§2454. Rebate approval

A. The state Board of Commerce and Industry, or its successor, after consultation with the secretaries of the Louisiana Workforce Commission and the Department of Revenue, with the approval of the governor, may enter into a contract with an employer complying with the provisions of this Chapter for a period of up to five years. A contract with an employer shall be limited to a single physical location, and the benefits the employer shall receive shall be based solely upon the operations at that location. An employer may have more than one contract covering multiple locations; however, eligibility of each location shall be determined separately, with the exception that, in determining new direct jobs, the department shall certify that the employer has a net overall increase in employment statewide for each new direct job.

B. A contract may be renewed under any of the following circumstances:

(1) A five-year renewal may be authorized if:

(a) The applicant has complied with all the terms of the contract and has not performed any act, nor failed to perform any act, which would have made the applicant liable for suspension, and has complied with the provisions of this Chapter; and

(b) The statutory minimum hourly wage for the new direct jobs subject to each benefit rate required when the contract was entered into has increased by an amount which is no less than the greater of either of the following:

(i) The percentage increase in the Consumer Price Index published by the United States Department of Labor for the five years of the initial term of the contract, compounded.

(ii) Two percent for the five years of the initial term of the contract, compounded.

(2) If the applicant is a franchise of the National Basketball Association and is a party to an unexpired contract, the existing contract may be renewed or extended for a term commensurate with the term of not more than ten years.

(a) The incentive offered in a contract which is renewed or extended pursuant to the provisions of this Paragraph shall be limited to the payroll-based rebate which is provided in R.S. 51:2455 and, notwithstanding any other provision of this Chapter to the contrary, including R.S. 51:2456(B), no other incentive payment of any type shall be available under such contract.

(b) For any contract renewed or extended pursuant to the provisions of this Paragraph, the secretary of the Department of Economic Development shall report to the Joint Legislative Committee on the Budget regarding the actual number of jobs for which the franchise received payment under the contract. The report shall be made within six months of the end date of a contract executed pursuant to the provisions of this Paragraph, and no such contract shall be renewed without the report having been provided to the committee. The report shall contain a comparison of the number of new direct jobs reported at the beginning of the contract with the number of new direct jobs reported six months prior to the end date of the contract.

C.(1) No contract shall be executed under this Chapter with an employer who has defaulted on or otherwise not repaid any loan or other obligation involving public funds nor with any employer who has ever declared bankruptcy under which an obligation of the employer to pay or repay public fund or monies was discharged as part of such bankruptcy.

(2) No contract shall be executed under this Chapter with any employer who is in default on any filing or payment with or to the state or any of its agencies or political subdivisions and in which an assessment or judgement that is final and nonappealable has been rendered, and remains outstanding, in favor of the state, or any of its agencies, or political subdivisions.

(3) Violation of the provisions of this Subsection shall void the contract and any rebates paid to the employer prior to the date of discovery of such violation shall be added to the income tax liability of the employer for the taxable year in which the discovery occurred, with interest from the date of violation, and the employer shall receive no further rebates pursuant to this Chapter.

(4) Every contract executed pursuant to this Chapter shall include a requirement that if the employer receives a rebate under this Chapter and an assessment or judgment that is final and nonappealable has been rendered against the employer in favor of the state or any of its agencies or political subdivisions, then the contract shall be suspended pending satisfaction of the assessment or judgment and no rebate shall accrue to the employer under the contract during the period of suspension.

D. Every contract executed pursuant to this Chapter shall include the following requirements:

(1) If the employer receives a rebate under this Chapter and it is subsequently determined that the employer did not qualify for such rebate, the future rebates issued to the employer shall be reduced by the amount of such rebate monies previously received by the employer.

(2) If there are no future rebates from which to deduct the amount owed back to the state, the tax liability of the employer for the taxable period in which the determination was made shall be increased by the amount of such rebate monies previously received by the employer.

(3) The secretary of the Department of Revenue may recover any rebates previously granted to an employer but which rebates are disallowed as authorized by R.S. 47:1561.2. The contract shall provide that the employer shall waive prescription for the purposes of recovering any disallowed rebates.

Acts 1995, No. 1238, §1, eff. July 1, 1995; Acts 2000, No. 46, §2, eff. June 28, 2000; Acts 2002, 1st Ex. Sess., No. 153, §1, eff. May 1, 2002; Acts 2004, No. 699, §§4, 5; Acts 2004, No. 899, §§1, 2; Acts 2007, No. 387, §1, eff. July 10, 2007; Acts 2008, No. 743, §7, eff. July 1, 2008; Acts 2012, No. 219, §1, eff. May 22, 2012.