CHAPTER 122: DEPARTMENT OF DEVELOPMENT

As used in this chapter:

(A) “Community problems” includes, but is not limited to, taxation, fiscal administration, governmental structure and organization, intergovernmental cooperation, education and training, employment needs, community planning and development, air and water pollution, public safety and the administration of justice, housing, mass transportation, community facilities and services, health, welfare, recreation, open space, and the development of human resources.

(B) “Professional personnel” means either of the following:

(1) Personnel who have earned a bachelor’s degree from a college or university;

(2) Personnel who serve as or have the working title of director, assistant director, deputy director, assistant deputy director, manager, office chief, assistant office chief, or program director.

(C) “Technical personnel” means any of the following:

(1) Personnel who provide technical assistance according to their job description or in accordance with the Revised Code;

(2) Personnel employed in the director of development’s office or the legal office, communications office, finance office, legislative affairs office, or human resources office of the department of development;

(3) Personnel employed in the technology division of the department.

Effective Date: 09-26-1996

(A) The department of development shall develop and promote plans and programs designed to assure that state resources are efficiently used, economic growth is properly balanced, community growth is developed in an orderly manner, and local governments are coordinated with each other and the state, and for such purposes may do all of the following:

(1) Serve as a clearinghouse for information, data, and other materials that may be helpful or necessary to persons or local governments, as provided in section 122.07 of the Revised Code;

(2) Prepare and activate plans for the retention, development, expansion, and use of the resources and commerce of the state, as provided in section 122.04 of the Revised Code;

(3) Assist and cooperate with federal, state, and local governments and agencies of federal, state, and local governments in the coordination of programs to carry out the functions and duties of the department;

(4) Encourage and foster research and development activities, conduct studies related to the solution of community problems, and develop recommendations for administrative or legislative actions, as provided in section 122.03 of the Revised Code;

(5) Serve as the economic and community development planning agency, which shall prepare and recommend plans and programs for the orderly growth and development of this state and which shall provide planning assistance, as provided in section 122.06 of the Revised Code;

(6) Cooperate with and provide technical assistance to state departments, political subdivisions, regional and local planning commissions, tourist associations, councils of government, community development groups, community action agencies, and other appropriate organizations for carrying out the functions and duties of the department or for the solution of community problems;

(7) Coordinate the activities of state agencies that have an impact on carrying out the functions and duties of the department;

(8) Encourage and assist the efforts of and cooperate with local governments to develop mutual and cooperative solutions to their common problems that relate to carrying out the purposes of this section;

(9) Study existing structure, operations, and financing of regional or local government and those state activities that involve significant relations with regional or local governmental units, recommend to the governor and to the general assembly such changes in these provisions and activities as will improve the operations of regional or local government, and conduct other studies of legal provisions that affect problems related to carrying out the purposes of this section;

(10) Create and operate a division of community development to develop and administer programs and activities that are authorized by federal statute or the Revised Code;

(11) Until October 15, 2007, establish fees and charges, in consultation with the director of agriculture, for purchasing loans from financial institutions and providing loan guarantees under the family farm loan program created under sections 901.80 to 901.83 of the Revised Code;

(12) Provide loan servicing for the loans purchased and loan guarantees provided under section 901.80 of the Revised Code as that section existed prior to October 15, 2007;

(13) Until October 15, 2007, and upon approval by the controlling board under division (A)(3) of section 901.82 of the Revised Code of the release of money to be used for purchasing a loan or providing a loan guarantee, request the release of that money in accordance with division (B) of section 166.03 of the Revised Code for use for the purposes of the fund created by section 166.031 of the Revised Code.

(B) The director of development may request the attorney general to, and the attorney general, in accordance with section 109.02 of the Revised Code, shall bring a civil action in any court of competent jurisdiction. The director may be sued in the director’s official capacity, in connection with this chapter, in accordance with Chapter 2743. of the Revised Code.

Effective Date: 09-26-2003; 12-30-2004; 06-27-2005; 06-30-2005

The director of development may designate any governmental entity as an agency of the state to act within a specified region of the state for the purpose of creating and preserving jobs and employment opportunities and financing projects intended to create or preserve jobs and employment opportunities. Any such designation shall be in addition to agency designations made for such purpose by, or by the director pursuant to, Section 56.09 of H.B. 298 of the 119th general assembly, the provisions of which pertaining to such designations, and the designations so made, remain in full force and effect as continuing grants of authority. Each agency designated by or pursuant to Section 56.09 of H.B. 298 of the 119th general assembly or this section may exercise any statutory powers it has under any other section of the Revised Code to accomplish the purposes of this section within the agency’s specified region. The regions served by agencies shall not overlap. The director may reduce, expand, or otherwise modify the region served by, or limit the authority of, any such agency.

Effective Date: 05-06-2005

The department of development shall post the following on the official internet site of the department:

(A) Annual reports of the progress and status of eligible projects made as required under division (E) of section 122.0814 of the Revised Code;

(B) The annual report made by the director of development under section 122.0817 of the Revised Code;

(C) Reports made by the third frontier commission under section 184.15 of the Revised Code;

(D) Information on all support awarded under section 184.11 of the Revised Code.

Effective Date: 01-04-2006

The department of development may apply for, receive, and accept grants, gifts, contributions, loans and any other assistance in any form from public and private sources, including assistance from agencies and instrumentalities of the United States and including the application for, receipt, and acceptance, on behalf of this state, of assistance from agencies and instrumentalities of the United States for the purposes of Chapter 122. of the Revised Code except that nothing in this section prohibits the minority business development division from exercising its authority under section 122.93 of the Revised Code. The department shall do all things necessary to apply for, receive, and administer such assistance in accordance with the laws of Ohio. It may contract or enter into agreements with any person, governmental agency, or public or private organization, and any local or regional agency or political subdivision of the state may contract with it, to carry out the purposes of Chapter 122. of the Revised Code. The department may require, in all contracts for assistance stipulations that the contractors and any subcontractors comply with requirements as to minimum wages, hours of work, equal employment, and any other conditions which the United States has attached to its financial aid to the projects.

Effective Date: 08-12-1982

The department of development shall:

(A) Maintain a continuing evaluation of existing research facilities in the state and their relationship to orderly economic growth and the solution of community problems of the state;

(B) Prepare and disseminate information relative to research facilities in the state and their availability to industrial activities and the solution of community problems;

(C) Prepare and recommend programs for the coordination of research activities in the state and to assure the maximum use of such facilities in the development of orderly economic growth and the solution of community problems;

(D) Cooperate with educational institutions in the development of educational programs to train technical personnel in the field of research and those other fields related to the solution of community problems;

(E) Carry out continuing studies and analyses of the problems and opportunities of communities, districts, and regions within the state, and of multistate regions of which Ohio is a part.

Effective Date: 08-12-1982

The department of development shall do the following:

(A) Maintain a continuing evaluation of the sources available for the retention, development, or expansion of industrial and commercial facilities in this state through both public and private agencies;

(B) Assist public and private agencies in obtaining information necessary to evaluate the desirability of the retention, construction, or expansion of industrial and commercial facilities in the state;

(C) Facilitate contracts between community improvement corporations organized under Chapter 1724. of the Revised Code or Ohio development corporations organized under Chapter 1726. of the Revised Code and industrial and commercial concerns seeking to locate or expand in the state;

(D) Upon request, consult with public agencies or authorities in the preparation of studies of human and economic needs or advantages relating to economic and community development;

(E) Encourage, promote, and assist trade and commerce between this state and foreign nations;

(F) Promote and encourage persons to visit and travel within this state;

(G) Maintain membership in the national association of state development agencies;

(H) Assist in the development of facilities and technologies that will lead to increased, environmentally sound use of Ohio coal;

(I) Promote economic growth in the state.

Effective Date: 09-26-2003

The director of development shall do all of the following with regard to the encouraging diversity, growth, and equity program created under section 123.152 of the Revised Code:

(A) Conduct outreach, marketing, and recruitment of EDGE business enterprises, as defined in that section;

(B) Provide assistance to the department of administrative services, as needed, to certify new EDGE business enterprises and to train appropriate state agency staff;

(C) Provide business development services to EDGE business enterprises in the developmental and transitional stages of the program, including financial and bonding assistance and management and technical assistance;

(D) Develop a mentor program to bring businesses into a working relationship with EDGE business enterprises in a way that commercially benefits both entities and serves the purpose of the EDGE program;

(E) Not later than December 31, 2003, prepare and submit to the governor a detailed report outlining and evaluating the progress made in implementing the encouraging diversity, growth, and equity program;

(F) Establish processes by which an EDGE business enterprise may apply for contract assistance, financial and bonding assistance, management and technical assistance, and mentoring opportunities.

Effective Date: 09-26-2003

(A) The director of development may, to carry out the purposes of division (E) of section 122.04 of the Revised Code:

(1) Establish offices in foreign countries as the director considers appropriate and enter into leases of real property, buildings, and office space that are appropriate for these offices;

(2) Appoint personnel, who shall be in the unclassified civil services, necessary to operate such offices and fix their compensation. The director may enter into contracts with foreign nationals to staff the foreign offices established under this section.

(3) The director may establish United States dollar and foreign currency accounts for the payment of expenses related to the operation and maintenance of the offices established under this section. The director shall establish procedures acceptable to the director of budget and management for the conversion, transfer, and control of United States dollars and foreign currency.

(4) Do all things necessary and appropriate for the operation of the state’s foreign offices.

(B) All contracts entered into under division (A)(2) of this section and any payments of expenses related to the operation and maintenance of foreign offices established under this section may be paid in the appropriate foreign currency and are exempt from sections 127.16 and 5147.07 and Chapters 124., 125., and 153. of the Revised Code.

Effective Date: 09-29-1999

There is hereby created in the state treasury the international trade cooperative projects fund. The fund shall consist of moneys received from private and nonprofit organizations involved in cooperative agreements related to import/export and direct foreign investment activities and cash transfers from other state agencies or any state or local government to encourage, promote, and assist trade and commerce between this state and foreign nations, pursuant to section 122.05 and division (E) of section 122.04 of the Revised Code.

