Sec. 2310.305.  APPLICATION FOR DEFENSE READJUSTMENT PROJECT DESIGNATION.  (a)  If the governing body of a readjustment zone or the governing body and administrative authority of a readjustment zone, as appropriate, approve a request made under Section 2310.304, the governing body may apply to the bank for the designation of the qualified business as a defense readjustment project.
(b)  An application must:
(1)  describe the procedures and efforts of the governmental entity or entities that applied to have the area designated as a readjustment zone to facilitate and encourage participation by and negotiation among affected entities in the zone in which the qualified business is located;
(2)  contain an economic analysis of the plans of the qualified business for expansion, revitalization, or other activity in the readjustment zone, including:
(A)  the number of anticipated new permanent jobs the business will create;
(B)  the anticipated number of permanent jobs the business will retain;
(C)  the amount of investment to be made in the zone;  and
(D)  other information the bank requires;  and
(3)  describe the local effort made by the governmental entity or entities that applied to have the area designated as a readjustment zone, the administrative authority, if one exists, the qualified business, and other affected entities to develop and revitalize the zone.
(c)  For the purposes of this section, local effort to develop and revitalize a readjustment zone is:
(1)  the willingness of public entities in the zone to provide services, incentives, and regulatory relief authorized by this chapter and to negotiate with the qualified business for which application is made and with other local groups or businesses to achieve the public purposes of this chapter;  and
(2)  the effort of the qualified business and other affected entities to cooperate in achieving those public purposes.
(d)  Factors to be considered in evaluating the local effort of a public entity include:
(1)  tax abatement, deferral, refunds, or other tax incentives;
(2)  regulatory relief, including:
(A)  zoning changes or variances;
(B)  exemptions from unnecessary building code requirements, impact fees, or inspection fees;  and
(C)  streamlined permitting;
(3)  enhanced municipal services, including:
(A)  improved police and fire protection;
(B)  institution of community crime prevention programs;  and
(C)  special public transportation routes or reduced fares;
(4)  improvements in community facilities, including:
(A)  capital improvements in water and sewer facilities;
(B)  road repair;  and
(C)  creation or improvement of parks;
(5)  improvements to housing, including:
(A)  low-interest loans for housing rehabilitation, improvement, or new construction;  and
(B)  transfer of abandoned housing to individuals or community groups;
(6)  business and industrial development services, including:
(A)  low-interest loans for business;
(B)  use of surplus school buildings or other underutilized publicly owned facilities as small business incubators;
(C)  provision of publicly owned land for development purposes, including residential, commercial, or industrial development;
(D)  creation of special one-stop permitting and problem resolution centers or ombudsmen;  and
(E)  promotion and marketing services;  and
(7)  job training and employment services, including:
(A)  retraining programs;
(B)  literacy and employment skills programs;
(C)  vocational education;  and
(D)  customized job training.
(e)  Factors to be considered in evaluating the local effort of a private entity include:
(1)  the willingness to negotiate or cooperate in the redevelopment of vacated defense facilities and the creation of high-skilled, high wage jobs;
(2)  commitments to hire dislocated defense workers and economically disadvantaged workers;
(3)  commitments to hire minority workers and to contract with minority-owned businesses;
(4)  provision of technical and vocational job training for residents of the nominating body's jurisdiction or economically disadvantaged employees;
(5)  provision of child care for employees;
(6)  commitments to implement and contribute to a tutoring or mentoring program for area students;
(7)  prevention or reduction of juvenile crime;  and
(8)  the willingness to make contributions to the well-being of the community, such as job training, or the donation of land for parks or other public purposes.
Added by Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 114, Sec. 1, eff. May 19, 1997.  Amended by Acts 2003, 78th Leg., ch. 814, Sec. 3.43, eff. Sept. 1, 2003.