(a) Subject to appropriation, the department shall

(1) encourage the formation of regional development organizations by providing assistance in forming organizations to interested individuals, including information on how to qualify and apply for regional development grants and federal funding under 42 U.S.C. 3121 - 3246 (Public Works and Economic Development Act of 1965), as amended;

(2) assist an interested individual in establishing boundaries for a proposed organization to ensure that the region

(A) is of sufficient geographic size and contains a large enough population to form an economically viable unit with shared interests, resources, traditions, and goals;

(B) contains at least one municipality that serves as a regional center; and

(C) contains the entire area of each municipality included in the region;

(3) gather information about regional economic issues, international trade, and tourism from organizations;

(4) serve as liaison between organizations and other state agencies and encourage other agencies to make resources available to help accomplish goals of the organizations;

(5) assist each organization to

(A) provide services designed to encourage economic development to local communities and businesses;

(B) collect and distribute economic information relevant to the region;

(C) participate in state marketing campaigns and join state trade missions that are relevant to the region; and

(D) develop and implement strategies to attract new industry, expand international trade opportunities, and encourage tourism within the region.

(b) Subject to appropriation and to (c) of this section, the department may make regional development grants to organizations for projects the department determines will be of value in encouraging economic development. During a fiscal year, the department may make not more than 15 grants and may only make grants to one organization from a particular region. An organization that is designated an economic development district under 42 U.S.C. 3171 qualifies for grants under this subsection. The department shall by regulation adopt procedures for applying for regional development grants, including application deadlines. The department may by regulation establish additional grant eligibility requirements.

(c) To qualify for a grant, a regional development organization must match the grant by providing an amount of money from nonstate sources. The department shall establish by regulation a formula that determines the amount of the match required under this subsection based on the capability of each organization to generate money from nonstate sources. The amount of match required may not exceed the amount of grant money and may not be less than 20 percent of the grant. The total amount of grant money provided to an organization during a fiscal year may not exceed $100,000.

(d) There is established in the department the regional development fund consisting of appropriations to the fund. Money from the fund may be used only for regional development grants.

(e) Not later than February 1 of each year, the department shall compile a report on the activities of regional development organizations. The department shall deliver the report to the senate secretary and the chief clerk of the house of representatives and notify the legislature that the report is available. The report must include the information listed in (1) - (3) of this subsection. To compile the report, the department shall require each regional development organization to provide the following information to the department on or before a date set by the department:

(1) an assistance and funding summary for the previous fiscal year that includes

(A) the assistance provided to the organization by the department, the amount and purposes of grants made to the organization by the department, and a statement of any other funding received by the organization from the state;

(B) the amount of federal funding and grants received by the organization; and

(C) the amounts and sources of private sector sponsorships;

(2) an activity summary that includes

(A) a summary of the meetings of the board of the regional development organization held during the past year, including the number of meetings and the date, location, and a brief description of the agenda of each meeting;

(B) a summary of economic development initiatives being undertaken and services being provided by the regional development organization at the time of the report;

(C) a work plan containing goals, objectives, and strategies for addressing regional economic needs;

(D) a summary of any comprehensive economic development strategy being implemented by the board at the time of the report; and

(E) the status of projects funded by grants from the state or the federal government; and

(3) an economic development summary that includes

(A) potential projects identified by the board that may enhance economic development; and

(B) challenges to regional economic development identified by the board.

(f) In this section,

(1) “department” means the Department of Commerce, Community, and Economic Development;

(2) “regional development organization” or “organization” means a nonprofit organization or nonprofit corporation formed to encourage economic development within a particular region of the state that includes the entire area of each municipality within that region and that has a board of directors that represents the region's economic, political, and social interests.