A. Subject to the appropriation by the General Assembly of sufficient moneys to the Economic Development Incentive Grant subfund, any eligible company that meets the requirements of this section and is not awarded a grant under § 2.2-5101 or 2.2-5102 for the same project shall be eligible to apply for an economic development incentive grant as provided in this section.

B. The Partnership shall establish an application process by which eligible companies may apply for a grant under this section. An application for a grant under this section shall not be approved for payment until the Partnership has verified that the applicable requirements of the memorandum of agreement have been satisfied.

C. The amount of the economic development incentive grant that an eligible company may receive under this section shall be determined at the sole discretion of the Governor based on the recommendation of the Secretary. The determination of the appropriate amount for an economic development incentive grant shall be based on the application of guidelines that establish criteria for correlating the amount of a grant to the relative value to the Commonwealth of the new investment and employment.

D. The Partnership shall assist the Secretary in developing objective guidelines that shall be used in awarding economic development incentive grants. No grant shall be awarded until the Secretary has provided copies of such guidelines for review to the chairmen of the House Committee on Appropriations and the Senate Committee on Finance. The preparation of the guidelines shall be exempt from the requirements of Article 2 (§ 2.2-4006 et seq.) of the Administrative Process Act (§ 2.2-4000 et seq.). The guidelines shall require determinations regarding the amount of investment performance grants to address:

1. The number of new jobs created by the capital investment;

2. The wages paid for the new jobs and the amount by which wages exceed the average wage for the locality or region;

3. The amount of the capital investment;

4. The net present value of benefits to Virginia;

5. The amount of other incentives offered by the Commonwealth and the locality; and

6. The importance of the facility to the economy of the locality or region.

The guidelines shall also address the eligibility of companies that make a capital investment in phases over a period of years, and limits on eligibility for multiple grants by the same company within stated periods of time.

E. For eligible projects awarded grants prior to July 1, 2010, the aggregate amount of economic development incentive grants payable under this section in any fiscal year shall not exceed $6 million, and the aggregate amount of such grants outstanding that were awarded prior to July 1, 2010, shall not exceed $30 million. For eligible projects awarded grants on or after July 1, 2010, but before July 1, 2019, the aggregate amount of economic development incentive grants payable under this section in any fiscal year shall not exceed $6 million and the aggregate amount of such grants outstanding on or after July 1, 2010, but before July 1, 2019, shall not exceed $30 million. For eligible projects awarded grants on or after July 1, 2019, the aggregate amount of economic development incentive grants payable under this section in any fiscal year shall not exceed $6 million and the aggregate amount of such grants outstanding on or after July 1, 2019, shall not exceed $30 million.

F. Any eligible company shall be eligible to receive a grant from the Fund in no fewer than five installments beginning in the third year after the Partnership has verified that the requirements applicable to such grant have been satisfied. All such terms shall be negotiated and set forth in a memorandum of agreement.

G. The Comptroller shall not draw any warrants to issue checks for grants under this chapter without a specific legislative appropriation as specified in conditions and restrictions on expenditures in the appropriation act. The payment of any grant under this section shall be in accordance with the terms and conditions set forth in a memorandum of agreement between a major eligible employer and the Commonwealth. These terms and conditions shall supplement the provisions of this chapter and shall include but not be limited to the terms of the payment of the grant. The payment of the grant shall be made in full or in proportion to a major eligible employer's fulfillment of the terms of the memorandum of agreement.

2005, c. 431; 2007, c. 576; 2010, cc. 735, 768; 2019, c. 32.