Effective Date: 2007 HB119 06-30-2007

The department of development shall:

(A) Assemble, analyze, and make available to governmental agencies and the public, information relative to the human, natural, and economic resources and economic needs of the state;

(B) Prepare and maintain, in cooperation with departments and agencies of the state, comprehensive plans and recommendations for promotion of more desirable patterns of growth and development of the resources of the state;

(C) Assist in the coordination of development plans of federal, state and local governments, regional and local planning authorities, and private agencies;

(D) Provide planning assistance to state departments and agencies, political subdivisions, county planning commissions, regional planning units, councils of government, and local governments of this state. Such planning assistance may be rendered with respect to surveys, land use studies, urban renewal plans, technical services and other planning work. In so doing, the department may contract with municipal subdivisions, with regional planning commissions, and with qualified persons, firms, and agencies.

(E) Cooperate with federal agencies and authorities of other states in the solution of community and development problems which cross state lines;

(F) Recommend guidelines for the development and management of new communities;

(G) Prepare and maintain rules concerning certification of workable programs for impacted cities pursuant to division (C) of section 1728.01 of the Revised Code, provided that the department shall consult with officials of municipalities and representatives of statewide organizations of such officials prior to the preparation, adoption, or change of such rules.

Effective Date: 08-12-1982

(A) The department of development may do either of the following:

(1) Disseminate information concerning the industrial, commercial, governmental, educational, cultural, recreational, agricultural, and other advantages and attractions of the state;

(2) Provide technical assistance to public and private agencies in the preparation of promotional programs designed to attract business, industry, and tourists to the state.

(B) Records related to tourism market research submitted to or generated by the research office of the division of travel and tourism of the department of development, and any information taken for any purpose from such research, are not public records for the purposes of section 149.43 of the Revised Code. The department may use, however, such tourism market research in a public report if the director of the department determines that issuing and distributing the report would promote or market the state’s travel and tourism industry or otherwise advance the purposes of this section.

Effective Date: 09-26-1996

There is hereby created in the state treasury the travel and tourism cooperative projects fund consisting of all grants, gifts, and contributions made to the director of development for marketing and promotion of travel and tourism within this state pursuant to division (F) of section 122.04 and section 122.07 of the Revised Code.

Effective Date: 2007 HB119 06-30-2007

(A) As used in this section:

(1) “Alternative fuel” means blended biodiesel or blended gasoline.

(2) “Biodiesel” means a mono-alkyl ester combustible liquid fuel that is derived from vegetable oils or animal fats, or any combination of those reagents, and that meets American society for testing and materials specification D6751-03a for biodiesel fuel (B100) blend stock distillate fuels.

(3) “Diesel fuel” and “gasoline” have the same meanings as in section 5735.01 of the Revised Code.

(4) “Ethanol” has the same meaning as in section 5733.46 of the Revised Code.

(5) “Blended biodiesel” means diesel fuel containing at least twenty per cent biodiesel by volume.

(6) “Blended gasoline” means gasoline containing at least eighty-five per cent ethanol by volume.

(7) “Incremental cost” means either of the following:

(a) The difference in cost between blended gasoline and gasoline containing ten per cent or less ethanol at the time that the blended gasoline is purchased;

(b) The difference in cost between blended biodiesel and diesel fuel containing two per cent or less biodiesel at the time that the blended biodiesel is purchased.

(B) For the purpose of improving the air quality in this state, the director of development shall establish an alternative fuel transportation grant program under which the director may make grants to businesses, nonprofit organizations, public school systems, or local governments for the purchase and installation of alternative fuel refueling or distribution facilities and terminals, for the purchase and use of alternative fuel, and to pay the costs of educational and promotional materials and activities intended for prospective alternative fuel consumers, fuel marketers, and others in order to increase the availability and use of alternative fuel.

(C) The director, in consultation with the director of agriculture, shall adopt rules in accordance with Chapter 119. of the Revised Code that are necessary for the administration of the alternative fuel transportation grant program. The rules shall establish at least all of the following:

(1) An application form and procedures governing the application process for a grant under the program;

(2) A procedure for prioritizing the award of grants under the program. The procedures shall give preference to all of the following:

(a) Publicly accessible refueling facilities;

(b) Entities seeking grants that have secured funding from other sources, including, but not limited to, private or federal grants;

(c) Entities that have presented compelling evidence of demand in the market in which the facilities or terminals will be located;

(d) Entities that have committed to utilizing purchased or installed facilities or terminals for the greatest number of years;

(e) Entities that will be purchasing or installing facilities or terminals for both blended biodiesel and blended gasoline.

(3) A requirement that the maximum grant for the purchase and installation of an alternative fuel refueling or distribution facility or terminal be eighty per cent of the cost of the facility or terminal, except that at least twenty per cent of the total net cost of the facility or terminal shall be incurred by the grant recipient and not compensated for by any other source;

(4) A requirement that the maximum grant for the purchase of alternative fuel be eighty per cent of the incremental cost of the fuel;

(5) Any other criteria, procedures, or guidelines that the director determines are necessary to administer the program.

(D) An applicant for a grant under this section that sells motor vehicle fuel at retail shall agree that if the applicant receives a grant, the applicant will report to the director the gallon amounts of blended gasoline and blended biodiesel the applicant sells at retail in this state for a period of three years after the grant is awarded.

The director shall enter into a written confidentiality agreement with the applicant regarding the gallon amounts sold as described in this division, and upon execution of the agreement this information is not a public record.

(E) There is hereby created in the state treasury the alternative fuel transportation grant fund. The fund shall consist of money transferred to the fund under division (C) of section 125.836 of the Revised Code, money that is appropriated to it by the general assembly, and money as may be specified by the general assembly from the advanced energy fund created by section 4928.61 of the Revised Code. Money in the fund shall be used to make grants under the alternative fuel transportation grant program and by the director in the administration of that program.

Effective Date: 09-29-2005; 07-06-2006; 01-04-2007

There is hereby created in the state treasury the energy projects fund consisting of nonfederal revenue that is remitted to the director of development for the purpose of energy projects. Money in the fund shall be used by the department of development for energy projects and to pay the costs incurred in administering the energy projects.

Effective Date: 2007 HB119 06-30-2007

(A) There is hereby created within the department of development an office to be known as the office of small business. The office shall be under the supervision of a manager appointed by the director of development.

(B) The office shall do all of the following:

(1) Act as liaison between the small business community and state governmental agencies;

(2) Furnish information and technical assistance to persons and small businesses concerning the establishment and maintenance of a small business, and concerning state laws and rules relevant to the operation of a small business. In conjunction with these duties, the office shall keep a record of all state agency rules affecting individuals, small businesses, or small organizations, as defined in section 121.24 of the Revised Code, and may testify before the joint committee on agency rule review concerning any proposed rule affecting individuals, small businesses, or small organizations.

(3) Prepare and publish the small business register under section 122.081 of the Revised Code;

(4) Receive complaints from small businesses concerning governmental activity, compile and analyze those complaints, and periodically make recommendations to the governor and the general assembly on changes in state laws or agency rules needed to eliminate burdensome and unproductive governmental regulation to improve the economic climate within which small businesses operate;

(5) Receive complaints or questions from small businesses and direct those businesses to the appropriate governmental agency. If, within a reasonable period of time, a complaint is not satisfactorily resolved or a question is not satisfactorily answered, the office shall, on behalf of the small business, make every effort to secure a satisfactory result. For this purpose, the office may consult with any state governmental agency and may make any suggestion or request that seems appropriate.

(6) Utilize, to the maximum extent possible, the printed and electronic media to disseminate information of current concern and interest to the small business community and to make known to small businesses the services available through the office. The office shall publish such books, pamphlets, and other printed materials, and shall participate in such trade association meetings, conventions, fairs, and other meetings involving the small business community, as the manager considers appropriate.

(7) Prepare for inclusion in the department of development’s annual report to the governor and general assembly, a description of the activities of the office and a report of the number of rules affecting individuals, small businesses, and small organizations that were filed with the office under division (B)(2) of section 121.24 of the Revised Code, during the preceding calendar year;

(8) Operate the Ohio first-stop business connection to assist individuals in identifying and preparing applications for business licenses, permits, and certificates and to serve as the central public distributor for all forms, applications, and other information related to business licensing. Each state agency, board, and commission shall cooperate in providing assistance, information, and materials to enable the connection to perform its duties under this division .

(C) The office may, upon the request of a state agency, assist the agency with the preparation of any rule that will affect individuals, small businesses, or small organizations.

(D) The director of development shall assign employees and furnish equipment and supplies to the office as the director considers necessary for the proper performance of the duties assigned to the office.

Effective Date: 09-26-2003

(A) The office of small business in the department of development shall prepare and publish a “small business register” or contract with any person as provided in this section to prepare and publish the register. The small business register shall contain the following information regarding each proposed rule filed with the office of small business under division (B)(2) of section 121.24 of the Revised Code:

(1) The title and administrative code rule number of the proposed rule;

(2) A brief summary of the proposed rule;

(3) The date on which the proposed rule was filed with the office of small business under division (B)(2) of section 121.24 of the Revised Code; and

(4) The name, address, and telephone number of the individual or office within the agency that proposed the rule who has been designated as being responsible for complying with division (E) of section 121.24 of the Revised Code with regard to the proposed rule.

(B) The small business register shall be published on a weekly basis. The information required under division (A) of this section shall be published in the register no later than two weeks after the proposed rule to which the information relates is filed with the office of small business under division (B)(2) of section 121.24 of the Revised Code. The office of small business shall furnish the small business register, on a single copy or subscription basis, to any person who requests it and pays a single copy price or subscription rate fixed by the office. The office shall furnish the chairmen of the standing committees of the senate and house of representatives having jurisdiction over individuals, small businesses, and small organizations with free subscriptions to the small business register.

