1.1                          A bill for an act 
  1.2             relating to community development; regulating economic 
  1.3             development zone credits; appropriating money; 
  1.4             amending Minnesota Statutes 1996, sections 469.305, 
  1.5             subdivision 1; and 469.31. 
  1.6   BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.7      Section 1.  Minnesota Statutes 1996, section 469.305, 
  1.8   subdivision 1, is amended to read: 
  1.9      Subdivision 1.  [INCENTIVE GRANTS.] An incentive grant is 
  1.10  available to businesses located in an enterprise zone that meet 
  1.11  the conditions of this section.  Each city designated as an 
  1.12  enterprise zone is allocated $3,000,000 to be used to provide 
  1.13  grants under this section for the duration of the program.  Each 
  1.14  city of the second class designated as an economically depressed 
  1.15  area by the United States Department of Commerce is allocated 
  1.16  $300,000 to be used to provide grants under this section for the 
  1.17  duration of the program.  For fiscal year 1998 and subsequent 
  1.18  years, the proration in section 469.31 shall continue to apply 
  1.19  until the amount designated in this subdivision is expended. 
  1.20     The incentive grant is in an amount equal to 20 percent of 
  1.21  the wages paid to an employee, not to exceed $5,000 per employee 
  1.22  per calendar year.  The incentive grant is available to an 
  1.23  employer for a zone resident employed in the zone at full-time 
  1.24  wage levels of not less than 170 percent of minimum wage 110 
  1.25  percent of the federal poverty level for a family of four, as 
  2.1   determined by the United States Department of Agriculture.  The 
  2.2   incentive grant is not available to workers employed in 
  2.3   construction or employees of financial institutions, gambling 
  2.4   enterprises, public utilities, sports, fitness, and health 
  2.5   facilities, or racetracks.  The employee must be employed at 
  2.6   that rate at the time the business applies for a grant, and must 
  2.7   have been employed for at least one year at the business.  A 
  2.8   grant may be provided only for new jobs; for purposes of this 
  2.9   section, a "new job" is a job that did not exist in Minnesota 
  2.10  before May 6, 1994.  The incentive grant authority is available 
  2.11  for the five calendar years after the application has been 
  2.12  approved to the extent the allocation to the city remains 
  2.13  available to fund the grants, and if the city certifies to the 
  2.14  commissioner on an annual basis that the business is in 
  2.15  compliance with the plan to recruit, hire, train, and retain 
  2.16  zone residents.  The employer may designate an organization that 
  2.17  provides employment services to receive all or a portion of the 
  2.18  employer's incentive grant. 
  2.19     Sec. 2.  Minnesota Statutes 1996, section 469.31, is 
  2.20  amended to read: 
  2.21     469.31 [LIMIT ON GRANTS; APPROPRIATION.] 
  2.22     The maximum amount of incentive grants payable under 
  2.23  sections 469.305 and 469.309 is $900,000 for fiscal year 1997.  
  2.24  Of that amount, one-third must be allocated to the city of 
  2.25  Minneapolis, one-third to the city of St. Paul, and one-third to 
  2.26  the remaining cities.  Of the amounts allocated to the cities of 
  2.27  Minneapolis and St. Paul, $25,000 must be subtracted from each 
  2.28  city's allocation and is appropriated to the commissioner of 
  2.29  economic security for administration of this program, provided 
  2.30  that $25,000 of the appropriation is for fiscal year 1996 and 
  2.31  $25,000 is for fiscal year 1997.  Of the amount allocated to the 
  2.32  remaining cities, a minimum of $60,000 must be allocated to the 
  2.33  city of South St. Paul.  No incentive grants may be paid before 
  2.34  fiscal year 1997.  If the commissioner of economic security 
  2.35  estimates by March 1, 1996, that incentive grants for fiscal 
  2.36  year 1997 will exceed $900,000, the commissioner shall 
  3.1   proportionately reduce each city's allocation to remain within 
  3.2   the limit.  In addition to any other allocation, the cities of 
  3.3   Minneapolis and St. Paul shall each receive an allocation, that 
  3.4   shall not be reduced by any other allocation under this section, 
  3.5   of $550,000 for each of fiscal years 1998 and 1999.  The amount 
  3.6   necessary to pay the allocations for grants under this section 
  3.7   are appropriated to the commissioner of trade and economic 
  3.8   development and the commissioner of economic security.