CONCEPT DRAFT

SUMMARY

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.