HB959--RURALWORKFORCEDEVELOPMENTACT
SPONSOR: Gregory
Thisbillestablishesthe"MissouriRuralWorkforceDevelopment
Act",whichprovidesataxcreditforcertaininvestmentsmadein
businesseslocatedinruralareasinthisstate.
Thebillallowsinvestorstomakecapitalinvestmentsinarural
fund.Aruralfundwishingtoacceptinvestmentsascapital
investmentsmustapplytotheDepartmentofEconomicDevelopment.
Theapplicationmustincludetheamountofcapitalinvestment
requested,acopyoftheapplicant'slicenseasaruralbusinessor
smallbusinessinvestmentcompany,evidencethattheapplicanthas
madeatleast$100millionininvestmentsinnonpubliccompanies
locatedincountiesthroughouttheUnitedStateswithapopulation
lessthan50,000,evidencethattheapplicanthasmadeatleast$30
millionininvestmentsinnonpubliccompanieslocatedinMissouri,
andabusinessplanthatincludesarevenueimpactstatement
projectingstateandlocaltaxrevenuetobegeneratedbythe
applicant'sproposedqualifiedinvestments. Theruralfundmust
alsosubmitanonrefundableapplicationfeeof$5,000.The
Departmentmustgrantordenyanapplicationwithin60daysof
receipt.
TheDepartmentmustdenyanapplicationifsuchapplicationis
incompleteorinsufficient,iftherevenueimpactassessmentdoes
notdemonstratethatthebusinessplanwillresultinapositive
economicimpactonthestateovera10yearperiod,orifthe
Departmenthasalreadyapprovedthemaximumamountofcapital
investmentauthority.
Investorsareallowedataxcreditforaperiodofsixyears
beginningwiththeyeartheinvestormadeacapitalinvestment.The
taxcreditmustbeequaltoapercentageofthecapitalinvestment
asexplainedinthebill.Taxcreditsissuedmustnotbe
refundable,butmaybecarriedforwardtoanyofthefive
subsequenttaxyears.Nomorethan$25milliondollarsintax
creditsmaybeauthorizedinagivencalendaryearassetoutin
thebill.
Ruralfundsmustusecapitalinvestmentsmadebyinvestorstomake
qualifiedinvestmentsineligiblebusinesses. Aneligiblebusiness
isabusinessthat,atthetimeofthequalifiedinvestment,has
fewerthan250employeesandhasitsprincipalbusinessoperations
inthestate.
TheDepartmentmayrecapturetaxcreditsiftheruralfunddoesnot
invest60%ofitscapitalinvestmentauthorityinqualified investmentswithintwoyearsofthedateofthecapitalinvestment,
and100%ofitscapitalinvestmentauthoritywithinthreeyears,if
theruralfundfailstomaintainqualifiedinvestmentsequalto90%
ofitscapitalinvestmentauthorityinyearsthreethroughsix,if
priortoexitingtheprogramor30daysafterthesixthyear,the
ruralfundmakesadistributionorpaymentthatresultsinthefund
havinglessthan100%ofitscapitalinvestmentauthorityinvested
inqualifiedinvestments,oriftheruralfundviolatesprovisions
ofthebill.
RuralfundsmustsubmitannualreportstotheDepartment,including
thenameandlocationofeacheligiblebusinessreceivinga
qualifiedinvestment,thenumberofjobscreatedandjobsretained
asaresultofqualifiedinvestments,theaveragesalaryofsuch
jobs,andanyotherinformationrequiredbytheDepartment,allas
detailedinthebill.
Atanytimeafterthesixthanniversaryofthecapitalinvestment,
aruralfundmayapplytotheDepartmenttoexittheprogram.The
Departmentmustrespondtosuchapplicationwithin30days.Ifthe
exitapplicationisdenied,theDepartment'snoticeshallinclude
thereasonsforitsdecision.Aruralfundshallbesubjectto
penaltiesfornotmeetingprojectedjobcreationmetricsas
indicatedinthebill.
Theprovisionsofthenewprogramautomaticallysunsetsixyears
aftertheeffectivedateofthebill.
ThisbillissimilartoHB1885andSB675(2022).