59.1-284.23 - Advanced Shipbuilding Training Facility Grant Program; eligible city.
§ 59.1-284.23. Advanced Shipbuilding Training Facility Grant Program;eligible city.
A. As used in this section:
"Advanced shipbuilding" means (i) the manufacture, construction, assembly,overhaul, repair, and test of nuclear vessels and submarines for the U.S.Navy; (ii) the design or development of nuclear vessels and submarines forthe U.S. Navy; or (iii) the manufacturing activities of a private companydescribed under 2007 index number 336611 of the North American IndustryClassification System.
"Base training expense" means the total expenditures made by a qualifiedshipbuilder, in the year prior to entering into a memorandum ofunderstanding, that directly and indirectly support training activities.
"Capital investment" means an investment in real property, tangiblepersonal property, or both, within the Commonwealth.
"Eligible city" means the City of Newport News.
"Grant" means the advanced shipbuilding training facility grant asdescribed in this section.
"Memorandum of understanding" means a performance agreement entered into onor before June 30, 2009, among a qualified shipbuilder, the Commonwealth, andothers as appropriate, such as the eligible city, setting forth therequirements for capital investment, training costs, and the creation of newfull-time jobs that will make the qualified shipbuilder eligible for a grantunder this section.
"New full-time job" means employment of an indefinite duration in aneligible city, created as the direct result of capital investment, for whichthe average annual wage is at least equal to the prevailing average annualwage in an eligible city and for which the standard fringe benefits are paidby the qualified shipbuilder, requiring a minimum of either (i) 35 hours ofan employee's time per week for the entire normal year of such qualifiedshipbuilder's operations, which "normal year" must consist of at least 48weeks, or (ii) 1,680 hours per year. Seasonal or temporary positions andpositions created when a job function is shifted from an existing location inthe Commonwealth shall not qualify as new full-time jobs under this section.Other positions, which may or may not be of indefinite duration, includingsupplemental employees of affiliates, subsidiaries, joint ventures,contractors, or subcontractors of the qualified shipbuilder, may beconsidered new full-time jobs, if so designated as such in the memorandum ofunderstanding between such qualified shipbuilder, the Commonwealth, andothers.
"New training facility" means a facility that, pursuant to a Memorandum ofAgreement with the Secretary, is to be operated by the qualified shipbuilderfor use by the shipbuilding industry, primarily to provide education,training and retraining of workers in the shipbuilding industry. Suchtraining facility may be owned by the qualified shipbuilder, or may beoperated by the qualified shipbuilder through a lease agreement with theeligible city, a local industrial development authority, or a privatedeveloper.
"Qualified shipbuilder" means a shipbuilder located in an eligible citythat (i) makes a new capital investment of at least $300 million from January1, 2009 through December 31, 2011, related to advanced shipbuilding in aneligible city; (ii) creates at least 1,000 new full-time jobs in an eligiblecity for advanced shipbuilding or activities ancillary to or supportive ofadvanced shipbuilding; (iii) maintains an apprenticeship program accreditedby the Council for Occupational Education with an average annual enrollmentof at least 750 and articulation agreements with local community collegesthat allow its graduates to qualify for accredited associate degrees fromthose institutions; and (iv) maintains a level of base training expendituresno less than that spent in calendar year 2008 as set forth in the memorandumof understanding.
"Secretary" means the Secretary of Commerce and Trade or his designee.
B. Any qualified shipbuilder located in an eligible city shall be eligible toreceive a grant each fiscal year beginning with the Commonwealth's fiscalyear starting on July 1, 2012, and ending with the Commonwealth's fiscal yearstarting on July 1, 2016, unless such time frame is extended in accordancewith subsection C or D. The grants under this section (i) shall be paid,subject to appropriation by the General Assembly, from a fund entitled theAdvanced Shipbuilding Training Facility Fund, which Fund is herebyestablished on the books of the Comptroller; (ii) shall not exceed $25million in the aggregate; (iii) shall be paid to a qualified shipbuilderduring each fiscal year contingent upon the qualified shipbuilder meeting therequirements for the aggregate of (a) number of new full-time jobs createdand the substantial retention of the same, (b) maintenance of base trainingexpenses, and (c) amount of the capital investment made and substantiallyretained, as set forth in the memorandum of understanding; and (iv) shall beexpended by the qualified shipbuilder on training costs or to pay the capitalor lease cost of any new training facility to provide that training.
