Sec. 1. 36 MRSA §6753, sub-§11, as enacted by PL 1995, c. 669, §5, is amended to read:

11. Qualified business. "Qualified business" means any for- profit business in this State, other than a public utility as defined by Title 35-A, section 102, that adds 15 or more the applicable number of qualified employees specified in section 6754-A above its base level of employment in this State within any 2-year period commencing on or after January 1, 1996 and that meets one of the following criteria:

A. The business is not engaged in retail operations;

B. The business is engaged in retail operations but less than 50% of its total annual revenues from Maine-based operations are derived from sales taxable in this State; or

C. The business is engaged in retail operations and can demonstrate to the commissioner by a preponderance of the evidence that any increased sales will not include sales tax revenues derived from a transferring or shifting of retail sales from other businesses in this State.

For purposes of this subsection, "retail operations" means sales of consumer goods for household use to consumers who personally visit the business location to purchase the goods.

Sec. 2. 36 MRSA §6754-A is enacted to read:

§6754-A.__Required number of new employees

In order to qualify for the program established under this chapter a business must add qualified employees above its base level of employment as follows.

1.__Labor market areas with unemployment rate at or below state unemployment rate.__In labor market areas in which the labor market unemployment rate is at or below the state unemployment rate at the time of application, the required minimum number of added employees is 15.

2.__Labor market areas with unemployment rate above the state unemployment rate but not more than 150% of state unemployment rate.__In labor market areas in which the labor market unemployment rate is above the state unemployment rate at the time of application but not more than 150% of the state unemployment rate, the required minimum number of added employees is 10.