(C) Upon the request of the office of small business, the director of administrative services shall, in accordance with the competitive selection procedure of Chapter 125. of the Revised Code, let a contract for the compilation, printing, and distribution of the small business register.

(D) The office of small business shall adopt, and may amend or rescind, in accordance with Chapter 119. of the Revised Code, such rules as are necessary to enable it to properly carry out this section.

Effective Date: 07-01-1993

The department of development shall provide for low-interest loans to small businesses, as defined by rules adopted pursuant to the “Small Business Act,” 72 Stat. 384 (1972), 15 U.S.C. 632, as amended, that are engaged in the export of goods produced in this state. In carrying out the purposes of this section, the department shall develop operating procedures that are essentially the same as those of the United States export-import bank.

Effective Date: 02-24-1983

(A) The director of development shall administer a shovel ready sites program to provide grants for projects to port authorities and development entities approved by the director. Grants may be used to pay the costs of any or all of the following:

(1) Acquisition of property, including options;

(2) Preparation of sites, including brownfield clean-up activities;

(3) Construction of road, water, telecommunication, and utility infrastructure;

(4) Payment of professional fees the amount of which shall not exceed twenty per cent of the grant amount for a project.

(B) The director shall adopt rules in accordance with Chapter 119. of the Revised Code that establish procedures and requirements necessary for the administration of the program, including a requirement that a recipient of a grant enter into an agreement with the director governing the use of the grant.

(C) There is hereby created in the state treasury the shovel ready sites fund consisting of money appropriated to it. Money in the fund shall be used solely for the purposes of this section.

Effective Date: 06-30-2005

Effective Date: 03-17-1994

As used in sections 122.085 to 122.0820 of the Revised Code:

(A)(1) “Allowable costs” includes costs related to the following:

(a) Acquisition of land and buildings;

(b) Building construction;

(c) Making improvements to land and buildings, including the following:

(i) Expanding, reconstructing, rehabilitating, remodeling, renovating, enlarging, modernizing, equipping, and furnishing buildings and structures, including leasehold improvements;

(ii) Site preparation, including wetland mitigation.

(d) Planning or determining feasibility or practicability;

(e) Indemnity or surety bonds and premiums on insurance;

(f) Remediation, in compliance with state and federal environmental protection laws, of environmentally contaminated property on which hazardous substances exist under conditions that have caused or would likely cause the property to be identified as contaminated by the Ohio environmental protection agency or the United States environmental protection agency;

(g) Infrastructure improvements, including the following:

(i) Demolition of buildings and other structures;

(ii) Installation or relocation of water, storm water and sanitary sewer lines, water and waste water treatment facilities, pump stations, and water storage mechanisms and other similar equipment or facilities;

(iii) Construction of roads, bridges, traffic control devices, and parking lots and facilities;

(iv) Construction of utility infrastructure such as natural gas, electric, and telecommunications, including broadband and hookups;

(v) Water and railway access improvements;

(vi) Costs of professional services.

(2) “Allowable costs” do not include administrative costs assessed by or fees paid to the recipient of a grant.

(B) “District public works integrating committees” means those committees established under section 164.04 of the Revised Code.

(C) “Eligible applicant” includes any political subdivision or non-profit economic development organization, and, with prior approval of the director of development, private, for-profit entities. “Eligible applicant” does not include public or private institutions of higher education.

(D) “Eligible project” includes projects that, upon completion, will be sites and facilities primarily intended for commercial, industrial, or manufacturing use. “Eligible projects” do not include sites and facilities intended primarily for residential, retail, or government use.

(E) “Professional services” includes legal, environmental, archeological, engineering, architectural, surveying, design, or other similar services performed in conjunction with an eligible project. “Professional services” also includes designs, plans, specifications, surveys, estimates of costs, and other work products.

Effective Date: 01-04-2006

(A) There is hereby created the job ready site program to provide grants to pay for allowable costs of eligible applicants for eligible projects. The program shall be administered by the department of development. All grants shall be awarded through one of the following two processes:

(1) The annual competitive process under sections 122.087 to 122.0811, 122.0814, and 122.0815 of the Revised Code;

(2) The discretionary process under sections 122.0812 to 122.0815 of the Revised Code.

(B) The annual competitive process shall be administered by the department of development pursuant to rules adopted by the director of development under Chapter 119. of the Revised Code. The rules shall not establish criteria that have the effect of excluding applications for grants from any county of the state.

(C) The discretionary process shall be administered by the department of development pursuant to guidelines established by the director of development.

Effective Date: 01-04-2006; 2007 SB24 09-29-2007

The director of development shall establish an annual competitive process for making grants described in section 122.086 of the Revised Code in accordance with rules adopted under that section. At least two-thirds of the amounts that may be distributed as grants each year under the job ready site program shall be distributed under the annual competitive process.

Effective Date: 01-04-2006; 2007 SB24 09-29-2007

In order to be considered for a grant under the annual competitive process, an eligible applicant shall fill out an application provided by the department of development and shall file it with the district public works integrating committee with jurisdiction over the area in which the eligible project is located.

Effective Date: 01-04-2006

An eligible applicant shall provide all of the following on the annual competitive process application:

(A) Contact information for the eligible applicant;

(B) A legal description of the property for which the grant is requested;

(C) A summary of the proposed eligible project that includes all of the following:

(1) A general description of the eligible project, including individuals, organizations, or other entities that will play a critical role in the implementation of the project;

(2) An explanation of the need for the eligible project, and the predicted economic impact;

(3) An explanation of the need for a grant from the job ready site program;

(4) The commitments required pursuant to division (A)(3) of section 122.0815 of the Revised Code.

(D) A detailed summary of costs for the eligible project, including supporting documents for cost estimates;

(E) Sources of funding for the eligible project, including documentation verifying the status of those funds;

(F) Summary results of preliminary engineering studies and environmental reviews, if any have been conducted;

(G) A comprehensive marketing plan detailing how the eligible project will be marketed upon completion, if appropriate;

(H) Copies of resolutions or ordinances related to the eligible project, including resolutions or ordinances adopted by the political subdivision with jurisdiction over the geographic area in which the eligible project is located;

(I) Any other information the director of development requests on the application form.

Effective Date: 01-04-2006; 2007 SB24 09-29-2007

(A) Each application for a grant pursuant to the annual competitive process received by a district public works integrating committee shall be evaluated by the executive committee of the district committee. In conducting the evaluation, the executive committee shall determine whether the application for the proposed eligible project is complete and whether the project meets the requirements of section 122.0815 of the Revised Code. If the application is complete and the eligible project meets the requirements of section 122.0815 of the Revised Code, the executive committee shall prioritize the eligible project pursuant to section 122.0816 of the Revised Code and pursuant to local priorities, as those priorities are determined by the executive committee, with all other eligible projects with complete applications that meet the requirements of section 122.0815 of the Revised Code. If the application is incomplete or the project does not meet the requirements of section 122.0815 of the Revised Code, the executive committee shall notify the applicant of the deficiencies and the period of time the applicant has to correct the deficiencies and submit the corrections to the executive committee. Failure to correct deficiencies within the time designated by the executive committee shall disqualify the project from consideration for a grant during the annual competitive process for that year.

The executive committee, by the affirmative vote of a majority of all its members, shall select up to three eligible projects from the projects it has prioritized each year pursuant to the annual competitive process. The executive committee shall forward the applications and any accompanying information for each of the selected eligible projects to the department of development in the time and manner required by the rules governing the annual competitive process for the job ready site program.

(B) For a district public works integrating committee that does not have an executive committee, the full committee shall perform the functions assigned to the executive committee under section 122.0816 of the Revised Code and division (A) of this section.

(C) An executive committee, or a district committee that does not have an executive committee, may appoint a working group of committee members and staff to perform the functions of those committees as provided in this section.

Effective Date: 01-04-2006; 2007 SB24 09-29-2007

The department of development shall evaluate each eligible project selected pursuant to section 122.0810 of the Revised Code to determine whether the application for the proposed eligible project is complete and whether it meets the requirements of section 122.0815 of the Revised Code. If the application is complete and the project meets the requirements of section 122.0815 of the Revised Code, the department shall notify the eligible applicant that the application is complete and shall prioritize the eligible project pursuant to section 122.0816 of the Revised Code with all other eligible projects with complete applications that meet the requirements. If the application is incomplete or the project does not meet the requirements of section 122.0815 of the Revised Code, the department shall notify the applicant of the deficiencies and the period of time the applicant has to correct the deficiencies and submit the corrections to the department. Failure to correct deficiencies within the time designated by the department shall disqualify the project from consideration for a grant during the annual competitive process for that year.

The director, on completion of the evaluations and prioritization, shall make a recommendation to the controlling board asking for approval to make grants for the eligible projects selected by the director. The director shall take into consideration the geographic diversity of awards when making the selection of eligible projects to receive grants.

Effective Date: 01-04-2006

The director of development shall establish a discretionary process that permits the director to make grants described in section 122.086 of the Revised Code in situations that include those in which the timing of a proposed eligible project is such that the annual competitive process is not suitable. The director, as part of the guidelines established for the discretionary process for the job ready site program, shall establish all the procedures and requirements governing application for the discretionary grants.

Effective Date: 01-04-2006; 2007 SB24 09-29-2007

On receipt of an application for a discretionary grant for an eligible project, the director of development shall evaluate it to determine whether the application for the proposed eligible project is complete and whether the eligible project meets the requirements of section 122.0815 of the Revised Code. If the application is complete and the project meets the requirements of section 122.0815 of the Revised Code, the director shall make a recommendation to the controlling board asking for approval to make the discretionary grant for the eligible project. If the application is incomplete or the project does not meet the requirements of section 122.0815 of the Revised Code, the department shall notify the applicant of the deficiencies and work with the applicant to correct the deficiencies. If the deficiencies are corrected, the director shall make a recommendation to the controlling board asking for approval to make the discretionary grant for the eligible project.

