2337 AMS LAB S5486.2

2337 AMS LAB S5486.2

HB 2337 - S AMD

By Committee on Labor, Commerce & Trade

Strike everything after the enacting clause and insert the following:

"Sec. 1. RCW 43.160.210 and 1991 c 314 s 25 are each amended to read as follows:

(1) Except as authorized to the contrary under subsection (2) of this section, from all funds available to the board for loans and grants, the board shall spend at least twenty percent for grants and loans for projects in distressed counties. For purposes of this section, the term "distressed counties" includes any county, in which: (a) The average level of unemployment for the three years before the year in which an application for a loan or grant is filed, exceeds the average state employment for those years by twenty percent; or (b) a county that has a median household income that is less than seventy‑five percent of the state median household income for the previous three years.

(2) If at any time during the last six months of a biennium the board finds that the actual and anticipated applications for qualified projects in distressed counties are clearly insufficient to use up the twenty percent allocation, then the board shall estimate the amount of the insufficiency and during the remainder of the biennium may use that amount of the allocation for loans and grants for projects not located in distressed counties.

Sec. 2. RCW 43.165.010 and 1995 c 399 s 91 are each amended to read as follows:

Unless the context clearly requires to the contrary, the definitions in this section apply throughout this chapter.

(1) "Department" means the department of community, trade, and economic development.

(2) "Director" means the director of the department.

(3) "Distressed area" means: (a) A county that has an unemployment rate that is twenty percent above the state-wide average for the previous three years; ((or)) (b) a county that has a median household income that is less than seventy-five percent of the state median household income for the previous three years; (c) a community or area that has experienced sudden and severe or long-term and severe loss of employment, or erosion of its economic base due to decline of its dominant industries; or ((~~(c)~~)) (d) an area within a county which area: (i) Is composed of contiguous census tracts; (ii) has a minimum population of five thousand persons; (iii) has at least seventy percent of its families and unrelated individuals with incomes below eighty percent of the county's median income for families and unrelated individuals; and (iv) has an unemployment rate which is at least forty percent higher than the county's unemployment rate. For purposes of this definition, "families and unrelated individuals" has the same meaning that is ascribed to that term by the federal department of housing and urban development in its regulations authorizing action grants for economic development and neighborhood revitalization projects.

(4) "Economic development revolving loan funds" means a local, not-for-profit or governmentally sponsored business loan program.

(5) "Team" means the community revitalization team.

(6) "Technical assistance" includes, but is not limited to, assistance with strategic planning, market research, business plan development review, organization and management development, accounting and legal services, grant and loan packaging, and other assistance which may be expected to contribute to the redevelopment and economic well-being of a distressed area.

Sec. 3. RCW 43.168.020 and 1995 c 226 s 27 are each amended to read as follows:

Unless the context clearly requires otherwise, the definitions in this section apply throughout this chapter.

(1) "Committee" means the Washington state development loan fund committee.

(2) "Department" means the department of community, trade, and economic development.

(3) "Director" means the director of community, trade, and economic development.

(4) "Distressed area" means: (a) A county which has an unemployment rate which is twenty percent above the state average for the immediately previous three years; (b) a county that has a median household income that is less than seventy-five percent of the state median household income for the previous three years; (c) a metropolitan statistical area, as defined by the office of federal statistical policy and standards, United States department of commerce, in which the average level of unemployment for the calendar year immediately preceding the year in which an application is filed under this chapter exceeds the average state unemployment for such calendar year by twenty percent((~~. Applications under this subsection (4)(b) shall be filed by April 30, 1989; (c)~~)); (d) an area within a county, which area: (i) Is composed of contiguous census tracts; (ii) has a minimum population of five thousand persons; (iii) has at least seventy percent of its families and unrelated individuals with incomes below eighty percent of the county's median income for families and unrelated individuals; and (iv) has an unemployment rate which is at least forty percent higher than the county's unemployment rate; or ((~~(d)~~)) (e) a county designated as a rural natural resources impact area under RCW 43.31.601 if an application is filed by July 1, ((~~1993~~)) 1997. For purposes of this definition, "families and unrelated individuals" has the same meaning that is ascribed to that term by the federal department of housing and urban development in its regulations authorizing action grants for economic development and neighborhood revitalization projects.

