La. Admin. Code tit. 13 § V-205

Current through Register Vol. 50, No. 11, November 20, 2024

Section V-205 - General Principles

A. The following general principles will direct the administration of the Governor's Economic Development Rapid Response Program .

1. Awards are not to be construed as an entitlement for companies locating or located in Louisiana, and the secretary and governor have the sole discretion to determine whether or not each particular business entity or application meets the criteria for the award as provided herein, and in all such circumstances, the exercise of that discretion shall be deemed to be a final determination of a company's award status.

2. The economic benefit of the award to the state must equal or exceed the value of the award to the recipient.

3. The immediate nature of the award, and the competitive circumstances, as well as the need for and the immediate use of the funds through a grant, loan or loan guaranty pursuant to the award must reasonably be expected to be a significant factor in a company's location, investment, retention and/or expansion decisions.

4. The award agreements entered into pursuant to this program shall reflect a commitment by the recipient of the award for the creation and/or retention of jobs, their compensation or payroll levels, and other economic consequences as represented in the application for the award, and shall include such provisions as will protect the state's investment in the award in the event that the recipient of the award fails to meet its representations.

5. The state anticipates negotiating with each company seeking an award based on the individual merits of each project, with the goal of seeking the best return on investment for the state's citizens over the longest possible period of time.

6. Awards shall be administered or overseen by or under the supervision of the LED.

7. Contracts for awards will contain "clawback" (or refund) provisions to protect the state in the event of a default. In the event a company or public entity fails to timely start or to proceed with and/or complete its project, or fails to timely meet its performance objectives and/or any employment requirements, including but not limited to the retention or creation of the number of jobs or the reaching or maintaining of compensation or payroll levels within the time and for the term agreed, as specified in its award agreement with LED, any such acts, omissions or failures shall constitute a default under the award agreement, and LED shall retain all rights to withhold award funds, modify the terms and conditions of the award, and to reclaim disbursed funds from the company and/or public entity in an amount commensurate with the scope of the unmet performance objectives and the foregone benefits to the state. Reclamation shall not begin unless LED has determined, after an analysis of the benefits of the project to the state and the unmet performance objectives, that the state has not satisfactorily or adequately recouped its costs through the benefits provided by the project.

La. Admin. Code tit. 13, § V-205

Promulgated by the Department of Economic Development, Office of the Secretary, LR 31:421 (February 2005), amended LR 35:888 (May 2009).

AUTHORITY NOTE: Promulgated in accordance with R.S. 36:104 and 36:108.