Effective Date: 01-04-2006

If the controlling board approves a grant for an eligible project pursuant to the annual competitive process or the discretionary process, the director of development shall enter into an agreement with the eligible applicant to provide the grant for the project. The agreement shall be executed prior to the payment or disbursement of any funds under the grant and shall contain the following provisions:

(A) A designation of a single officer or employee of the eligible applicant who will serve as the manager of the eligible project;

(B) A detailed description of the scope of the work required under the eligible project, including anticipated sources and uses of funds;

(C) A designation of the percentage of the estimated total cost of the project for which the grant will provide funding, which shall not exceed seventy-five per cent of the cost;

(D) Provisions for the recovery by the department of development of grant funds for failure to meet the terms of the agreement;

(E) A requirement that annual reports be made by the eligible applicant on the progress of the eligible project and any other information about the status of the project as required by the guidelines and rules established for the job ready site program;

(F) Any other provisions the director determines necessary.

Effective Date: 01-04-2006; 2007 SB24 09-29-2007

(A) A project shall meet the following requirements in order to be considered for a grant under the annual competitive process:

(1) The application for the grant is made by an eligible applicant.

(2) The project for which the application is made is an eligible project.

(3) The eligible applicant commits to all the following:

(a) To use the grant to pay only allowable costs for the eligible project;

(b) Not to use the grant to fund more than seventy-five per cent of the total cost of the eligible project;

(c) Not to use more than ten per cent of the grant amount to pay the costs of professional services under the eligible project.

(4) The grant amount requested does not exceed five million dollars.

(5) The eligible applicant and the eligible project comply with any other criteria the director of development determines is necessary.

(B) A project shall meet the requirements described in divisions (A)(1) to (4) of this section in order to be considered for a grant under the discretionary process.

Effective Date: 01-04-2006

The department of development and the executive committees of district public works integrating committees shall apply the following factors to eligible projects under the annual competitive process to determine a priority order for the eligible projects subject to that process:

(A) The potential economic impact of the eligible project;

(B) The potential impact of the eligible project on economic distress;

(C) The amount of local, federal, and private funding available for the eligible project;

(D) The demonstrated need for the eligible project;

(E) The strength of the eligible project’s marketing plan, if appropriate;

(F) The level of financial need;

(G) Any other factor the director of development determines should be considered.

Effective Date: 01-04-2006

In accordance with the guidelines established to govern the discretionary process and the rules adopted to govern the annual competitive process for the job ready site program, the director of development shall publish an annual report that includes the following:

(A) Details on each grant awarded pursuant to the program;

(B) The status of projects funded in previous years;

(C) The amount of grants awarded for projects in economically distressed areas and, to the extent possible, the impact of those grants in those areas.

Effective Date: 01-04-2006; 2007 SB24 09-29-2007

Eligible projects that receive a grant pursuant to the job ready site program are public improvements pursuant to section 4115.03 of the Revised Code and shall be subject to the prevailing wage requirements of section 4115.04 of the Revised Code.

Effective Date: 01-04-2006

The rules adopted to govern the annual competitive process for the job ready site program may provide for recovery of the costs, or a portion thereof, incurred by district public works integrating committees and executive committees in conducting their duties under the program.

Effective Date: 01-04-2006; 2007 SB24 09-29-2007

The job ready site development fund is hereby created in the state treasury. The fund shall consist of the net proceeds of obligations issued and sold by the issuing authority pursuant to sections 151.01 and 151.11 of the Revised Code. Investment earnings of the fund shall be credited to the fund. Moneys in the fund shall be used to make grants for eligible projects pursuant to sections 122.085 to 122.0820 of the Revised Code and associated administrative expenses.

Effective Date: 01-04-2006

Effective Date: 12-30-2004

Each department, bureau, institution, agency, commission, or office of the state government, shall, upon request, furnish to the department of development any information it has available.

The department of development shall cooperate with each department, bureau, institution, agency, commission, or office of the state government and shall furnish any information it has available to such departments, bureaus, institutions, agencies, commissions, or office upon their request.

The department shall coordinate its services and activities with those of state departments, bureaus, agencies, commissions, and offices to the fullest extent possible in order to avoid duplication.

Effective Date: 08-12-1982

The director of development may employ and fix the compensation of technical and professional personnel, who shall be in the unclassified civil service, and may employ other personnel, who shall be in the classified civil service, as necessary to carry out the provisions of sections 122.011 to 122.11, 122.17, and 122.18 of the Revised Code.

Effective Date: 09-26-1996

Effective Date: 06-26-2003

Effective Date: 09-29-1995

Effective Date: 12-31-2004

Effective Date: 12-31-2004

Effective Date: 12-31-2004

The director of development shall publicize the availability of the employee ownership assistance program and its services to local governments and to business and labor organizations and shall coordinate with local governments, business and labor organizations, and other state agencies in obtaining information relating to the possible relocation of operations or closing of a business establishment.

Effective Date: 01-04-2001; 12-30-2004

Effective Date: 12-31-2004

Effective Date: 12-31-2004

Effective Date: 12-31-2004

There is hereby created in the state treasury the roadwork development fund. The fund shall consist of the investment earnings of the security deposit fund created by section 4509.27 of the Revised Code and revenue transferred to it by the director of budget and management from the highway operating fund created in section 5735.291 of the Revised Code . The fund shall be used by the department of development in accordance with Section 5a of Article XII, Ohio Constitution, to make road improvements associated with retaining or attracting business for this state. All investment earnings of the fund shall be credited to the fund.

Effective Date: 06-30-1995; 03-29-2005

As used in sections 122.15 to 122.154 of the Revised Code:

(A) “Edison center” means a cooperative research and development facility that receives funding through the Thomas Alva Edison grant program under division (C) of section 122.33 of the Revised Code.

(B) “Ohio entity” means any corporation, limited liability company, or unincorporated business organization, including a general or limited partnership, that has its principal place of business located in this state and has at least fifty per cent of its gross assets and fifty per cent of its employees located in this state. If a corporation, limited liability company, or unincorporated business organization is a member of an affiliated group, the gross assets and the number of employees of all of the members of that affiliated group, wherever those assets and employees are located, shall be included for the purpose of determining the percentage of the corporation’s, company’s, or organization’s gross assets and employees that are located in this state.

(C) “Qualified trade or business” means any trade or business that primarily involves research and development, technology transfer, bio-technology, information technology, or the application of new technology developed through research and development or acquired through technology transfer. “Qualified trade or business” does not include any of the following:

(1) Any trade or business involving the performance of services in the field of law, engineering, architecture, accounting, actuarial science, performing arts, consulting, athletics, financial services, or brokerage services, or any trade or business where the principal asset of the trade or business is the reputation or skill of one or more of its employees;

(2) Any banking, insurance, financing, leasing, rental, investing, or similar business;

(3) Any farming business, including the business of raising or harvesting trees;

(4) Any business involving the production or extraction of products of a character with respect to which a deduction is allowable under section 611, 613, or 613A of the “Internal Revenue Code of 1986,” 100 Stat. 2085, 26 U.S.C.A. 611, 613, or 613A;

(5) Any business of operating a hotel, motel, restaurant, or similar business;

(6) Any trade or business involving a hospital, a private office of a licensed health care professional, a group practice of licensed health care professionals, or a nursing home. As used in division (C)(6) of this section:

(a) “Nursing home” has the same meaning as in section 3721.50 of the Revised Code.

(b) “Hospital” has the same meaning as in section 3727.01 of the Revised Code.

(D) “Information technology” means the branch of technology devoted to the study and application of data and the processing thereof; the automatic acquisition, storage, manipulation or transformation, management, movement, control, display, switching, interchange, transmission or reception of data, and the development or use of hardware, software, firmware, and procedures associated with this processing. Information technology includes matters concerned with the furtherance of computer science and technology, design, development, installation and implementation of information systems and applications that in turn will be licensed or sold to a specific target market. Information technology does not include the creation of a distribution method for existing products and services.

(E) “Insider” means an individual who owns, controls, or holds power to vote five per cent or more of the outstanding securities of a business. For purposes of determining whether an investor is an insider, the percentage of voting power in the Ohio entity held by a person related to the investor shall be added to the investor’s percentage of voting power in the same Ohio entity, if the investor claimed the person related to the investor as a dependent or a spouse on the investor’s federal income tax return for the previous tax year.

(F) “Related to” means being the spouse, parent, child, or sibling of an individual.

(G) “Research and development” means designing, creating, or formulating new or enhanced products, equipment, or processes, and conducting scientific or technological inquiry and experimentation in the physical sciences with the goal of increasing scientific knowledge that may reveal the bases for new or enhanced products, equipment, or processes.

(H) “State tax liability” means any tax liability incurred under division (D) of section 5707.03, section 5727.24, 5727.38, or 5747.02, or Chapter 5733. of the Revised Code.

(I) “Technology transfer” means the transfer of technology from one sector of the economy to another, including the transfer of military technology to civilian applications, civilian technology to military applications, or technology from public or private research laboratories to military or civilian applications.

(J) “Affiliated group” means two or more persons related in such a way that one of the persons owns or controls the business operations of another of those persons. In the case of a corporation issuing capital stock, one corporation owns or controls the business operations of another corporation if it owns more than fifty per cent of the other corporation’s capital stock with voting rights. In the case of a limited liability company, one person owns or controls the business operations of the company if that person’s membership interest, as defined in section 1705.01 of the Revised Code, is greater than fifty per cent of combined membership interest of all persons owning such interests in the company. In the case of an unincorporated business organization, one person owns or controls the business operations of the organization if, under the articles of organization or other instrument governing the affairs of the organization, that person has a beneficial interest in the organization’s profits, surpluses, losses, or other distributions greater than fifty per cent of the combined beneficial interests of all persons having such an interest in the organization.

(K) “Money” means United States currency, or a check, draft, or cashier’s check for United States currency, payable on demand and drawn on a bank.

(L) “EDGE business enterprise” means an Ohio entity certified by the director of administrative services as a participant in the encouraging diversity, growth, and equity program established by the governor’s executive order 2002-17T.

(M) “Distressed area” has the same meaning as in section 122.23 of the Revised Code.

