Oklahoma Administrative Code › Title 150 - Oklahoma Department of Commerce › Chapter 65 - Oklahoma Quality Jobs Program › Subchapter 1 - Quality Jobs Program › Section 150:65-1-2 - Definitions

Current through Vol. 41, No. 20, July 1, 2024
For purposes of this chapter, the following words and terms
				  shall have the following meaning unless the context clearly indicates
				  otherwise.
"Application date"
means the date on which the
				  establishment's application is first received and stamped by a Quality Jobs
				  representative at the Oklahoma Department of Commerce.
"Approval date"
means the date on which the
				  Executive Director of the Oklahoma Department of Commerce issues the offer to
				  an establishment to receive incentive benefits pursuant to the Oklahoma Quality
				  Jobs Program.
"Baseline employment"
means an establishment's
				  total number of jobs, which existed in this state prior to the application date
				  of the establishment to the Oklahoma Department of Commerce. A job shall be
				  deemed to exist in this state prior to approval of an application if the
				  activities and functions for which the particular job exists have been ongoing
				  at anytime within six (6) months prior to such approval. Upon approval of an
				  application if it is more than six months later than the application date, the
				  Department may determine an establishment's baseline employment to be its then
				  current employment or its average employment over the last four quarters and
				  may adjust the average wage requirement to meet the most current average wage
				  requirement.
"Change in control event"
means the transfer to
				  one or more unrelated establishments or unrelated persons, of either:
(A) beneficial ownership of more than fifty percent (50%) in
				  value and more than fifty percent (50%) in voting power of the outstanding
				  equity securities of the transferred establishment, or
(B) more than fifty percent (50%) in value of the assets of
				  an establishment. A transferor shall be treated as related to a transferee if
				  more than fifty percent (50%) of the voting interests of the transferor and
				  transferee are owned, directly or indirectly, by the other or are owned,
				  directly or indirectly, by the same person or persons, unless such transferred
				  establishment has an outstanding class of equity securities registered under
				  Sections 12(b) or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, in
				  which event the transferor and transferee will be treated as unrelated;
				  provided, an establishment applying for the Oklahoma Quality Jobs Program Act
				  as a result of a change of control event is required to apply within one
				  hundred eighty (180) days of the change in control event to qualify for
				  consideration. An establishment entering the Oklahoma Quality Jobs Program Act
				  as the result of a change of control event shall be required to maintain a
				  level of new direct jobs as agreed to in its contract with the Department of
				  Commerce and to pay new direct jobs an average annualized wage which equals or
				  exceeds one hundred twenty-five percent (125%) of the average county wage as
				  that percentage is determined by the Oklahoma State Data Center based upon the
				  most recent U.S. Department of Commerce data for the county in which the new
				  jobs are located. For purposes of this paragraph, healthcare premiums paid by
				  the applicant for individuals in new direct jobs shall not be included in the
				  annualized wage. Such establishment entering the Quality Jobs Program Act as
				  the result of a change of control event shall be required to retain the
				  contracted average annualized wage and maintain the contracted maintenance
				  level of new direct jobs numbers as certified by the Oklahoma Tax Commission.
				  If the required average annualized wage or the required new direct jobs numbers
				  do not equal or exceed such contracted level during any quarter, the quarterly
				  incentive payments shall not be made and shall not be resumed until such time
				  as such requirements are met. An establishment described in this paragraph
				  shall be required to repay all incentive payments received under the Quality
				  Jobs Program Act if the establishment is determined by the Oklahoma Tax
				  Commission to no longer have business operations in the state within three (3)
				  years from the beginning of the calendar quarter for which the first incentive
				  payment claim is filed . [68 O.S. §
									3603(A)(2)
				  ].
"Combination"
means an establishment, provided
				  it meets the requirements of 68 O.S. Section
				  3601 et
				  seq. and the requirements set out in
				  150:65-1-13 of this
				  chapter.
"Commission"
means the Oklahoma Tax Commission
				  established pursuant to 68 O.S. Section
				  102,
				  and any successor agencies thereto.
"Cost-benefit analysis"
means the analysis the
				  Oklahoma Department of Commerce is required to perform to determine the
				  estimated direct state benefits and estimated direct state costs.
"Date of determination"
means the date assigned
				  by the Department on the Incentive Offer on which a subunit and the entity of
				  which the subunit is a part, must demonstrate a net increase in total
				  employment in accordance with
				  150:65-1-12(b) and
				  (c) of this chapter.
"Employment of the remainder of the entity of which the
				  subunit is a part"
means the total number of jobs of an entity of which
				  the subunit is a part which existed in this state prior to the application date
				  of the subunit as to the Oklahoma Department of Commerce. Such jobs shall be
				  deemed to exist in this state prior to approval of a subunit's application if
				  the activities and functions for which the particular job exists have been
				  ongoing at any time within six (6) months prior to approval. Upon approval of
				  an application of a subunit as an establishment, if it is more than six (6)
				  months later than the application date, the Department may determine the
				  employment of the remainder of the entity of which the subunit is a part to be
				  its then current employment or its average employment over the last four
				  quarters, and may adjust the average wage requirement to meet the then current
				  average wage.
"Entity of which the subunit is a part"
means
				  the business or governmental entity of which a subunit is a separate part as
				  described in 68 O.S., Section 3603(8)(a) and
				  150:65-1-12 of this
				  chapter.
"Estimated direct state benefits"
means the tax
				  revenues projected...to accrue to the state as a result of new direct jobs.
