Section 57-95-1 - Definitions; Mississippi Job Protection Act established; purpose; loan application; amount of loan; interest rate; powers of Mississippi Development Authority to implement and administer program; grants to at-risk industries; Mississippi Job Protection Act Fund created; Mississippi Job Protection Act Bond Sinking Fund created(1) As used in this section:(a) "At-risk industry" means any enterprise that has been operating in this state for not less than three (3) consecutive years that has lost jobs or is at risk to lose jobs because such jobs have been outsourced.(b) "MDA" means the Mississippi Development Authority.(c) "Outsource" means to send out work or jobs of a certain provider or manufacturer of the State of Mississippi to an overseas provider or manufacturer or a provider or manufacturer located outside the boundaries of the United States or any territory of the United States.(2)(a) There is established the Mississippi Job Protection Act to be administered by the MDA for the purpose of providing grants and loans to:(i) At-risk industries to be used for job retention and to improve productivity and competitiveness; and(ii) Counties and incorporated municipalities to provide assistance to at-risk industries to be used for job retention and to improve productivity and competitiveness.(b)(i) An at-risk industry that accepts a grant or loan under this program shall not reduce employment by more than twenty percent (20%).(ii) An at-risk industry that accepts assistance from a county or incorporated municipality through a loan or grant made under this section shall not reduce employment by more than twenty percent (20%).(c) An at-risk industry desiring a grant or loan under this section must submit an application to the MDA. The application shall include:(i) A description of the purpose for which the grant or loan is requested;(ii) The amount of the grant or loan requested;(iii) The estimated total cost of the project;(iv) A two-year business plan for the project;(v) Financial statements or tax returns for the at-risk industry for the two (2) years immediately prior to the application;(vi) Credit reports on all persons or entities with a twenty percent (20%) or greater interest in the at-risk industry; and(vii) Any other information required by the MDA.(d) A county or incorporated municipality desiring a grant or loan under this section must submit an application to the MDA. The application shall include: (i) A description of the purpose for which the loan is requested;(ii) The amount of the grant or loan requested;(iii) The estimated total cost of the project;(iv) A statement showing the sources of funding for the project;(v) A two-year business plan for the project;(vi) Financial statements or tax returns for the at-risk industry for the two (2) years immediately prior to the application;(vii) Credit reports on all persons or entities with a twenty percent (20%) or greater interest in the at-risk industry;(viii) Any commitment by the at-risk industry to pay rental on, or to make loan repayments related to, the assistance; and(ix) Any other information required by the MDA.(e) The MDA shall require that binding commitments be entered into requiring that: (i) The minimum requirements of this section and such other requirements as the MDA considers proper shall be met; and(ii) If such requirements are not met, all or a portion of the funds provided by this section as determined by the MDA shall be repaid.(f) The amount of a grant or loan under this section shall not exceed fifty percent (50%) of the total cost of the project.(g) The MDA shall have all powers necessary to implement and administer the program established under this section, and the MDA shall promulgate rules and regulations, in accordance with the Mississippi Administrative Procedures Law, necessary for the implementation of this section.(3) Grants under this section shall not exceed Two Hundred Thousand Dollars ($200,000.00).(4)(a) There is created in the State Treasury a special fund to be designated as the "Mississippi Job Protection Act Fund," which shall consist of funds appropriated or otherwise made available by the Legislature in any manner and funds from any other source designated for deposit into such fund. Unexpended amounts remaining in the fund at the end of a fiscal year shall not lapse into the State General Fund, and any investment earnings or interest earned on amounts in the fund shall be deposited to the credit of the fund. Monies in the fund shall be used by the MDA for the purposes described in this section.(b) Monies in the fund which are derived from the proceeds of general obligation bonds may be used to reimburse reasonable actual and necessary costs incurred by the MDA for the administration of the various grant, loan and financial incentive programs administered by the MDA. An accounting of actual costs incurred for which reimbursement is sought shall be maintained by the MDA. Reimbursement of reasonable actual and necessary costs shall not exceed three percent (3%) of the proceeds of bonds issued under Sections 40 through 55 of Chapter 1, Laws of Third Extraordinary Session of 2005. Reimbursements made under this subsection shall satisfy any applicable federal tax law requirements.(c)(i) There is hereby created the Mississippi Job Protection Act Bond Sinking Fund from which the principal and interest on bonds whose proceeds are deposited into the Mississippi Job Protection Act Fund and utilized to provide loans authorized under this section, shall be repaid. Unexpended amounts remaining in the bond sinking fund at the end of a fiscal year shall not lapse into the State General Fund, and any interest earned or investment earnings on amounts in the bond sinking fund shall be deposited into the bond sinking fund. At any time when the funds required to pay the principal and interest on bonds whose proceeds are deposited into the Mississippi Job Protection Act Fund and are utilized to provide loans under this section are more than the amount available in the bond sinking fund, the Legislature shall appropriate the balance of the funds necessary to pay the principal and interest on such bonds.(ii) Money repaid on loans authorized under this section that are derived from the proceeds of bonds deposited into the Mississippi Job Protection Act Fund shall be deposited into the Mississippi Job Protection Act Bond Sinking Fund.(5)(a) A county that receives a loan under this section shall pledge for repayment of the loan any part of the homestead exemption annual tax loss reimbursement to which it may be entitled under Section 27-33-77. An incorporated municipality that receives a loan under this section shall pledge for repayment of the loan any part of the sales tax revenue distribution to which it may be entitled under Section 27-65-75. Each loan agreement shall provide for monthly payments, semiannual payments or other periodic payments, the annual total of which shall not exceed the annual total for any other year of the loan by more than fifteen percent (15%). The loan agreement shall provide for the repayment of all funds received within not more than twenty (20) years from the date of project completion.(b) The State Auditor, upon request of the MDA, shall audit the receipts and expenditures of a county or an incorporated municipality whose loan payments appear to be in arrears, and if he finds that the county or municipality is in arrears in such payments, he shall immediately notify the Executive Director of the Department of Finance and Administration who shall withhold all future payments to the county of homestead exemption reimbursements under Section 27-33-77 and all sums allocated to the county or the municipality under Section 27-65-75 until such time as the county or the municipality is again current in its loan payments as certified by the MDA. The State Auditor may conduct performance and compliance audits under this chapter according to Section 7-7-211(o) and may bill the oversight agency.(c) Evidences of indebtedness which are issued pursuant to this section shall not be deemed indebtedness within the meaning specified in Section 21-33-303 with regard to cities or incorporated towns, and in Section 19-9-5 with regard to counties.Laws, 2005, 3rd Ex Sess, ch. 1, § 39; Laws, 2007, ch. 382, § 2, eff. 7/1/2007.Amended by Laws, 2019, ch. 453, SB 2272,§ 11, eff. 7/1/2019.Amended by Laws, 2014, ch. 427, HB 1318, 8, eff. 7/1/2014.