Effective Date: 07-09-2003

(A) An investor who proposes to make an investment of money in an Ohio entity may apply to an Edison center for a tax credit under this section. The Edison center shall prescribe the form of the application and any information that the investor must submit with the application. The investor shall include with the application a fee of two hundred dollars. The center, within three weeks after receiving the application, shall review it, determine whether the investor should be recommended for the tax credit, and send written notice of its initial determination to the industrial technology and enterprise advisory council and to the investor. If the center determines the investor should not be recommended for the tax credit, it shall include in the notice the reasons for the determination. Subject to divisions (C) and (D) of this section, an investor is eligible for a tax credit if all of the following requirements are met:

(1) The investor’s investment of money is in an Ohio entity engaged in a qualified trade or business.

(2) The Ohio entity had less than two million five hundred thousand dollars of gross revenue during its most recently completed fiscal year or had a net book value of less than two million five hundred thousand dollars at the end of that fiscal year.

(3) The investment takes the form of the purchase of common or preferred stock, a membership interest, a partnership interest, or any other ownership interest.

(4) The amount of the investment for which the credit is being claimed does not exceed three hundred thousand dollars in the case of an investment in an EDGE business enterprise or in an Ohio entity located in a distressed area, or two hundred fifty thousand dollars in the case of an investment in any other Ohio entity.

(5) The money invested is entirely at risk of loss, where repayment depends upon the success of the business operations of the Ohio entity.

(6) No repayment of principal invested will be made for at least three years from the date the investment is made.

(7) The annual combined amount of any dividend and interest payments to be made to the investor will not exceed ten per cent of the amount of the investment for at least three years from the date the investment is made.

(8) The investor is not an employee with proprietary decision-making authority of the Ohio entity in which the investment of money is proposed, or related to such an individual. The Ohio entity is not an individual related to the investor. For purposes of this division, the industrial technology and enterprise advisory council shall define “an employee with proprietary decision-making authority.”

(9) The investor is not an insider.

For the purposes of determining the net book value of an Ohio entity under division (A)(1) or (2) of this section, if the entity is a member of an affiliated group, the combined net book values of all of the members of that affiliated group shall be used.

Nothing in division (A)(6) or (7) of this section limits or disallows the distribution to an investor in a pass-through entity of a portion of the entity’s profits equal to the investor’s federal, state, and local income tax obligations attributable to the investor’s allocable share of the entity’s profits. Nothing in division (A)(6) or (7) of this section limits or disallows the sale by an investor of part or all of the investor’s interests in an Ohio entity by way of a public offering of shares in the Ohio entity.

(B) A group of two but not more than twenty investors, each of whom proposes to make an investment of money in the same Ohio entity, may submit an application for tax credits under division (A) of this section. The group shall include with the application a fee of eight hundred dollars. The application shall identify each investor in the group and the amount of money each investor proposes to invest in the Ohio entity, and shall name a contact person for the group. The Edison center, within three weeks after receiving the application, shall review it, determine whether each investor of the group should be recommended for a tax credit under the conditions set forth in division (A) of this section, and send written notice of its determination to the industrial technology and enterprise advisory council and to the contact person. The center shall not recommend that a group of investors receive a tax credit unless each investor is eligible under those conditions. The center may disqualify from a group any investor who is not eligible under the conditions and recommend that the remaining group of investors receive the tax credit. If the center determines the group should not be recommended for the tax credit, it shall include in the notice the reasons for the determination.

(C) The industrial technology and enterprise advisory council shall establish from among its members a three-person committee. Within four weeks after the council receives a notice of recommendation from an Edison center, the committee shall review the recommendation and issue a final determination of whether the investor or group is eligible for a tax credit under the conditions set forth in division (A) of this section. The committee may require the investor or group to submit additional information to support the application. The vote of at least two members of the committee is necessary for the issuance of a final determination or any other action of the committee. Upon making the final determination, the committee shall send written notice of approval or disapproval of the tax credit to the investor or group contact person, the director of development, and the Edison center. If the committee disapproves the tax credit, it shall include in the notice the reasons for the disapproval.

(D)(1) The industrial technology and enterprise advisory council committee shall not approve more than one million five hundred thousand dollars of investments in any one Ohio entity. However, if a proposed investment of money in an Ohio entity has been approved but the investor does not actually make the investment, the committee may reassign the amount of that investment to another investor, as long as the total amount invested in the entity under this section does not exceed one million five hundred thousand dollars.

If the one-million-five-hundred-thousand-dollar limit for an Ohio entity has not yet been reached and an application proposes an investment of money that would exceed the limit for that entity, the committee shall send written notice to the investor, or for a group, the contact person, that the investment cannot be approved as requested. Upon receipt of the notice, the investor or group may amend the application to propose an investment of money that does not exceed the limit.

(2) Not more than thirty million dollars of tax credits shall be issued under sections 122.15 to 122.154 of the Revised Code.

(E) If an investor makes an approved investment of less than two hundred fifty thousand dollars in any Ohio entity other than an EDGE business enterprise or in an Ohio entity located in a distressed area, the investor may apply for approval of another investment of money in that entity, as long as the total amount invested in that entity by the investor under this section does not exceed two hundred fifty thousand dollars. If an investor makes an approved investment of less than three hundred thousand dollars in an EDGE business enterprise or in an Ohio entity located in a distressed area, the investor may apply for approval of another investment of money in that entity, as long as the total amount invested in that entity by the investor under this section does not exceed three hundred thousand dollars. An investor who receives approval of an investment of money as part of a group may subsequently apply on an individual basis for approval of an additional investment of money in the Ohio entity.

(F) The industrial technology and enterprise advisory council committee shall approve or disapprove tax credit applications under this section in the order in which they are received by the council.

(G) The director of development may disapprove any application recommended by an Edison center and approved by the industrial technology and enterprise advisory council committee, or may disapprove a credit for which a tax credit certificate has been issued under section 122.152 of the Revised Code, if the director determines that the entity in which the applicant proposes to invest or has invested is not an Ohio entity eligible to receive investments that qualify for the credit. If the director disapproves an application, the director shall certify the action to the investor, the Edison center that recommended the application, the industrial technology and enterprise advisory council, and the tax commissioner, together with a written explanation of the reasons for the disapproval. If the director disapproves a tax credit after a tax credit certificate is issued, the investor shall not claim the credit for the taxable year that includes the day the director disapproves the credit, or for any subsequent taxable year.

The director of development, in accordance with section 111.15 of the Revised Code and with the advice of the industrial technology and enterprise advisory council, may adopt, amend, and rescind rules necessary to implement sections 122.15 to 122.154 of the Revised Code.

(H) An Edison center shall use application fees received under this section only for the costs of administering sections 122.15 to 122.154 of the Revised Code.

Effective Date: 07-09-2003; 06-05-2006

(A) After receiving notice of approval for an investment of money from the industrial technology and enterprise advisory council committee under section 122.151 of the Revised Code, an investor, within a period of time determined by the committee, may make the investment and apply to the council for a tax credit certificate. If the committee is satisfied the investor has made the investment in the proper form, it shall issue to the investor a tax credit certificate signed by the chairperson of the committee and the director of development indicating that the investor is allowed a tax credit equal to one of the following amounts:

(1) Thirty per cent of the investment if the investment was made in an EDGE business enterprise or in an Ohio entity located in a distressed area;

(2) Twenty-five per cent of the investment if the investment was made in an Ohio entity other than an EDGE business enterprise.

An investor who receives approval of a proposed investment of money through a group application, after making the investment, shall apply for a tax credit certificate on an individual basis.

(B) An investor who is issued a tax credit certificate under this section may claim a nonrefundable credit equal to the amount indicated on the certificate against any state tax liability. The investor shall claim the credit for the taxable year in which the certificate is issued.

(1) If the credit to which a taxpayer otherwise would be entitled under this section for any taxable year is greater than the tax otherwise due under division (D) of section 5707.03 or section 5727.24 or 5727.38 of the Revised Code, the excess shall be allowed as a credit in each of the ensuing fifteen taxable years, but the amount of any excess credit allowed in an ensuing taxable year shall be deducted from the balance carried forward to the next taxable year.

(2) If the credit to which a taxpayer otherwise would be entitled under this section for any taxable year is greater than the tax otherwise due under section 5747.02 or Chapter 5733. of the Revised Code, after allowing for any other credits that precede the credit allowed under this section in the order required under section 5733.98 or 5747.98 of the Revised Code, the excess shall be allowed as a credit in each of the ensuing fifteen taxable years, but the amount of any excess credit allowed in an ensuing taxable year shall be deducted from the balance carried forward to the next taxable year.

(C) Any portion of a credit allowed under this section that is utilized by an investor to reduce the investor’s state tax liability shall not be utilized by any other person.

(D) To claim a tax credit allowed under this section, an investor shall attach to the appropriate return a copy of the certificate issued to the investor under this section.

(E) Nothing in this section shall limit or disallow pass-through treatment of a pass-through entity’s income, deductions, or credits, or other amounts necessary to compute a state tax liability.

(F) A tax credit certificate issued to an investor under this section may not be transferred by that investor to any other person.

(G)(1) The director of development shall develop the form of the tax credit certificate and the industrial technology and enterprise advisory council committee shall use that form when issuing a tax credit certificate under this section.

(2) The director of development shall report to the tax commissioner any information requested by the commissioner concerning tax credit certificates issued under this section.

(H) An investment made by an investor or group of investors who enter into a contractual agreement with an Ohio entity to invest money in the Ohio entity is an acceptable investment if all of the following conditions are met:

(1) The investment is made pursuant to a subscription agreement providing that the investor or group of investors is entitled to receive a refund of funds if the investment is not approved by the industrial technology and enterprise advisory council committee.

(2) The investment is placed in escrow until the investment is approved by the industrial technology and enterprise advisory council committee.

(3) The investor or group of investors shows proof of the withdrawal of the funds by the Ohio entity after the investment is approved by the industrial technology and enterprise advisory council committee.

