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2011 SESSION

11103445D
HOUSE BILL NO. 2030
Offered January 12, 2011
Prefiled January 11, 2011
A BILL to amend the Code of Virginia by adding in Title 59.1 a chapter numbered 50, containing articles numbered 1 through 3, consisting of sections numbered 59.1-550 through 59.1-555, relating to strategic manufacturing and job repatriation; Economic Security Commission established; repatriation tax incentive study; report.
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Patron-- May
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Referred to Committee on Commerce and Labor
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Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia:

1.  That the Code of Virginia is amended by adding in Title 59.1 a chapter numbered 50, containing articles numbered 1 through 3, consisting of sections numbered 59.1-550 through 59.1-555, as follows:

CHAPTER 50.
STRATEGIC MANUFACTURING AND JOB REPATRIATION ACT.
Article 1.
General Provisions.

§ 59.1-550. Definitions.

As used in this chapter, unless the context requires a different meaning:

"Comparative advantage" means, with respect to a country's industrial base, an environment in which a country's private industry may produce a good at a lower opportunity cost than a competitor.

"Repatriation" means, with respect to a firm's job or facility, the act of returning from a location in a foreign country to a location within the Commonwealth.

"Technology-based planning" means the process by which the Commonwealth may promote the acquisition and utilization of technology to excel at satisfying a customer need to generate a competitive advantage for the Commonwealth.

"Technology spatial mapping" means identifying the full set of present and emerging technologies whose dimensions dictate how a technology may be acquired and utilized for a competitive advantage.

Article 2.
Manufacturing and Repatriation Strategy.

§ 59.1-551. Comprehensive manufacturing strategy; survey of firms; database.

A. By January 1, 2012, the Secretary of Commerce and Trade shall create a comprehensive manufacturing strategy designed to increase overall production, create private sector jobs, and identify emerging technologies to strengthen Commonwealth competitiveness and comparative advantages. The strategy shall also include:

1. An analysis of progress made since the release of the Secretary's 2004 report titled "Manufacturing in America: A Comprehensive Strategy to Address the Challenges to U.S. Manufacturers";

2. Targets, established by the Secretary, for manufacturing sector growth, including a subset of targets for repatriated jobs to the Commonwealth, for calendar years 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, and 2016; and

3. A survey of all existing state and federal programs supporting manufacturing and recommendations on how the Governor or the General Assembly may better align such programs to support the strategy.

B. By January 1, 2012, and every second year thereafter, the Secretary of Commerce and Trade shall conduct a survey of firms in the Commonwealth. Any firm choosing not to complete the survey will be ineligible to receive Virginia contracts or assistance. The survey shall, at a minimum, identify:

1. Virginia firms that maintain manufacturing, design, or support service facilities outside the United States; and

2. Categories of products manufactured at such facilities and number of jobs located at such overseas facilities.

C. The Secretary of Commerce and Trade shall create and maintain a database based on the information provided in response to the surveys of firms.

D. The Secretary of Commerce and Trade shall report to General Assembly on the results of the surveys, including longitudinal trends in Virginia manufacturing and the repatriation of jobs.

§ 59.1-552. Repatriation task forces.

A. The Secretary of Commerce and Trade shall establish multiple repatriation task forces to promote repatriation in accordance with the established targets for job repatriation and manufacturing growth. The task forces shall:

1. Proactively and regularly identify Virginia firms interested in repatriating production or services to the Commonwealth;

2. Identify the unique needs of the firm necessary to facilitate the repatriation;

3. Identify and assist local governments to facilitate a mutually beneficial repatriation of the firm's facility or jobs, or both, to the Commonwealth;

4. Work with federal agencies on a case-by-case basis to provide technical assistance to the firm necessary to facilitate the repatriation of the facility or jobs, or both, to the Commonwealth;

5. Educate firms on the comprehensive manufacturing strategy, the repatriation task forces, and all state and local assistance available to such firms; and

6. Develop a computer-based program to help firms understand the total cost of ownership of locating facilities inside the Commonwealth as compared with foreign countries.

B. Each task force shall comprise, at a minimum, representatives from the Office of the Secretary of Commerce and Trade, the Virginia Economic Development Partnership, the Department of Business Assistance, the Department of Housing and Community Development, and the Department of Taxation.

Article 3.
Economic Security Commission.

§ 59.1-553. Economic Security Commission; purpose; membership; terms; meetings; compensation and expenses; staff; executive summary.

