Texas 2021 - 87th Regular

Texas Senate Bill SB1466 Compare Versions

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1	1	By: Hinojosa S.B. No. 1466
2	2
3	3
4	4	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
5	5	AN ACT
6	6	relating to the enterprise zone program.
7	7	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
8	8	SECTION 1. Section 2303.003, Government Code, is amended by
9	9	amending Subdivision (7) adding Subdivisions (8-a) and (8-b) to
10	10	read as follows:
11	11	(7) "Qualified employee" means a person who:
12	12	(A) works for a qualified business;
13	13	(B) receives wages from the qualified business
14	14	from which employment taxes are deducted; and
15	15	(C) performs at least 50 percent of the person's
16	16	service for the business at the qualified business site, performs
17	17	the person's service for the business pursuant to a qualified
18	18	telework arrangement for the qualified business site and resides
19	19	within 50 miles of the qualified business site, or if the person
20	20	engages in the transportation of goods or services, the person
21	21	reports to the qualified business site and resides within 50 miles
22	22	of the qualified business site.
23	23	(8-a) "Qualified telework" means telework affiliated
24	24	with the qualified business site and performed by an employee who is
25	25	a resident of this state. The term does not include telework that
26	26	occurs out of this state. To be considered qualified telework, a
27	27	telework arrangement that requires more than 50 percent of work
28	28	time to be completed through telework must be attributed to
29	29	circumstances that do not allow the employee to work at least 50
30	30	percent of the time at the qualified business site.
31	31	(8-b) "Telework" means the performance of services
32	32	remotely through the use of email, Internet, and telephone from a
33	33	person's residence.
34	34	SECTION 2. Section 2303.402(a), Government Code, is amended
35	35	to read as follows:
36	36	(a) A person is a qualified business if the bank, for the
37	37	purpose of state benefits under this chapter, or the nominating
38	38	body of a project or activity of the person under this chapter, for
39	39	the purpose of local incentives, certifies that:
40	40	(1) the person is engaged in or has provided
41	41	substantial commitment to initiate the active conduct of a trade or
42	42	business in an enterprise zone, and at least 25 percent of the
43	43	person's new permanent jobs in the enterprise zone are held by:
44	44	(A) residents of any enterprise zone in this
45	45	state;
46	46	(B) economically disadvantaged individuals; [or]
47	47	(C) veterans; or
48	48	(D) residents of an area in this state designated
49	49	as a qualified opportunity zone under Section 1400Z-1, Internal
50	50	Revenue Code of 1986.
51	51	(2) the person is engaged in or has provided
52	52	substantial commitment to initiate the active conduct of a trade or
53	53	business in an area of this state that does not qualify as an
54	54	enterprise zone, and at least 35 percent of the person's new
55	55	permanent jobs at the qualified business site are held by:
56	56	(A) residents of any enterprise zone in this
57	57	state;
58	58	(B) individuals who are economically
59	59	disadvantaged; [or]
60	60	(C) veterans; or
61	61	(D) residents of an area in this state designated
62	62	as a qualified opportunity zone under Section 1400Z-1, Internal
63	63	Revenue Code of 1986.
64	64	SECTION 3. Section 2303.406(h), Government Code, is amended
65	65	to read as follows:
66	66	(h) A state benefit may not be obtained under this chapter
67	67	or Chapter 151, Tax Code, for jobs moved to a qualified business
68	68	site from any other business site [from one jurisdiction in this
69	69	state to another jurisdiction] in this state.
70	70	SECTION 4. Section 2303.4072, Government Code, is amended
71	71	to read as follows:
72	72	Sec. 2303.4072. ENTERPRISE PROJECT CLAIM FOR STATE BENEFIT.
73	73	(a) Except as provided by Subsection (b), a [A] person must make a
74	74	claim to the comptroller for a state benefit as prescribed under
75	75	this chapter and Chapter 151, Tax Code, not later than 18 months
76	76	after the date on which the term of the enterprise project
77	77	designation expires as provided by Section 2303.404.
78	78	(b) If the enterprise project term designation expired on or
79	79	after March 1, 2020, and before March 2, 2021, the person must make
80	80	the claim to the comptroller under Subsection (a) not later than 20
81	81	months after the date the designation expired. This subsection
82	82	expires January 1, 2023.
83	83	SECTION 5. Subchapter F, Chapter 2303, Government Code, is
84	84	amended by adding Section 2303.409 to read as follows:
85	85	Sec. 2303.409. TEMPORARY WAIVER OF EMPLOYMENT HOURS
86	86	REQUIREMENT. (a) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the
87	87	minimum requirement of annual employment hours for a new permanent
88	88	job or a retained job as defined by Section 2303.401 is waived for
89	89	any certification or retention period that includes any period
90	90	beginning March 1, 2020, and ending December 31, 2022, if the
91	91	qualified business can show noncompliance was a result of the
92	92	COVID-19 pandemic.
93	93	(b) This section expires December 31, 2023.
94	94	SECTION 6. Section 151.429, Tax Code, is amended by
95	95	amending Subsection (g) and adding Subsection (g-1) to read as
96	96	follows:
97	97	(g) The refund provided by this section is conditioned on
98	98	the enterprise project maintaining [at least] the baseline [same]
99	99	level of employment of qualified employees as specified by the bank
100	100	through the project's expiration [existed at the time it qualified
101	101	for a refund for a period of three years from that] date. The
102	102	comptroller shall [annually] certify whether that level of
103	103	employment of qualified employees has been maintained. On
104	104	certifying that the baseline level of employment specified by the
105	105	bank [such a level] has not been maintained, the comptroller shall
106	106	assess that portion of the refund attributable to any such decrease
107	107	in employment, including penalty and interest from the date of the
108	108	refund.
109	109	(g-1) Notwithstanding Subsection (g), the level of
110	110	employment of qualified employees required to be maintained by an
111	111	enterprise project is waived for any period that includes any
112	112	period beginning March 1, 2020, and ending December 31, 2022, if the
113	113	qualified business shows that noncompliance with this requirement
114	114	was due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This subsection expires January
115	115	1, 2023.
116	116	SECTION 7. (a) Except as provided by Subsection (b) of this
117	117	section, the changes in law made by this Act apply only to an
118	118	application for an enterprise project designation under Chapter
119	119	2303, Government Code, as amended by this Act, that is submitted on
120	120	or after the effective date of this Act. An application for an
121	121	enterprise project designation that is submitted before the
122	122	effective date of this Act is governed by the law in effect on the
123	123	date the application was submitted, and the former law is continued
124	124	in effect for that purpose.
125	125	(b) Section 2303.409, Government Code, as added by this Act,
126	126	and Section 151.429(g-1), Tax Code, as added by this Act, apply to a
127	127	claim for a state benefit made to the comptroller of public accounts
128	128	on or after the effective date of this Act.
129	129	SECTION 8. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
130	130	a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
131	131	provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
132	132	Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
133	133	Act takes effect September 1, 2021.