Effective Date: 07-09-2003

If the industrial technology and enterprise advisory council committee receives information alleging that an investor that was issued a tax credit certificate presented false information to an Edison center or the committee in connection with obtaining the certificate, it shall send written notice to the investor that if the allegation is found to be true the investor may be penalized as provided in this section. After giving the investor an opportunity to be heard on the allegation, the committee shall determine if the investor presented false information in connection with obtaining a tax credit certificate.

If the committee determines the investor submitted false information, it may revoke any remaining tax credit available to the investor. The committee shall send written notice of the revocation to the investor and the tax commissioner. The tax commissioner may make an assessment against the investor to recapture any amount of tax credit that the investor already has claimed. The time limitations on assessments under the laws of the particular tax against which the investor claimed the credit do not apply to an assessment under this section.

Effective Date: 06-30-1997

(A) A business may apply to an Edison center for a determination as to whether the business is an Ohio entity eligible to receive investments of money under section 122.151 of the Revised Code that qualify the investor for a tax credit under section 122.152 of the Revised Code. The business shall include with the application a fee of one hundred fifty dollars and a business plan. The Edison center shall prescribe any other information the business must submit with the application and the form of the application. The center, within three weeks after receiving the application, shall review it, determine whether the business is an Ohio entity eligible to receive investments of money that qualify for the tax credit, and send written notice to the industrial technology and enterprise advisory council and the business of its initial determination. If the center determines that the business is not an Ohio entity eligible to receive investments of money that qualify for the tax credit, it shall include in the notice the reasons for the determination.

Within four weeks after the council receives a notice of recommendation from an Edison center, the industrial technology and enterprise advisory council committee established under section 122.152 of the Revised Code shall review the recommendation and issue a final determination of whether the business is an Ohio entity eligible to receive investments of money under section 122.151 of the Revised Code that qualify an investor for a tax credit under section 122.152 of the Revised Code. The committee may require the business to submit additional information to support the application. The vote of at least two members of the committee is necessary for the issuance of a final determination. On making the final determination, the committee shall send written notice of approval or disapproval to the business, the director of development, and the Edison center. If the committee determines that the business is not an Ohio entity eligible to receive investments of money that qualify for the tax credit, it shall include in the notice the reasons for the determination.

(B) The department of development shall maintain a list of the businesses that have been determined to be Ohio entities eligible to receive investments of money that qualify for the tax credit. The department shall furnish copies of the list to the public upon request.

(C) The department of development may prescribe a schedule under which businesses periodically must submit information to enable the center to maintain the accuracy of the list. At the times required in the schedule, each business on the list shall submit any information the center requires to determine if the business continues to be an Ohio entity eligible to receive investments of money that qualify for the tax credit.

(D) An Edison center shall use fees received under this section only for the costs of administering sections 122.15 to 122.154 of the Revised Code.

(E) The Edison centers and the industrial technology and enterprise advisory council and its committee do not assume any responsibility for the accuracy or truthfulness of information furnished by an Ohio entity or its agents.

An investor in an Ohio entity is solely responsible for due diligence in verifying information submitted by an Ohio entity. An Edison center is not liable for any action resulting from its provision of such information to investors in accordance with sections 122.15 to 122.154 of the Revised Code.

Effective Date: 07-09-2003

(A) As used in this section:

(1) “Distressed area” means either a municipal corporation that has a population of at least fifty thousand or a county, that meets two of the following criteria:

(a) Its average rate of unemployment, during the most recent five-year period for which data are available, is equal to at least one hundred twenty-five per cent of the average rate of unemployment for the United States for the same period.

(b) It has a per capita income equal to or below eighty per cent of the median county per capita income of the United States as determined by the most recently available figures from the United States census bureau.

(c)(i) In the case of a municipal corporation, at least twenty per cent of the residents have a total income for the most recent census year that is below the official poverty line.

(ii) In the case of a county, in intercensal years, the county has a ratio of transfer payment income to total county income equal to or greater than twenty-five per cent.

(2) “Eligible area” means a distressed area, a labor surplus area, an inner city area, or a situational distress area.

(3) “Eligible costs associated with a voluntary action” means costs incurred during the qualifying period in performing a remedy or remedial activities, as defined in section 3746.01 of the Revised Code, and any costs incurred during the qualifying period in performing both a phase I and phase II property assessment, as defined in the rules adopted under section 3746.04 of the Revised Code, provided that the performance of the phase I and phase II property assessment resulted in the implementation of the remedy or remedial activities.

(4) “Inner city area” means, in a municipal corporation that has a population of at least one hundred thousand and does not meet the criteria of a labor surplus area or a distressed area, targeted investment areas established by the municipal corporation within its boundaries that are comprised of the most recent census block tracts that individually have at least twenty per cent of their population at or below the state poverty level or other census block tracts contiguous to such census block tracts.

(5) “Labor surplus area” means an area designated as a labor surplus area by the United States department of labor.

(6) “Official poverty line” has the same meaning as in division (A) of section 3923.51 of the Revised Code.

(7) “Partner” includes a member of a limited liability company formed under Chapter 1705. of the Revised Code or under the laws of any other state if the limited liability company is not treated as a corporation for purposes of Chapter 5733. of the Revised Code and is not classified as an association taxable as a corporation for federal income tax purposes.

(8) “Partnership” includes a limited liability company formed under Chapter 1705. of the Revised Code or under the laws of any other state if the limited liability company is not treated as a corporation for purposes of Chapter 5733. of the Revised Code and is not classified as an association taxable as a corporation for federal income tax purposes.

(9) “Qualifying period” means the period that begins July 1, 1996, and ends June 30, 1999.

(10) “S corporation” means a corporation that has made an election under subchapter S of chapter one of subtitle A of the Internal Revenue Code for its taxable year under the Internal Revenue Code;

(11) “Situational distress area” means a county or a municipal corporation that has experienced or is experiencing a closing or downsizing of a major employer that will adversely affect the economy of the county or municipal corporation. In order for a county or municipal corporation to be designated as a situational distress area, the governing body of the county or municipal corporation shall submit a petition to the director of development in the form prescribed by the director. A county or municipal corporation may be designated as a situational distress area for a period not exceeding thirty-six months.

The petition shall include written documentation that demonstrates all of the following:

(a) The number of jobs lost by the closing or downsizing;

(b) The impact that the job loss has on the unemployment rate of the county or municipal corporation as measured by the director of job and family services;

(c) The annual payroll associated with the job loss;

(d) The amount of state and local taxes associated with the job loss;

(e) The impact that the closing or downsizing has on the suppliers located in the county or municipal corporation.

(12) “Voluntary action” has the same meaning as in section 3746.01 of the Revised Code.

(13) “Taxpayer” means a corporation subject to the tax imposed by section 5733.06 of the Revised Code or any person subject to the tax imposed by section 5747.02 of the Revised Code.

(14) “Governing body” means the board of county commissioners of a county, the board of township trustees of a township, or the legislative authority of a municipal corporation.

(15) “Eligible site” means property for which a covenant not to sue has been issued under section 3746.12 of the Revised Code.

(B)(1) A taxpayer, partnership, or S corporation that has been issued, under section 3746.12 of the Revised Code, a covenant not to sue for a site by the director of environmental protection during the qualifying period may apply to the director of development, in the manner prescribed by the director, to enter into an agreement under which the applicant agrees to economically redevelop the site in a manner that will create employment opportunities and a credit will be granted to the applicant against the tax imposed by section 5733.06 or 5747.02 of the Revised Code. The application shall state the eligible costs associated with a voluntary action incurred by the applicant. The application shall be accompanied by proof, in a form prescribed by the director of development, that the covenant not to sue has been issued.

The applicant shall request the certified professional that submitted the no further action letter for the eligible site under section 3746.11 of the Revised Code to submit an affidavit to the director of development verifying the eligible costs associated with the voluntary action at that site.

The director shall review the applications in the order they are received. If the director determines that the applicant meets the requirements of this section, the director may enter into an agreement granting a credit against the tax imposed by section 5733.06 or 5747.02 of the Revised Code. In making the determination, the director may consider the extent to which political subdivisions and other units of government will cooperate with the applicant to redevelop the eligible site. The agreement shall state the amount of the tax credit and the reporting requirements described in division (F) of this section.

(2) The maximum annual amount of credits the director of development may grant under such agreements shall be as follows:

1996 $ 5,000,000

1997 $10,000,000

1998 $10,000,000

1999 $ 5,000,000

For any year in which the director of development does not grant tax credits under this section equal to the maximum annual amount, the amount not granted for that year shall be added to the maximum annual amount that may be granted for the following year. However, the director shall not grant any tax credits under this section after June 30, 1999.

(C)(1) If the covenant not to sue was issued in connection with a site that is not located in an eligible area, the credit amount is equal to the lesser of five hundred thousand dollars or ten per cent of the eligible costs associated with a voluntary action incurred by the taxpayer, partnership, or S corporation.

(2) If a covenant not to sue was issued in connection with a site that is located in an eligible area, the credit amount is equal to the lesser of seven hundred fifty thousand dollars or fifteen per cent of the eligible costs associated with a voluntary action incurred by the taxpayer, partnership, or S corporation.

(3) A taxpayer, partnership, or S corporation that has been issued covenants not to sue under section 3746.12 of the Revised Code for more than one site may apply to the director of development to enter into more than one agreement granting a credit against the tax imposed by section 5733.06 or 5747.02 of the Revised Code.

(4) For each year for which a taxpayer, partnership, or S corporation has been granted a credit under an agreement entered into under this section, the director of development shall issue a certificate to the taxpayer, partnership, or S corporation indicating the amount of the credit the taxpayer, the partners of the partnership, or the shareholders of the S corporation may claim for that year, not including any amount that may be carried forward from previous years under section 5733.34 or 5747.32 of the Revised Code.

