| Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows: |
|
| | This bill is a concept draft pursuant to Joint Rule 208. |
|
| | The purpose of this bill is to prevent the loss of jobs in | Maine and to authorize state and local governments to recapture | the value of economic development incentives from employers that | move jobs out of the State or fail to fulfill job creation, job | retention or wage goals. Specifically, the bill seeks to: |
|
| | 1. Protect taxpayer investments in economic development by | establishing that: |
|
| A. State and local governments may recapture the value of | economic development incentives from employers that fail to | fulfill job creation, job retention or wage goals set | pursuant to the Maine Revised Statutes, Title 5, section | 13070-J, subsection 2, paragraph B after the effective date | of this Act and within 2 years of qualifying for the | incentive; and |
|
| B. An employer that moves jobs out of Maine shall repay the | full value of any economic development incentive received | within the past 5 years; |
|
| | 2. Define an economic development incentive as any grant | payment or tax credit, reimbursement or forgiveness made pursuant | to the Maine Revised Statutes, Title 5, section 13070-J, | subsection 1, paragraph D; |
|
| | 3. Establish a waiver process for the payback of economic | development incentives if the employer can clearly establish that | the failure is caused by economic hardship; |
|
| | 4. Require that, in the event of an intended plant closure, | the owner of an affected establishment must make good faith | offers of sale at fair market value for plant, equipment and | inventory to any interested employee organization, private | business concern or government-owned or jointly owned business | and create an enforcement provision for this requirement; and |
|
| | 5. Authorize an appropriate executive branch department to | adopt rules as needed to ensure the effective administration of | this Act. |
|
|