A. The Economic Security Commission (the Commission) is established as an advisory commission, within the meaning of § 2.2-2100, in the executive branch of state government. The purpose of the Commission is to study and make recommendations on policy relating to (i) Commonwealth economic competitiveness, particularly in the manufacturing, information technology, energy, and biotechnology sectors of the global economy, and (ii) technology-based planning policies to bolster Commonwealth economic competitiveness.

B. The Commission shall consist of 14 members that include six legislative members, six nonlegislative citizen members, and two ex officio members as follows: one member of the Senate Committee on Finance and one member of the Senate Committee on Commerce and Labor appointed by the Senate Committee on Rules; one member of the House Committee on Finance, one member of the House Committee on Appropriations, and two members of the House Committee on Commerce and Labor appointed by the Speaker of the House of Delegates in accordance with the principles of proportional representation contained in the Rules of the House of Delegates; six nonlegislative citizen members appointed by the Governor that include individuals with experience in manufacturing and international trade; and the Secretary of Commerce and Trade and the State Tax Commissioner, or their designees, who shall serve as ex officio nonvoting members.

C. All nonlegislative citizen members shall be appointed for terms of four years. Legislative and ex officio members shall serve terms coincident with their terms of office. All members may be reappointed. However, no House member shall serve more than four consecutive two-year terms, no Senate member shall serve more than two consecutive four-year terms, and no nonlegislative citizen member shall serve more than two consecutive four-year terms. Vacancies occurring other than by expiration of a term shall be filled for the unexpired term. Vacancies shall be filled in the same manner as the original appointments. The remainder of any term to which a member is appointed to fill a vacancy shall not constitute a term in determining the member's eligibility for reappointment.

D. The Commission shall meet at the request of the chairman, the majority of the voting members or the Governor. The Commission shall elect a chairman and a vice-chairman, as determined by the membership. A majority of the members of the Commission shall constitute a quorum.

E. Legislative members of the Commission shall receive such compensation as provided in § 30-19.12, and nonlegislative citizen members shall receive such compensation for the performance of their duties as provided in § 2.2-2813. All members shall be reimbursed for all reasonable and necessary expenses incurred in the performance of their duties as provided in §§ 2.2-2813 and 2.2-2825. Funding for the compensation and costs of expenses of the members shall be provided by the Office of the Secretary of Commerce and Trade.

F. The Virginia Economic Development Partnership shall provide staff assistance to the Commission.

G. The chairman of the Commission shall submit to the Governor and the General Assembly an annual executive summary of the interim activity and work of the Commission no later than the first day of each regular session of the General Assembly. The executive summary shall be submitted as provided in the procedures of the Division of Legislative Automated Systems for the processing of legislative documents and reports and shall be posted on the General Assembly's website.

§ 59.1-554. Duties of the Commission.

The Economic Security Commission shall:

1. Issue periodic reports on issues surrounding technology-based planning, emerging technologies, and Commonwealth economic competitiveness, specifically with regard to international trade agreements, taxation, cybersecurity, intellectual property laws and enforcement, vocational training, education, research and development programs, and infrastructure;

2. Oversee the development and operation of a computer-based, accurate, precise, and detailed technology spatial mapping program. This tool will be used to catalog, monitor, and anticipate emerging trends in technology to support the Commission's reporting on developing Commonwealth comparative advantages in a timely manner as new technology develops;

3. Provide additional information and recommendations, relating to Commonwealth economic competitiveness, to the Governor and the General Assembly upon request; and

4. Report annually on its activities to the joint standing committees of the General Assembly having jurisdiction over insurance by December 1 of each year.

§ 59.1-555. Sunset.

This article shall expire on July 1, 2014.

2.  That the Secretary of Commerce and Trade be requested to study the impact and feasibility of a tax incentive to encourage firms to repatriate jobs to the Commonwealth. In conducting its study, the Secretary of Commerce and Trade shall examine the merits of waiving all Virginia taxes on the return of offshore, untaxed profits by comparing the cost of such a tax incentive with the number of Virginia jobs created. Technical assistance shall be provided to the Secretary by the Department of Taxation. All agencies of the Commonwealth shall provide assistance to the Secretary for this study, upon request. The Secretary of Commerce and Trade shall complete its study by November 30, 2011, and shall submit to the Governor and the General Assembly an executive summary and a report of its findings and recommendations for publication as a House or Senate document. The executive summary and report shall be submitted as provided in the procedures of the Division of Legislative Automated Systems for the processing of legislative documents and reports no later than the first day of the 2012 Regular Session of the General Assembly and shall be posted on the General Assembly's website.