(D)(1) Each agreement entered into under this section shall incorporate a commitment by the taxpayer, partnership, or S corporation not to permit the use of an eligible site to cause the relocation of employment positions to that site from elsewhere in this state, except as otherwise provided in division (D)(2) of this section. The commitment shall be binding on the taxpayer, partnership, or S corporation for the lesser of five years from the date the agreement is entered into or the number of years the taxpayer, partnership, or S corporation is entitled to claim the tax credit under the agreement.

(2) An eligible site may be the site of employment positions relocated from elsewhere in this state if the director of development determines both of the following:

(a) That the site from which the employment positions would be relocated is inadequate to meet market and industry conditions, expansion plans, consolidation plans, or other business considerations affecting the relocating employer;

(b) That the governing body of the county, township, or municipal corporation from which the employment positions would be relocated has been notified of the possible relocation.

For purposes of this section, the movement of an employment position from one political subdivision to another political subdivision shall be considered a relocation of an employment position, but the transfer of an individual employee from one political subdivision to another political subdivision shall not be considered a relocation of an employment position as long as the individual’s employment position in the first political subdivision is refilled.

(E) A taxpayer, partnership, or S corporation that has entered into an agreement granting a credit against the tax imposed by section 5733.06 or 5747.02 of the Revised Code that subsequently recovers in a lawsuit or settlement of a lawsuit at least seventy-five per cent of the eligible costs associated with a voluntary action shall not claim any credit amount remaining, including any amounts carried forward from prior years, beginning with the taxable year in which the judgment in the lawsuit is entered or the settlement is finally agreed to.

Any amount of credit that a taxpayer, partnership, or S corporation may not claim by reason of this division shall not be considered to have been granted for the purpose of determining the total amount of credits that may be issued under division (B)(2) of this section.

(F) Each year for which a taxpayer, partnership, or S corporation claims a credit under section 5733.34 or 5747.32 of the Revised Code, the taxpayer, partnership, or S corporation shall report the following to the director of development:

(1) The status of all cost recovery litigation described in division (E) of this section to which it was a party during the previous year;

(2) Confirmation that the covenant not to sue has not been revoked or has not been voided;

(3) Confirmation that the taxpayer, partnership, or S corporation has not permitted the eligible site to be used in such a manner as to cause the relocation of employment positions from elsewhere in this state in violation of the commitment required under division (D) of this section;

(4) Any other information the director of development requires to perform the director’s duties under this section.

(G) The director of development shall annually certify, by the first day of January of each year during the qualifying period, the eligible areas for the calendar year that includes that first day of January.

(H) The director of development, in accordance with Chapter 119. of the Revised Code, shall adopt rules necessary to implement this section, including rules prescribing forms required for administering this section.

Effective Date: 07-01-2000

(A) As used in this section:

(1) “Full-time employee” means an individual who is employed for consideration for at least an average of thirty-five hours a week, who renders any other standard of service generally accepted by custom or specified by contract as full-time employment, or who is employed for consideration for such time or renders such service but is on family or medical leave under the federal Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993, Pub. L. No. 103-3, 107 Stat. 6, as amended, or on active duty reserve or Ohio national guard service.

(2) “New employee” means one of the following:

(a) A full-time employee first employed by a taxpayer in the project that is the subject of the agreement after the taxpayer enters into a tax credit agreement with the tax credit authority under this section;

(b) A full-time employee first employed by a taxpayer in the project that is the subject of the tax credit after the tax credit authority approves a project for a tax credit under this section in a public meeting, as long as the taxpayer enters into the tax credit agreement prepared by the department of development after such meeting within sixty days after receiving the agreement from the department. If the taxpayer fails to enter into the agreement within sixty days, “new employee” has the same meaning as under division (A)(2)(a) of this section. A full-time employee may be considered a “new employee” of a taxpayer, despite previously having been employed by a related member of the taxpayer, if all of the following apply:

(i) The related member is a party to the tax credit agreement at the time the employee is first employed with the taxpayer;

(ii) The related member will remain subject to the tax imposed by section 5725.18, 5729.03, 5733.06, or 5747.02 or levied under Chapter 5751. of the Revised Code for the remainder of the term of the tax credit, and the tax credit is taken against liability for that same tax through the remainder of the term of the tax credit; and

(iii) The employee was considered a new employee of the related member prior to employment with the taxpayer.

Under division (A)(2)(a) or (b) of this section, if the tax credit authority determines it appropriate, “new employee” also may include an employee re-hired or called back from lay-off to work in a new facility or on a new product or service established or produced by the taxpayer after entering into the agreement under this section or after the tax credit authority approves the tax credit in a public meeting. Except as otherwise provided in this paragraph, “new employee” does not include any employee of the taxpayer who was previously employed in this state by a related member of the taxpayer and whose employment was shifted to the taxpayer after the taxpayer entered into the tax credit agreement or after the tax credit authority approved the credit in a public meeting, or any employee of the taxpayer for which the taxpayer has been granted a certificate under division (B) of section 5709.66 of the Revised Code. However, if the taxpayer is engaged in the enrichment and commercialization of uranium or uranium products or is engaged in research and development activities related thereto and if the tax credit authority determines it appropriate, “new employee” may include an employee of the taxpayer who was previously employed in this state by a related member of the taxpayer and whose employment was shifted to the taxpayer after the taxpayer entered into the tax credit agreement or after the tax credit authority approved the credit in a public meeting. “New employee” does not include an employee of the taxpayer who is employed in an employment position that was relocated to a project from other operations of the taxpayer in this state or from operations of a related member of the taxpayer in this state. In addition, “new employee” does not include a child, grandchild, parent, or spouse, other than a spouse who is legally separated from the individual, of any individual who is an employee of the taxpayer and who has a direct or indirect ownership interest of at least five per cent in the profits, capital, or value of the taxpayer. Such ownership interest shall be determined in accordance with section 1563 of the Internal Revenue Code and regulations prescribed thereunder.

(3) “New income tax revenue” means the total amount withheld under section 5747.06 of the Revised Code by the taxpayer during the taxable year, or during the calendar year that includes the tax period, from the compensation of new employees for the tax levied under Chapter 5747. of the Revised Code.

(4) “Related member” has the same meaning as under division (A)(6) of section 5733.042 of the Revised Code without regard to division (B) of that section.

(B) The tax credit authority may make grants under this section to foster job creation in this state. Such a grant shall take the form of a refundable credit allowed against the tax imposed by section 5725.18, 5729.03, 5733.06, or 5747.02 or levied under Chapter 5751. of the Revised Code. The credit shall be claimed for the taxable years or tax periods specified in the taxpayer’s agreement with the tax credit authority under division (D) of this section. With respect to taxes imposed under section 5733.06 or 5747.02 or Chapter 5751. of the Revised Code, the credit shall be claimed in the order required under section 5733.98, 5747.98, or 5751.98 of the Revised Code. The amount of the credit available for a taxable year or for a calendar year that includes a tax period equals the new income tax revenue for that year multiplied by the percentage specified in the agreement with the tax credit authority. Any credit granted under this section against the tax imposed by section 5733.06 or 5747.02 of the Revised Code, to the extent not fully utilized against such tax for taxable years ending prior to 2008, shall automatically be converted without any action taken by the tax credit authority to a credit against the tax levied under Chapter 5751. of the Revised Code for tax periods beginning on or after July 1, 2008, provided that the person to whom the credit was granted is subject to such tax. The converted credit shall apply to those calendar years in which the remaining taxable years specified in the agreement end.

(C) A taxpayer or potential taxpayer who proposes a project to create new jobs in this state may apply to the tax credit authority to enter into an agreement for a tax credit under this section. The director of development shall prescribe the form of the application. After receipt of an application, the authority may enter into an agreement with the taxpayer for a credit under this section if it determines all of the following:

(1) The taxpayer’s project will create new jobs in this state;

(2) The taxpayer’s project is economically sound and will benefit the people of this state by increasing opportunities for employment and strengthening the economy of this state;

(3) Receiving the tax credit is a major factor in the taxpayer’s decision to go forward with the project.

(D) An agreement under this section shall include all of the following:

(1) A detailed description of the project that is the subject of the agreement;

(2) The term of the tax credit, which shall not exceed fifteen years, and the first taxable year, or first calendar year that includes a tax period, for which the credit may be claimed;

(3) A requirement that the taxpayer shall maintain operations at the project location for at least twice the number of years as the term of the tax credit;

(4) The percentage, as determined by the tax credit authority, of new income tax revenue that will be allowed as the amount of the credit for each taxable year or for each calendar year that includes a tax period;

(5) A specific method for determining how many new employees are employed during a taxable year or during a calendar year that includes a tax period;

(6) A requirement that the taxpayer annually shall report to the director of development the number of new employees, the new income tax revenue withheld in connection with the new employees, and any other information the director needs to perform the director’s duties under this section;

(7) A requirement that the director of development annually shall verify the amounts reported under division (D)(6) of this section, and after doing so shall issue a certificate to the taxpayer stating that the amounts have been verified;

(8)(a) A provision requiring that the taxpayer, except as otherwise provided in division (D)(8)(b) of this section, shall not relocate employment positions from elsewhere in this state to the project site that is the subject of the agreement for the lesser of five years from the date the agreement is entered into or the number of years the taxpayer is entitled to claim the tax credit.

(b) The taxpayer may relocate employment positions from elsewhere in this state to the project site that is the subject of the agreement if the director of development determines both of the following:

(i) That the site from which the employment positions would be relocated is inadequate to meet market and industry conditions, expansion plans, consolidation plans, or other business considerations affecting the taxpayer;

(ii) That the legislative authority of the county, township, or municipal corporation from which the employment positions would be relocated has been notified of the relocation.

For purposes of this section, the movement of an employment position from one political subdivision to another political subdivision shall be considered a relocation of an employment position, but the transfer of an individual employee from one political subdivision to another political subdivision shall not be considered a relocation of an employment position as long as the individual’s employment position in the first political subdivision is refilled.

