A. There is established a special fund in the state treasury to be known as the Virginia Investment Partnership Grant Fund. The Fund shall consist of the Major Eligible Employer Grant subfund, the Economic Development Incentive Grant subfund, and the Investment Performance Grant subfund. Each subfund shall include such moneys as may be appropriated by the General Assembly and designated for the respective subfund, and a "sinking fund" including some proportion of the marginal revenues derived from eligible companies receiving grants under this Act. The Fund shall be used solely for the payment of investment incentive grants to eligible Virginia business entities pursuant to this chapter. The Partnership shall administer the Virginia Investment Partnership Grant Fund.

B. The Partnership shall allocate, from the appropriate subfund, moneys in the following order of priority: (i) first to unpaid grant amounts carried forward from prior years because eligible manufacturers did not receive the full amount of any grant to which they were eligible in a prior year and (ii) then to other approved applicants. If the moneys in the Fund are less than the amount of grants to which approved applicants in any class of priority are eligible, the moneys in the appropriate subfund shall be apportioned pro rata among eligible applicants in such class, based upon the amount of the grant to which an approved applicant is eligible and the amount of money in the subfund available for allocation to such class.

C. If a grant recipient is allocated less than the full amount of a grant to which it is eligible in any year, it shall not be eligible for the deficiency in that year, but the unpaid portion of the grant to which it was eligible shall be carried forward by the Partnership to the following year, during which it shall be in the first class of priority as provided in clause (i) of subsection B.

D. The Partnership shall determine the amount of the grants to be allocated to eligible applicants by June 30 of each year. The Partnership shall then certify to the Comptroller the amount of grant an eligible manufacturer shall receive. Payments shall be made by check issued by the State Treasurer on warrant of the Comptroller.

E. All excess funds remaining in any given year shall be carried forward on the books of the Fund for use in subsequent years.

F. Actions of the Partnership relating to the allocation and awarding of grants shall be exempt from the provisions of the Administrative Process Act (§ 2.2-4000 et seq.) pursuant to subdivision B 4 of § 2.2-4002.

1999, cc. 875, 961, § 2.1-548.43:6; 2000, c. 571; 2001, c. 844; 2005, c. 431.