(5) "Fund" means the Washington state development loan fund.

(6) "Local development organization" means a nonprofit organization which is organized to operate within an area, demonstrates a commitment to a long-standing effort for an economic development program, and makes a demonstrable effort to assist in the employment of unemployed or underemployed residents in an area.

(7) "Project" means the establishment of a new or expanded business in an area which when completed will provide employment opportunities. "Project" also means the retention of an existing business in an area which when completed will provide employment opportunities.

Sec. 4. RCW 82.60.020 and 1995 1st sp.s. c 3 s 5 are each amended to read as follows:

Unless the context clearly requires otherwise, the definitions in this section apply throughout this chapter.

(1) "Applicant" means a person applying for a tax deferral under this chapter.

(2) "Department" means the department of revenue.

(3) "Eligible area" means: (a) A county in which the average level of unemployment for the three years before the year in which an application is filed under this chapter exceeds the average state unemployment for those years by twenty percent; (b) a county that has a median household income that is less than seventy-five percent of the state median household income for the previous three years; (c) a metropolitan statistical area, as defined by the office of federal statistical policy and standards, United States department of commerce, in which the average level of unemployment for the calendar year immediately preceding the year in which an application is filed under this chapter exceeds the average state unemployment for such calendar year by twenty percent; ((~~(c)~~)) (d) a designated community empowerment zone approved under RCW 43.63A.700 or a county containing such a community empowerment zone; ((~~(d)~~)) (e) a town with a population of less than twelve hundred persons in those counties that are not covered under (a) of this subsection that are timber impact areas as defined in RCW 43.31.601; ((~~(e)~~)) (f) a county designated by the governor as an eligible area under RCW 82.60.047; or ((~~(f)~~)) (g) a county that is contiguous to a county that qualifies as an eligible area under (a) or ((~~(e)~~)) (f) of this subsection.

(4)(a) "Eligible investment project" means:

(i) An investment project in an eligible area as defined in subsection (3)(a), (b), ((~~(d), or~~)) (c), (e), or (f) of this section; or

(ii) That portion of an investment project in an eligible area as defined in subsection (3)((~~(c)~~))(d) or ((~~(f)~~)) (g) of this section which is directly utilized to create at least one new full-time qualified employment position for each three hundred thousand dollars of investment on which a deferral is requested in an application approved before July 1, 1994, and for each seven hundred fifty thousand dollars of investment on which a deferral is requested in an application approved after June 30, 1994.

(b) The lessor/owner of a qualified building is not eligible for a deferral unless the underlying ownership of the buildings, machinery, and equipment vests exclusively in the same person, or unless the lessor by written contract agrees to pass the economic benefit of the deferral to the lessee in the form of reduced rent payments.

(i) The department shall consider the entire investment project, including any investment in machinery and equipment that otherwise qualifies for exemption under RCW 82.08.02565 or 82.12.02565, for purposes of determining the portion of the investment project that qualifies for deferral as an eligible investment project; and

(ii) The number of new full-time qualified employment positions created by an investment project shall be deemed to be reduced by the number of full-time employment positions maintained by the recipient in any other community in this state that are displaced as a result of the investment project.

(d) "Eligible investment project" does not include any portion of an investment project undertaken by a light and power business as defined in RCW 82.16.010(5), other than that portion of a cogeneration project that is used to generate power for consumption within the manufacturing site of which the cogeneration project is an integral part, or investment projects which have already received deferrals under this chapter.

(5) "Investment project" means an investment in qualified buildings or qualified machinery and equipment, including labor and services rendered in the planning, installation, and construction of the project.

(6) "Manufacturing" means all activities of a commercial or industrial nature wherein labor or skill is applied, by hand or machinery, to materials so that as a result thereof a new, different, or useful substance or article of tangible personal property is produced for sale or commercial or industrial use and shall include the production or fabrication of specially made or custom made articles. "Manufacturing" also includes computer programming, the production of computer software, and other computer-related services, and the activities performed by research and development laboratories and commercial testing laboratories.

(7) "Person" has the meaning given in RCW 82.04.030.

