Economic development incentive application process.

(1) Upon receiving a submitted economic development incentive application, the Division of Economic Development of the department shall review the application to ensure that the application is complete, whether and what type of state and local permits may be necessary for the applicant’s project, whether it is possible to waive such permits, and what state incentives and amounts of such incentives may be available to the applicant. The department shall recommend to the Secretary of Commerce to approve or disapprove an applicant business. If review of the application demonstrates that the application is incomplete, the secretary shall notify the applicant business within the first 5 business days after receiving the application.

(2) Beginning July 1, 2013, the department shall review and evaluate each economic development incentive application for the economic benefits of the proposed award of state incentives proposed for the project. The term “economic benefits” has the same meaning as in s. 288.005. The Office of Economic and Demographic Research shall establish the methodology and model used to calculate the economic benefits. For purposes of this requirement, an amended definition of “economic benefits” may be developed by the Office of Economic and Demographic Research.

(3) Within 10 business days after the department receives the submitted economic development incentive application, the Secretary of Commerce shall approve or disapprove the application and issue a letter of certification to the applicant which includes a justification of that decision, unless the business requests an extension of that time.

(a) The contract or agreement with the applicant must specify the total amount of the award, the performance conditions that must be met to obtain the award, the schedule for payment, and sanctions that would apply for failure to meet performance conditions. The department may enter into one agreement or contract covering all of the state incentives that are being provided to the applicant. The contract must provide that release of funds is contingent upon sufficient appropriation of funds by the Legislature.

(b) The release of funds for the incentive or incentives awarded to the applicant depends upon the statutory requirements of the particular incentive program.

(4) The department shall validate contractor performance and report such validation in the annual incentives report required under s. 288.0065.

(5)(a) The Secretary of Commerce may not approve an economic development incentive application unless the application includes a signed written declaration by the applicant which states that the applicant has read the information in the application and that the information is true, correct, and complete to the best of the applicant’s knowledge and belief.

(b) After an economic development incentive application is approved, the awardee shall provide, in each year that the department is required to validate contractor performance, a signed written declaration. The written declaration must state that the awardee has reviewed the information and that the information is true, correct, and complete to the best of the awardee’s knowledge and belief.

(6) The Secretary of Commerce may not approve an economic development incentive application unless the application includes proof to the department that the applicant business is registered with and uses the E-Verify system, as defined in s. 448.095, to verify the work authorization status of all newly hired employees. If the department determines that an awardee is not complying with this subsection, the department must notify the awardee by certified mail of the department’s determination of noncompliance and the awardee’s right to appeal the determination. Upon a final determination of noncompliance, the awardee must repay all moneys received as an economic development incentive to the department within 30 days after the final determination.

(7) The department is authorized to adopt rules to implement this section.