1. The amount of the grant to be paid in each fiscal year shall beconditional upon the qualified shipbuilder meeting the requirements for (i)the aggregate number of new full-time jobs created and the substantialretention of the same throughout the calendar year that immediately precedesthe beginning of such fiscal year; (ii) the aggregate amount of the capitalinvestment made and substantially retained as of the last day of the calendaryear that immediately precedes the beginning of such fiscal year; and (iii)the expenditure of base training expenses as set forth in the memorandum ofunderstanding entered into on or before June 30, 2009. If the qualifiedshipbuilder has not fully met the grant requirements by December 31, 2011,the period of eligibility may be extended for up to three years, providedthat the grants in any given fiscal year shall not exceed $5 million, plusany amounts deferred in accordance with subsection C or D. Grants shall bepaid based upon such requirements as agreed to on or before June 30, 2009,regardless if such memorandum of understanding is later modified, amended,superseded, or otherwise changed;
2. The aggregate amount of grants that may be awarded in a particular fiscalyear shall not exceed the following:
a. $5 million for the Commonwealth's fiscal year beginning July 1, 2012;
b. $10 million, less the total amount of grants previously awarded pursuantto this subsection, for the Commonwealth's fiscal year beginning July 1, 2013;
c. $15 million, less the total amount of grants previously awarded pursuantto this subsection, for the Commonwealth's fiscal year beginning July 1, 2014;
d. $20 million, less the total amount of grants previously awarded pursuantto this subsection, for the Commonwealth's fiscal year beginning July 1,2015; and
e. $25 million, less the total amount of grants previously awarded pursuantto this subsection, for the Commonwealth's fiscal year beginning July 1,2016; and
3. Grants provided by this section shall not exceed $25 million in theaggregate or the aggregate total of training costs expended by a qualifiedshipbuilder during the period, whichever is less.
C. Any qualified shipbuilder applying for a grant under this section shallprovide evidence, satisfactory to the Secretary, of (i) the aggregate numberof new full-time jobs created and the substantial retention of the samethroughout the calendar year that immediately precedes the beginning of thefiscal year in which the grant is to be paid; (ii) the aggregate amount ofthe capital investment made and substantially retained as of the last day ofthe calendar year that immediately precedes the beginning of the fiscal yearin which the grant is to be paid; and (iii) the aggregate amount of basetraining expenses as of the last day of the calendar year that immediatelyprecedes the beginning of the fiscal year in which the grant is to be paid.The application and evidence shall be filed with the Secretary in person orby mail no later than April 1 each year following the calendar year in whichthe qualified shipbuilder meets such aggregate new full-time job requirementsand aggregate capital investments. Failure to meet the filing deadline shallresult in a deferral of a scheduled grant payment set forth in subsection B.For filings by mail, the postmark cancellation shall govern the date of thefiling determination.
D. The memorandum of understanding may provide that if a grant payment hasbeen deferred for any reason, including the initial failure to meet theaggregate capital investment or the aggregate new full-time job requirementsor the aggregate base training expenses set forth in the memorandum ofunderstanding or the occurrence of any substantial reduction in such newfull-time job requirements or capital investment requirements after suchrequirements have been met but before the grant payment has been made,payment in a subsequent fiscal year for which such requirements have been metfor the immediately preceding calendar year shall include both the deferredpayment and the scheduled grant payment as provided in subsection B or that aproportional payment, based on the proportional share of the requiredadditional full-time jobs, be made.
E. As a condition of receipt of a grant, a qualified shipbuilder shall makeavailable to the Secretary or his designee for inspection upon his requestrelevant and applicable documents to determine whether the qualifiedshipbuilder has met the requirements for the receipt of grants as set forthin this section and subject to the memorandum of understanding. TheComptroller shall not draw any warrants to issue checks for the grant programunder this section without a specific appropriation for the same. All suchdocuments appropriately identified by the qualified shipbuilder shall beconsidered confidential and proprietary.
(2009, cc. 798, 850.)