(8) "Qualified buildings" means construction of new structures, and expansion or renovation of existing structures for the purpose of increasing floor space or production capacity used for manufacturing and research and development activities, including plant offices and warehouses or other facilities for the storage of raw material or finished goods if such facilities are an essential or an integral part of a factory, mill, plant, or laboratory used for manufacturing or research and development. If a building is used partly for manufacturing or research and development and partly for other purposes, the applicable tax deferral shall be determined by apportionment of the costs of construction under rules adopted by the department.

(9) "Qualified employment position" means a permanent full-time employee employed in the eligible investment project during the entire tax year.

(10) "Qualified machinery and equipment" means all new industrial and research fixtures, equipment, and support facilities that are an integral and necessary part of a manufacturing or research and development operation. "Qualified machinery and equipment" includes: Computers; software; data processing equipment; laboratory equipment; manufacturing components such as belts, pulleys, shafts, and moving parts; molds, tools, and dies; operating structures; and all equipment used to control or operate the machinery.

(11) "Recipient" means a person receiving a tax deferral under this chapter.

(12) "Research and development" means the development, refinement, testing, marketing, and commercialization of a product, service, or process before commercial sales have begun. As used in this subsection, "commercial sales" excludes sales of prototypes or sales for market testing if the total gross receipts from such sales of the product, service, or process do not exceed one million dollars.

Sec. 5. RCW 82.62.010 and 1994 sp.s. c 7 s 705 are each amended to read as follows:

Unless the context clearly requires otherwise, the definitions in this section apply throughout this chapter.

(1) "Applicant" means a person applying for a tax credit under this chapter.

(2) "Department" means the department of revenue.

(3) "Eligible area" means: (a) A county in which the average level of unemployment for the three years before the year in which an application is filed under this chapter exceeds the average state unemployment for those years by twenty percent; (b) a county that has a median household income that is less than seventy-five percent of the state median household income for the previous three years; (c) a metropolitan statistical area, as defined by the office of federal statistical policy and standards, United States department of commerce, in which the average level of unemployment for the calendar year immediately preceding the year in which an application is filed under this chapter exceeds the average state unemployment for such calendar year by twenty percent; ((~~(c)~~)) (d) a designated community empowerment zone approved under RCW 43.63A.700; or ((~~(d)~~)) (e) subcounty areas in those counties that are not covered under (a) of this subsection that are timber impact areas as defined in RCW 43.31.601.

(4)(a) "Eligible business project" means manufacturing or research and development activities which are conducted by an applicant in an eligible area at a specific facility, provided the applicant's average full-time qualified employment positions at the specific facility will be at least fifteen percent greater in the year for which the credit is being sought than the applicant's average full-time qualified employment positions at the same facility in the immediately preceding year.

(b) "Eligible business project" does not include any portion of a business project undertaken by a light and power business as defined in RCW 82.16.010(5) or that portion of a business project creating qualified full-time employment positions outside an eligible area or those recipients of a sales tax deferral under chapter 82.61 RCW.

(5) "Manufacturing" means all activities of a commercial or industrial nature wherein labor or skill is applied, by hand or machinery, to materials so that as a result thereof a new, different, or useful substance or article of tangible personal property is produced for sale or commercial or industrial use and shall include the production or fabrication of specially made or custom made articles. "Manufacturing" also includes computer programming, the production of computer software, and other computer-related services, and the activities performed by research and development laboratories and commercial testing laboratories.

(6) "Person" has the meaning given in RCW 82.04.030.

(7) "Qualified employment position" means a permanent full-time employee employed in the eligible business project during the entire tax year.

(8) "Tax year" means the calendar year in which taxes are due.

(9) "Recipient" means a person receiving tax credits under this chapter.

(10) "Research and development" means the development, refinement, testing, marketing, and commercialization of a product, service, or process before commercial sales have begun. As used in this subsection, "commercial sales" excludes sales of prototypes or sales for market testing if the total gross receipts from such sales of the product, service, or process do not exceed one million dollars.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 6. Section 1 of this act shall take effect June 30, 1997."

HB 2337 - S AMD

By Committee on Labor, Commerce & Trade

On page 1, line 1 of the title, after "designation;" strike the remainder of the title and insert "amending RCW 43.160.210, 43.165.010, 43.168.020, 82.60.020, and 82.62.010; and providing an effective date."