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Indian ver County Cit of Vero Beach "AM' t, M Enterprise Zone Development Agency PROPOSED "ENTERPRISE PROGRAM ZONE" HB475—Rep. Jeanette Nunez HB475 creates a new"Enterprise Program Zone" to take the place of the current Enterprise Zone program. The Bill was filed 1/22/13 by Rep. Jeanette Nunez from Miami-Dade. There is no companion Bill filed in the Senate. It is currently in the Economic Development and Tourism Sub-Committee, Chaired by Rep. Truillos. Current: The Enterprise Zone program is an "if/then" incentive. Businesses are induced by an expectation of the incentives available to locate to this area. The purpose is to bring jobs and investment to distressed areas targeted for redevelopment. The program began in 1982 as one of the first in the U.S. to offer tax incentives as a way to encourage private investment in high unemployment and high poverty areas. It has gone through multiple revisions. There are 65 Enterprise Zones in Florida. The Indian River County/City of Vero Beach Enterprise Zone was designated in 2005, and is up for "Sunset Review" in 2015. It covers a 4.5 square mile area, encompassing the Vero Beach Municipal Airport and the adjacent Gifford community. Proposed: The criteria of the proposed Enterprise Program Zone is "but for" in nature whereby applications for incentives must be filed with a local board then forwarded to a state agency for approval before the business locates or expands. The legislation creates an 11-member FL Urban Investment Job Creation Authority, staffed by the Department of Economic Opportunity, to oversee local Zone Development Corporations. The Corporations would be structured as not-for-profit organizations to serve as the board of directors for local Enterprise Program Zone. Existing Enterprise Zones must submit an economic report to the Authority by 10/1/13 showing current census data and economic indicators that identify distressed areas, with a recommendation for the new Program Zone boundary. Total area of the newly designated Program Zone may not exceed 25% of the existing Enterprise Zone (referred to as "legacy zones"). Several incentives are being proposed under this legislation, including sales/corporate tax credit programs and a loan fund. A Program Zone's allocation of loan funds is based on sales tax collections from the prior fiscal year within the new (smaller) Program Zone. Incentives requested by a qualified new business must be made prior to beginning operations within the Program Zone. Expanding businesses must show a 10% net increase in employment. A qualified business: • Must be located within the Program Zone (an area smaller than the current Enterprise Zone); AND • 25% of the business' employees must either: o Reside in the Program Zone; OR o Live in FL and have been unemployed for at least 6 months; OR o Received temporary cash assistance for the past 6 months; OR o Are low-income individuals as defined by the federal Workforce Act Next page please 3