100.710. Definitions. - Missouri Statutes

Definitions.

100.710. As used in sections 100.700 to 100.850, the following termsmean:

(1) "Assessment", an amount of up to five percent of the gross wagespaid in one year by an eligible industry to all eligible employees in newjobs, or up to ten percent if the economic development project is locatedwithin a distressed community as defined in section 135.530, RSMo;

(2) "Board", the Missouri development finance board as created bysection 100.265;

(3) "Certificates", the revenue bonds or notes authorized to beissued by the board pursuant to section 100.840;

(4) "Credit", the amount agreed to between the board and an eligibleindustry, but not to exceed the assessment attributable to the eligibleindustry's project;

(5) "Department", the Missouri department of economic development;

(6) "Director", the director of the department of economicdevelopment;

(7) "Economic development project":

(a) The acquisition of any real property by the board, the eligibleindustry, or its affiliate; or

(b) The fee ownership of real property by the eligible industry orits affiliate; and

(c) For both paragraphs (a) and (b) of this subdivision, "economicdevelopment project" shall also include the development of the realproperty including construction, installation, or equipping of a project,including fixtures and equipment, and facilities necessary or desirable forimprovement of the real property, including surveys; site tests andinspections; subsurface site work; excavation; removal of structures,roadways, cemeteries and other surface obstructions; filling, grading andprovision of drainage, storm water retention, installation of utilitiessuch as water, sewer, sewage treatment, gas, electricity, communicationsand similar facilities; off-site construction of utility extensions to theboundaries of the real property; and the acquisition, installation, orequipping of facilities on the real property, for use and occupancy by theeligible industry or its affiliates;

(8) "Eligible employee", a person employed on a full-time basis in anew job at the economic development project averaging at least thirty-fivehours per week who was not employed by the eligible industry or a relatedtaxpayer in this state at any time during the twelve-month periodimmediately prior to being employed at the economic development project.For an essential industry, a person employed on a full-time basis in anexisting job at the economic development project averaging at leastthirty-five hours per week may be considered an eligible employee for thepurposes of the program authorized by sections 100.700 to 100.850;

(9) "Eligible industry", a business located within the state ofMissouri which is engaged in interstate or intrastate commerce for thepurpose of manufacturing, processing or assembling products, conductingresearch and development, or providing services in interstate commerce,office industries, or agricultural processing, but excluding retail, healthor professional services. "Eligible industry" does not include a businesswhich closes or substantially reduces its operation at one location in thestate and relocates substantially the same operation to another location inthe state. This does not prohibit a business from expanding its operationsat another location in the state provided that existing operations of asimilar nature located within the state are not closed or substantiallyreduced. This also does not prohibit a business from moving its operationsfrom one location in the state to another location in the state for thepurpose of expanding such operation provided that the board determines thatsuch expansion cannot reasonably be accommodated within the municipality inwhich such business is located, or in the case of a business located in anincorporated area of the county, within the county in which such businessis located, after conferring with the chief elected official of suchmunicipality or county and taking into consideration any evidence offeredby such municipality or county regarding the ability to accommodate suchexpansion within such municipality or county. An eligible industry must:

(a) Invest a minimum of fifteen million dollars, or ten milliondollars for an office industry, in an economic development project; and

(b) Create a minimum of one hundred new jobs for eligible employeesat the economic development project or a minimum of five hundred jobs ifthe economic development project is an office industry or a minimum of twohundred new jobs if the economic development project is an office industrylocated within a distressed community as defined in section 135.530, RSMo,or in the case of an approved company for a project for a worldheadquarters of a business whose primary function is tax return preparationin any home rule city with more than four hundred thousand inhabitants andlocated in more than one county, create a minimum of one hundred new jobsfor eligible employees at the economic development project. An industrythat meets the definition of "essential industry" may be considered aneligible industry for the purposes of the program authorized by sections100.700 to 100.850.

Notwithstanding the preceding provisions of this subdivision, a developmentagency, as such term is defined in subdivision (3) of section 100.255, or acorporation, limited liability company, or partnership formed on behalf ofa development agency, at the option of the board, may be authorized to actas an eligible industry with such obligations and rights otherwiseapplicable to an eligible industry, including the rights of an approvedcompany under section 100.850, so long as the eligible industry otherwisemeets the requirements imposed by this subsection;

(10) "Essential industry", a business that otherwise meets thedefinition of eligible industry except an essential industry shall:

(a) Be a targeted industry;

(b) Be located in a home rule city with more than twenty-six thousandbut less than twenty-seven thousand inhabitants located in any county witha charter form of government and with more than one million inhabitants orin a city of the fourth classification with more than four thousand threehundred but fewer than four thousand four hundred inhabitants and locatedin any county with a charter form of government and with more than onemillion inhabitants;

(c) Have maintained at least two thousand jobs at the proposedeconomic development project site each year for a period of four yearspreceding the year in which application for the program authorized bysections 100.700 to 100.850 is made and during the year in which saidapplication is made;

(d) Retain, at the proposed economic development project site, thelevel of employment that existed at the site in the taxable yearimmediately preceding the year in which application for the program,authorized by sections 100.700 to 100.850, is made. Retention of suchlevel of employment shall commence three years from the date of issuance ofthe certificates and continue for the duration of the certificates; and

(e) Invest a minimum of five hundred million dollars in the economicdevelopment project by the end of the third year after the issuance of thecertificates under this program;

(11) "New job", a job in a new or expanding eligible industry notincluding jobs of recalled workers, replacement jobs or jobs that formerlyexisted in the eligible industry in the state. For an essential industry,an existing job may be considered a new job for the purposes of the programauthorized by sections 100.700 to 100.850;

(12) "Office industry", a regional, national or internationalheadquarters, a telecommunications operation, a computer operation, aninsurance company, or a credit card billing and processing center;

(13) "Program costs", all necessary and incidental costs of providingprogram services including payment of the principal of premium, if any, andinterest on certificates, including capitalized interest, issued to financea project, and funding and maintenance of a debt service reserve fund tosecure such certificates. Program costs shall include:

(a) Obligations incurred for labor and obligations incurred tocontractors, subcontractors, builders and materialmen in connection withthe acquisition, construction, installation or equipping of an economicdevelopment project;

(b) The cost of acquiring land or rights in land and any costincidental thereto, including recording fees;

(c) The cost of contract bonds and of insurance of all kinds that maybe required or necessary during the course of acquisition, construction,installation or equipping of an economic development project which is notpaid by the contractor or contractors or otherwise provided for;

(d) All costs of architectural and engineering services, includingtest borings, surveys, estimates, plans and specifications, preliminaryinvestigations and supervision of construction, as well as the costs forthe performance of all the duties required by or consequent upon theacquisition, construction, installation or equipping of an economicdevelopment project;

(e) All costs which are required to be paid under the terms of anycontract or contracts for the acquisition, construction, installation orequipping of an economic development project; and

(f) All other costs of a nature comparable to those described in thissubdivision;

(14) "Program services", administrative expenses of the board,including contracted professional services, and the cost of issuance ofcertificates;

(15) "Targeted industry", an industry or one of a cluster ofindustries that is identified by the department as critical to the state'seconomic security and growth and affirmed as such by the joint committee oneconomic development policy and planning established in section 620.602,RSMo.

(L. 1996 H.B. 1237 § 8, A.L. 1998 H.B. 1656, A.L. 2003 H.B. 289 merged with S.B. 620, A.L. 2004 H.B. 1182 merged with S.B. 1155 merged with S.B. 1394, A.L. 2005 S.B. 343, A.L. 2006 S.B. 645)

Contingent expiration date, see § 135.284