TITLE 42
State Affairs and Government
CHAPTER 42-64.5
Jobs Development Act
SECTION 42-64.5-5
§ 42-64.5-5 Election.
(a) An eligible company may elect to determine its "base employment" for the
purposes of this chapter on July 1 of any year subsequent to 1994, rather than
on July 1, 1994; provided, however, that an eligible company that is a
telecommunication company shall determine its base employment on either July 1,
2001 or July 1, 2002; and provided, further, that except as otherwise provided
in this chapter, an eligible company may not use July 1, 2003 or any subsequent
date to determine its base employment unless a determination has been made by
the board of directors of the Rhode Island economic development corporation
that: (i) but for the incentives available under this chapter the company is
not likely to retain, expand, or add employment in this state; and (ii) that
the company has provided reasonable evidence supporting a finding that the jobs
retained, expanded, or added will generate new tax revenue for the state that
is at least equivalent to the value of this incentive.
As a result of the election, rules comparable to those set
forth elsewhere in this chapter shall be applied to determine the rate
reduction available for each of the three (3) taxable years following the first
anniversary of the date the eligible company elected to use to determine its
"base employment" and for the taxable years following that three (3) year
period. This election: (i) shall be made in a manner that may be determined by
the tax administrator, and (ii) shall not be available to an eligible company
that previously claimed a rate reduction under this chapter.
(b) The corporation shall make no determination under
subsection (a) of this section until it has first prepared and publicly
released an analysis of the impact the proposed investment will or may have on
the state. The analysis shall be supported by appropriate data and
documentation and shall consider, but not be limited to, the following factors:
(i) The impact on the industry or industries in which the
applicant will be involved;
(ii) State fiscal matters, including the state budget
(revenues and expenses);
(iii) The financial exposure of the taxpayers of the state
under the plans for the proposed investment and negative foreseeable
contingencies that may arise therefrom;
(iv) The approximate number of full-time, part-time,
temporary, seasonal and/or permanent jobs projected to be created, construction
and non-construction;
(v) Identification of geographic sources of the staffing for
identified jobs;
(vi) The projected duration of the identified construction
jobs;
(vii) The approximate wage rates for each category of the
identified jobs;
(viii) The types of fringe benefits to be provided with the
identified jobs, including healthcare insurance and any retirement benefits;
(ix) The projected fiscal impact on increased personal income
taxes to the state of Rhode Island; and
(x) The description of any plan or process intended to
stimulate hiring from the host community, training of employees or potential
employees, and outreach to minority job applicants and minority businesses.
(c) The corporation shall monitor every impact analysis it
completes through the duration of any approved tax credit. Such monitoring
shall include annual reports made available to the public on the:
(1) Actual versus projected impact for all considered
factors; and
(2) Verification of all commitments made in consideration of
state incentives or aid.
(d) Upon its preparation and release of the analysis required
by subsection (b) of this section, the corporation shall provide copies of that
analysis to the chairpersons of the house and senate finance committees, the
house and senate fiscal advisors, the department of labor and training and the
division of taxation. Any such analysis shall be available to the public for
inspection by any person and shall be published by the tax administrator on the
tax division website. Annually thereafter, through and including the second tax
year after any taxpayer has applied for and received a tax credit pursuant to
this chapter, the department of labor and training shall certify to the
chairpersons of the house and senate finance committees, the house and senate
fiscal advisors, the corporation and the division of taxation that: (i) the
actual number of new full-time jobs with benefits created by the tax credit,
not including construction jobs, is on target to meet or exceed the estimated
number of new jobs identified in the analysis above, and (ii) the actual number
of existing full-time jobs with benefits has not declined. For purposes of this
section, "full-time jobs with benefits" means jobs that require working a
minimum of thirty (30) hours per week within the state, with a median wage that
exceeds by five percent (5 %) the median annual wage for full-time jobs in
Rhode Island and within the taxpayer's industry, with a benefit package that
includes healthcare insurance plus other benefits typical of companies within
the taxpayer's industry. The department of labor and training shall also
certify annually to the chairpersons of the house and senate finance
committees, the house and senate fiscal advisors, and the division of taxation
that jobs created by the tax credit are "new jobs" in the state of Rhode
Island, meaning that the employees of the project are in addition to, and
without a reduction of, those employees of the taxpayer currently employed in
Rhode Island, are not relocated from another facility of the taxpayer in Rhode
Island or are employees assumed by the taxpayer as the result of a merger or
acquisition of a company already located in Rhode Island. The certifications
made by the department of labor and training shall be available to the public
for inspection by any person and shall be published by the tax administrator on
the tax division website.
(e) The corporation, with the assistance of the taxpayer, the
department of labor and training, the department of human services and the
division of taxation shall provide annually an analysis of whether any of the
employees of the taxpayer has received RIte Care or RIte Share benefits and the
impact such benefits or assistance may have on the state budget. This analysis
shall be available to the public for inspection by any person and shall be
published by the tax administrator on the tax division website. Notwithstanding
any other provision of law or rule or regulation, the division of taxation, the
department of labor and training and the department of human services are
authorized to present, review and discuss taxpayer-specific tax or employment
information or data with the Rhode Island Economic Development Corporation
(RIEDC), the house and senate fiscal committee chairs, and/or the house and
senate fiscal advisors for the purpose of verification and compliance with this
tax credit reporting requirement.
(f) Any agreements or contracts entered into by the
corporation and the taxpayer shall be sent to the division of taxation and be
available to the public for inspection by any person and shall be published by
the tax administrator on the tax division website
(g) By August 15th of each year the taxpayer shall report the
source and amount of any bonds, grants, loans, loan guarantees, matching funds
or tax credits received from any state governmental entity, state agency or
public agency as defined in § 37-2-7 received during the previous state
fiscal year. This annual report shall be sent to the division of taxation and
be available to the public for inspection by any person and shall be published
by the tax administrator on the tax division website.
(h) By August 15th of each year the division of taxation
shall report the name, address, and amount of tax credit received for each
taxpayer during the previous state fiscal year to the corporation, the
chairpersons of the house and senate finance committees, the house and senate
fiscal advisors, the department of labor and training and the division of
taxation. This report shall be available to the public for inspection by any
person and shall be published by the tax administrator on the tax division
website.
History of Section.
(P.L. 1996, ch. 245, § 1; P.L. 1998, ch. 62, § 1; G.L. 1956, §
42-64.5-6; P.L. 1999, ch. 391, § 1; P.L. 2001, ch. 77, art. 7, § 4;
P.L. 2003, ch. 150, § 1; P.L. 2003, ch. 159, § 1; P.L. 2004, ch. 333,
§ 1; P.L. 2004, ch. 396, § 1; P.L. 2008, ch. 165, § 3; P.L.
2008, ch. 173, § 3.)