertaken pursuant to the collaborative economic development plan induced or resulted in the location or expansion of a certified company in the participating localities.
Terms Used In Virginia Code 2.2-5106
- Appropriation: The provision of funds, through an annual appropriations act or a permanent law, for federal agencies to make payments out of the Treasury for specified purposes. The formal federal spending process consists of two sequential steps: authorization
- Board: means the Virginia Growth and Opportunity Board as may be established under law. See Virginia Code 2.2-5105
- Capital investment: means an investment in real property or tangible personal property, or both, by an eligible company within the Commonwealth. See Virginia Code 2.2-5105
- Certified company: means a Virginia employer that has been certified by the Partnership to have (i) created or caused to be created at least 200 net new basic employment jobs in the Commonwealth that are located in the participating localities with average salaries at least equal to the average wage in the participating localities and (ii) made a capital investment of at least $25 million in the participating localities. See Virginia Code 2.2-5105
- Collaborative economic development plan: means an agreement among two or more localities that identifies commitments made by each locality to implement a collaborative approach to economic development, whether the collaboration relates to general economic development and diversification efforts by the participating localities or relates to specific economic development needs, including infrastructure and workforce training, of a company. See Virginia Code 2.2-5105
- Fiscal year: The fiscal year is the accounting period for the government. For the federal government, this begins on October 1 and ends on September 30. The fiscal year is designated by the calendar year in which it ends; for example, fiscal year 2006 begins on October 1, 2005 and ends on September 30, 2006.
- Fund: means the Virginia Collaborative Economic Development Performance Grant Fund created pursuant to § 2. See Virginia Code 2.2-5105
- New job: means employment of an indefinite duration at the eligible facility, created as the direct result of the capital investment, for which the standard fringe benefits are provided by the firm for the employee, requiring a minimum of either (i) 35 hours of an employee's time a week for the entire normal year of the firm's operations, which "normal year" shall consist of at least 48 weeks, or (ii) 1,680 hours per year. See Virginia Code 2.2-5105
- Participating localities: means two or more localities that participate in a collaborative economic development plan. See Virginia Code 2.2-5105
- Partnership: A voluntary contract between two or more persons to pool some or all of their assets into a business, with the agreement that there will be a proportional sharing of profits and losses.
- Partnership: means the Virginia Economic Development Partnership Authority. See Virginia Code 2.2-5105
- Process: includes subpoenas, the summons and complaint in a civil action, and process in statutory actions. See Virginia Code 1-237
- State: when applied to a part of the United States, includes any of the 50 states, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, and the United States Virgin Islands. See Virginia Code 1-245
B. Grants shall be paid to the participating localities in the year following certification by the Partnership of a certified company. Grants may be paid annually for up to six years so long as the certified company substantially maintains the new jobs and capital investment, and the participating localities continue to implement any relevant provisions of the collaborative economic development plan.
C. 1. After taking into consideration other state and local financial commitments made to the certified company, the annual amount of a grant from the Fund shall be not more than an amount equal to 45 percent of the total annual amount of personal income tax withheld for payment to the Virginia Department of Taxation from employees holding new jobs at the applicable certified company. By March 31 of each year, the Partnership and the Virginia Department of Taxation shall determine whether a certified company has met or substantially maintained the new job and capital investment requirements and shall compute, based on the amount of personal income tax withheld from employees holding new jobs, the moneys available to be disbursed as performance grants to the participating localities. If an application for a grant is approved pursuant to subsection D, the aggregate amount of grants awarded for that application over a six-year period shall not exceed 50 percent of the total investment or contributions of the participating localities to the economic development project or effort. Approved grants shall be disbursed annually to or for the benefit of the participating localities in accordance with the terms of the collaborative economic development plan. The aggregate amount of grants payable pursuant to this chapter shall not exceed $20 million in any fiscal year. The Board may prorate the grants payable in a fiscal year if the amount of grants applied for and awarded exceeds $20 million.
2. Notwithstanding the provisions of subdivision 1, if the Board makes a written finding of significant fiscal distress in or extraordinary economic opportunity for the participating localities, the Board may award an aggregate amount of grants for an application approved pursuant to subsection D that is up to 100 percent of the total investment or contributions of the participating localities.
D. The Partnership shall forward to the Board the economic development project or effort for which it approved a collaborative economic development plan and certified a company. The Board shall review such economic development project or effort, following the criteria included in the guidelines developed pursuant to subsection E, and vote whether to award a grant pursuant to this chapter. The Board shall determine the annual amount and the aggregate amount of the grant to be awarded for each approved economic development project or effort, subject to the provisions of subsection C.
E. The Board shall develop guidelines implementing the provisions of this chapter. No grant shall be awarded until the Board provides copies of such guidelines for review to the Governor and the Chairmen of the House Committee on Appropriations and the Senate Committee on Finance and Appropriations. The preparation of the guidelines shall be exempt from the requirements of the Administrative Process Act (§ 2.2-4000 et seq.).
F. The Fund shall be audited annually by the Auditor of Public Accounts or his legally authorized representatives. Copies of the annual audit shall be distributed to the Governor and to the Chairmen of the House Committee on Appropriations and the Senate Committee on Finance and Appropriations.