(E) If a taxpayer fails to meet or comply with any condition or requirement set forth in a tax credit agreement, the tax credit authority may amend the agreement to reduce the percentage or term of the tax credit. The reduction of the percentage or term shall take effect (1) in the taxable year immediately following the taxable year in which the authority amends the agreement or the director of development notifies the taxpayer in writing of such failure, or (2) in the first tax period beginning in the calendar year immediately following the calendar year in which the authority amends the agreement or the director notifies the taxpayer in writing of such failure. If the taxpayer fails to annually report any of the information required by division (D)(6) of this section within the time required by the director, the reduction of the percentage or term may take effect in the current taxable year. If the taxpayer relocates employment positions in violation of the provision required under division (D)(8)(a) of this section, the taxpayer shall not claim the tax credit under section 5733.0610 of the Revised Code for any tax years following the calendar year in which the relocation occurs, or shall not claim the tax credit under section 5725.32, 5729.032, or 5747.058 of the Revised Code for the taxable year in which the relocation occurs and any subsequent taxable years, and shall not claim the tax credit under division (A) of section 5751.50 of the Revised Code for any tax period in the calendar year in which the relocation occurs and any subsequent tax periods.

(F) Projects that consist solely of point-of-final-purchase retail facilities are not eligible for a tax credit under this section. If a project consists of both point-of-final-purchase retail facilities and nonretail facilities, only the portion of the project consisting of the nonretail facilities is eligible for a tax credit and only the new income tax revenue from new employees of the nonretail facilities shall be considered when computing the amount of the tax credit. If a warehouse facility is part of a point-of-final-purchase retail facility and supplies only that facility, the warehouse facility is not eligible for a tax credit. Catalog distribution centers are not considered point-of-final-purchase retail facilities for the purposes of this division, and are eligible for tax credits under this section.

(G) Financial statements and other information submitted to the department of development or the tax credit authority by an applicant or recipient of a tax credit under this section, and any information taken for any purpose from such statements or information, are not public records subject to section 149.43 of the Revised Code. However, the chairperson of the authority may make use of the statements and other information for purposes of issuing public reports or in connection with court proceedings concerning tax credit agreements under this section. Upon the request of the tax commissioner or, if the applicant or recipient is an insurance company, upon the request of the superintendent of insurance, the chairperson of the authority shall provide to the commissioner or superintendent any statement or information submitted by an applicant or recipient of a tax credit in connection with the credit. The commissioner or superintendent shall preserve the confidentiality of the statement or information.

(H) A taxpayer claiming a credit under this section shall submit to the tax commissioner or, if the taxpayer is an insurance company, to the superintendent of insurance, a copy of the director of development’s certificate of verification under division (D)(7) of this section with the taxpayer’s tax report or return for the taxable year or for the calendar year that includes the tax period. Failure to submit a copy of the certificate with the report or return does not invalidate a claim for a credit if the taxpayer submits a copy of the certificate to the commissioner or superintendent within sixty days after the commissioner or superintendent requests it.

(I) The director of development, after consultation with the tax commissioner and the superintendent of insurance and in accordance with Chapter 119. of the Revised Code, shall adopt rules necessary to implement this section. The rules may provide for recipients of tax credits under this section to be charged fees to cover administrative costs of the tax credit program. The fees collected shall be credited to the tax incentive programs operating fund created in section 122.174 of the Revised Code. At the time the director gives public notice under division (A) of section 119.03 of the Revised Code of the adoption of the rules, the director shall submit copies of the proposed rules to the chairpersons of the standing committees on economic development in the senate and the house of representatives.

(J) For the purposes of this section, a taxpayer may include a partnership, a corporation that has made an election under subchapter S of chapter one of subtitle A of the Internal Revenue Code, or any other business entity through which income flows as a distributive share to its owners. A partnership, S-corporation, or other such business entity may elect to pass the credit received under this section through to the persons to whom the income or profit of the partnership, S-corporation, or other entity is distributed. The election shall be made on the annual report required under division (D)(6) of this section. The election applies to and is irrevocable for the credit for which the report is submitted. If the election is made, the credit shall be apportioned among those persons in the same proportions as those in which the income or profit is distributed.

(K) If the director of development determines that a taxpayer who has received a credit under this section is not complying with the requirement under division (D)(3) of this section, the director shall notify the tax credit authority of the noncompliance. After receiving such a notice, and after giving the taxpayer an opportunity to explain the noncompliance, the tax credit authority may require the taxpayer to refund to this state a portion of the credit in accordance with the following:

(1) If the taxpayer maintained operations at the project location for at least one and one-half times the number of years of the term of the tax credit, an amount not exceeding twenty-five per cent of the sum of any previously allowed credits under this section;

(2) If the taxpayer maintained operations at the project location for at least the number of years of the term of the tax credit, an amount not exceeding fifty per cent of the sum of any previously allowed credits under this section;

(3) If the taxpayer maintained operations at the project location for less than the number of years of the term of the tax credit, an amount not exceeding one hundred per cent of the sum of any previously allowed credits under this section.

In determining the portion of the tax credit to be refunded to this state, the tax credit authority shall consider the effect of market conditions on the taxpayer’s project and whether the taxpayer continues to maintain other operations in this state. After making the determination, the authority shall certify the amount to be refunded to the tax commissioner or superintendent of insurance, as appropriate. If the amount is certified to the commissioner, the commissioner shall make an assessment for that amount against the taxpayer under Chapter 5733., 5747., or 5751. of the Revised Code. If the amount is certified to the superintendent, the superintendent shall make an assessment for that amount against the taxpayer under Chapter 5725. or 5729. of the Revised Code. The time limitations on assessments under those chapters do not apply to an assessment under this division, but the commissioner or superintendent, as appropriate, shall make the assessment within one year after the date the authority certifies to the commissioner or superintendent the amount to be refunded.

(L) On or before the thirty-first day of March each year, the director of development shall submit a report to the governor, the president of the senate, and the speaker of the house of representatives on the tax credit program under this section. The report shall include information on the number of agreements that were entered into under this section during the preceding calendar year, a description of the project that is the subject of each such agreement, and an update on the status of projects under agreements entered into before the preceding calendar year.

(M) There is hereby created the tax credit authority, which consists of the director of development and four other members appointed as follows: the governor, the president of the senate, and the speaker of the house of representatives each shall appoint one member who shall be a specialist in economic development; the governor also shall appoint a member who is a specialist in taxation. Of the initial appointees, the members appointed by the governor shall serve a term of two years; the members appointed by the president of the senate and the speaker of the house of representatives shall serve a term of four years. Thereafter, terms of office shall be for four years. Initial appointments to the authority shall be made within thirty days after January 13, 1993. Each member shall serve on the authority until the end of the term for which the member was appointed. Vacancies shall be filled in the same manner provided for original appointments. Any member appointed to fill a vacancy occurring prior to the expiration of the term for which the member’s predecessor was appointed shall hold office for the remainder of that term. Members may be reappointed to the authority. Members of the authority shall receive their necessary and actual expenses while engaged in the business of the authority. The director of development shall serve as chairperson of the authority, and the members annually shall elect a vice-chairperson from among themselves. Three members of the authority constitute a quorum to transact and vote on the business of the authority. The majority vote of the membership of the authority is necessary to approve any such business, including the election of the vice-chairperson.

The director of development may appoint a professional employee of the department of development to serve as the director’s substitute at a meeting of the authority. The director shall make the appointment in writing. In the absence of the director from a meeting of the authority, the appointed substitute shall serve as chairperson. In the absence of both the director and the director’s substitute from a meeting, the vice-chairperson shall serve as chairperson.

(N) For purposes of the credits granted by this section against the taxes imposed under sections 5725.18 and 5729.03 of the Revised Code, “taxable year” means the period covered by the taxpayer’s annual statement to the superintendent of insurance.

Effective Date: 02-12-2004; 06-30-2005; 03-30-2006; 2006 HB699 03-29-2007; 2007 HB119 06-30-2007

(A) As used in this section:

(1) “Capital investment project” means a plan of investment at a project site for the acquisition, construction, renovation, or repair of buildings, machinery, or equipment, or for capitalized costs of basic research and new product development determined in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles, but does not include any of the following:

(a) Payments made for the acquisition of personal property through operating leases;

(b) Project costs paid before January 1, 2002;

(c) Payments made to a related member as defined in section 5733.042 of the Revised Code or to an elected consolidated taxpayer or a combined taxpayer as defined in section 5751.01 of the Revised Code.

(2) “Eligible business” means a business with Ohio operations satisfying all of the following:

(a) Employed an average of at least one thousand employees in full-time employment positions at a project site during each of the twelve months preceding the application for a tax credit under this section; and

(b) On or after January 1, 2002, has made or has caused to be made payments for the capital investment project, including payments made by an unrelated third party entity as a result of a lease of not less than twenty years in term, of either of the following:

(i) At least two hundred million dollars in the aggregate at the project site during a period of three consecutive calendar years including the calendar year that includes a day of the taxpayer’s taxable year or tax period with respect to which the credit is granted;

(ii) If the average wage of all full-time employment positions at the project site is greater than four hundred per cent of the federal minimum wage, at least one hundred million dollars in the aggregate at the project site during a period of three consecutive calendar years including the calendar year that includes a day of the taxpayer’s taxable year or tax period with respect to which the credit is granted.

(c) Is engaged at the project site primarily as a manufacturer or is providing significant corporate administrative functions. If the investment under division (A)(2)(b) of this section was made by a third party entity as a result of a lease of not less than twenty years in term, the project must include headquarters operations that are part of a mixed use development that includes at least two of the following: office, hotel, research and development, or retail facilities.

(d) Has had a capital investment project reviewed and approved by the tax credit authority as provided in divisions (C), (D), and (E) of this section.

(3) “Full-time employment position” means a position of employment for consideration for at least an average of thirty-five hours a week that has been filled for at least one hundred eighty days immediately preceding the filing of an application under this section and for at least one hundred eighty days during each taxable year or each calendar year that includes a tax period with respect to which the credit is granted, or is employed in such position for consideration for such time, but is on active duty reserve or Ohio national guard service.

(4) “Manufacturer” has the same meaning as in section 5739.011 of the Revis