Current through Register Vol. 50, No. 3, March 20, 2024
A. The
board, after no objection from the executive director of the LWC and secretary
of the LDR, and with the approval of the governor, may enter into a contract
with an employer for a period up to five years. The business must execute its
portion of the contract and return it to Business Incentive Services within 90
days. If the contract is not returned within 90 days, the board's approval
shall be deemed rescinded.
1. A contract with
an employer shall be limited to a single project site and the benefits the
employer shall receive will be based upon the operations at that location. An
employer may have only one contract in effect for a project site, except as
provided below.
2. Upon written
approval of the department, an employer may have one additional contract in
effect for a project site for a subsequent expansion project that is distinct
from the project associated with the original contract, and that increases the
number of new direct jobs at the site by at least 25 percent. If new direct
jobs are not increased by at least 25 percent by the end of the third fiscal
year of the additional contract, the contract shall be terminated and all
benefits for the site shall be determined under the original
contract.
3. An employer may have
multiple contracts covering multiple locations. The eligibility of each
location shall be determined separately.
4. For each contract, the department shall
certify that the employer has a net overall increase in employment statewide
for each new direct job.
5. A
contract may, with the approval of the board, be transferred to a business
entity purchasing and continuing the operation of a project site. Upon such
transfer, the employment baseline shall be that of the purchaser during the
45-day period prior to the purchase.
6. A contract shall be limited to one
employer receiving payroll rebates, however the employer's named related entity
or affiliate may generate a sale and use tax rebate or project facility expense
rebate for their expenditures directly relating to the project site, but
payable to the contract holder, if the following conditions are met:
a. the employer meets all program
requirements;
b. the entity is
disclosed by the employer in its application; or
c. the entity is listed in the contract
attachment Schedule One, which may be amended with the approval of the
department and the board.
7. A fee of $250 shall be filed with a
request for any contract amendment, including but not limited to, a change of
ownership, change in name, or change in location.
B. The contract may be renewed for an
additional five years provided that:
1. the
employer has complied with all the terms of the contract;
2. the employer has met the statutory minimum
hourly wage for the new direct jobs subject to the benefit rate established
when the contract was entered into; and
3. the hourly wage rate has increased by an
amount which is no less than the greater of either of the following:
a. the hourly wage rate has grown by the
percentage increase in the Consumer Price Index published by the U.S.
Department of Labor for the five years of the initial term of the contract,
compounded; or
b. the hourly wage
rate has increased by 2 percent for each of the five years of the initial term
of the contract, compounded annually;
c. the greater of the increases required
under items a. and b. above shall become the minimum hourly wage for the
renewal contract.
C. No contract shall be executed if:
1. the employer has defaulted, not repaid a
loan, or not repaid an obligation involving public funds;
2. the employer declared bankruptcy and the
obligation to pay or repay public funds or monies was discharged as part of
such bankruptcy a contract shall not be executed; or
3. the employer is in default on any filing
or payment to the state, or any of its agencies or political subdivisions, for
which an assessment or judgment is final.
D. Contract Voided. Violation of the
provisions of §1117. C shall void the contract and any rebates paid to the
employer prior to the date the violation is discovered, the rebates will be
recovered by adding to the income tax liability for the taxable year the
violation occurred. Additionally, interest will be assessed from the date of
the violation and the employer shall receive no further rebates.
E. Contract Suspended
1. If a rebate is received by an employer as
provided under this provision and the employer is rendered an assessment or
judgment that is final and nonappealable in favor of the state or any of its
agencies or any of its political subdivisions, the contract shall be suspended
pending the settlement of the assessment. No rebate shall accrue to the
employer under the contract during the period of suspension.
2. After the employer's fiscal year for which
the employer applied for his third annual rebate, if at any other time during
the 10-year contract period the employer applies for a rebate following the end
of the employer's fiscal year, and the verified gross payroll for the fiscal
year does not demonstrate the required minimum new direct jobs and the required
gross payroll, the rebates shall be suspended and shall not be resumed until
such time as the payroll and job requirements are met. No rebate (payroll
rebate, sales and use tax rebate or project facility expense rebate) shall
accrue or be paid to the employer during a period of suspension.
F. Contract Rebates Reduced
1. If the employer receives a rebate and it
is subsequently determined the employer did not qualify for the rebate, future
rebates will be reduced by the amount received by the employer.
2. If there are no future rebates to deduct
the amount owed the state, the tax liability of the employer will be increased
by the amount of the rebate for the taxable period non-qualification was
determined.
3. The secretary of the
LDR may recover any rebates previously granted to an employer but which rebates
disallowed as authorized by
R.S.
47:1561.2. The employer shall waive
prescription for the purpose of recovering any disallowed rebates.
AUTHORITY NOTE:
Promulgated in accordance with
R.S.
51:2451-2462 et
seq.