				  [68:3603(A)(4)] Such revenues shall include:
(A) State income tax receipts from employees holding new
				  direct jobs. The Oklahoma Department of Commerce will determine the estimated
				  direct state benefit from personal income tax receipts by reviewing:
(i) historical data on similar or existing projects;
(ii) information provided by the establishment;
(iii) data from federal agencies such United States Bureau of
				  the Census and the United States Department of Labor;
(iv) the most recent historical data from the Oklahoma Tax
				  Commission on average personal tax rates by income class; and,
(v) private sector financial reports; and
(B) State sales and use tax receipts, excise tax receipts,
				  gasoline tax receipts and other anticipated tax receipts resulting from
				  purchases by employees holding new direct jobs. The Department will determine
				  the estimated direct state benefit from such taxes by reviewing:
(i) information supplied by the establishment;
(ii) data from federal agencies such as the United States
				  Department of Labor;
(iii) Oklahoma Tax Commission sales and use tax reports;
				  and,
(iv) private sector financial reports.
"Estimated direct state costs"
means the costs
				  projected to accrue to the state as a result of new direct jobs employing new
				  state residents and/or new state service beneficiaries. Such costs shall
				  include:
(A) The costs of educating new state resident children. The
				  Oklahoma Department of Commerce will determine the estimated direct state costs
				  of such educations by using:
(i) information supplied by the establishment;
(ii) the most recent average student allocation per pupil
				  formula provided by the Oklahoma Department of Education; and,
(iii) United States Department of Labor statistics;
(B) The costs of government services such as public health,
				  public safety and transportation provided to new residents and/or state service
				  beneficiaries. The Department will determine the estimated direct state costs
				  for such government costs by examining the state's per capita cost of providing
				  non-common education services and estimating the amount of the state's excess
				  capacity; and
(C) The costs of any industrial access road paid for with
				  state funds and provided by the Oklahoma Department of Transportation;
				  provided, the road is clearly from the facility to the thoroughfare and is
				  clearly and primarily utilized by the establishment.
"Estimated net direct state benefits"
means the
				  estimated direct state benefits less the estimated direct state costs.
				  [68:3603(A)(5)]
"Extraordinary adverse business circumstance"
is
				  an unforeseen event or series of events that adversely impact a business'
				  ability to participate in the Oklahoma Quality Jobs Program. Such events shall
				  not include market, economic, or business factors, but be limited to Acts of
				  God, acts of terrorism, and civil unrest.
"Full-time equivalent employment"
means
				  employment which has a minimum six-month duration during any twelve-month time
				  period, regardless whether the same employee holds the employment for said
				  time.
"Line of business"
means the NAICS code that is
				  reflected by the end product or services of a given project resulting in new
				  direct jobs.
"Negative economic event"
means (1) a man-made
				  disaster or natural disaster as defined in 63 O.S. §
									683.3,
				  resulting in the loss of a significant number of jobs within a particular
				  county of this state, or (2) an economic circumstance in which a significant
				  number of jobs within a particular county of this state have been lost due to
				  an establishment changing its structure, consolidating with another
				  establishment, closing or moving all or part of its operations out of this
				  state.
"Net benefit rate"
is set forth at 68 O.S.
				  §
									3603(A)(7)
				  as determined by the Oklahoma Department of Commerce.
"New direct job":
(A) means full-time-equivalent employment in this state in an
				  establishment which has qualified to receive an incentive payment pursuant to
				  the provisions of Section 3601 et seq. of this title [68 O.S. §
									3601
				  ]which employment did not exist in this state prior to the date of approval by
				  the Department of the application of the establishment pursuant to the
				  provisions of Section 3604 of this title [68 O.S. §
									3604
				  ]; provided, that if an application of an establishment is approved by the
				  Department of Commerce after a change in control event and the Director of the
				  Department of Commerce determines that the jobs located at such establishment
				  are likely to leave the state, "new direct job" shall include employment that
				  existed in this state prior to the date of application which is retained in
				  this state by the new establishment following a change in control event, if
				  such job otherwise qualifies as a new direct job, and
(B) shall include full-time-equivalent employment in this
				  state of employees who are employed by an employment agency or similar entity
				  other than the establishment which has qualified to receive an incentive
				  payment and who are leased or otherwise provided under contract to the
				  qualified establishment, if such job did not exist in this state prior to the
				  date of approval by the Department of the application of the establishment or
				  the job otherwise qualifies as a new direct job following a change in control
				  event. A job shall be deemed to exist in this state prior to approval of an
				  application if the activities and functions for which the particular job exists
				  have been ongoing at any time within six (6) months prior to such approval.
				  With respect to establishments defined in division (10) of subparagraph a of
				  paragraph 1 of this subsection, [NAICS 2111]new direct jobs shall be limited to
				  those jobs directly comprising the corporate headquarters of or directly
				  relating to administrative, financial, engineering, surveying, geological or
				  geophysical services performed by the establishment. Under no circumstances
				  shall employment relating to drilling or field services be considered new
				  direct jobs. [68 O.S. §
									3603(3)
				  ] But does not include jobs which constitute an establishment's baseline
				  employment as determined by the Oklahoma Department of Commerce pursuant to the
				  definitions of this section. An establishment must maintain a total number of
				  jobs equal to its baseline employment number before any job of the
				  establishment shall be considered a new direct job.
"Quality jobs representative"
means an Oklahoma
				  Department of Commerce professional or economic development professional,
				  trained in the Oklahoma Quality Jobs Program, who is so designated by the
				  Executive Director, and whose responsibilities in the program include direct
				  contact with applicants and clients, analysis of data, initiation of project
				  proposals, preparation of project profiles and preparation of incentive
				  offers.
"Significant number of jobs"
means
				  full-time-equivalent employment in a county equal to or in excess of three
				  percent (3%) of the total amount of full-time-equivalent employment in that
				  county for the calendar year, or most recent twelve-month period in which
				  employment is measured, preceding the event.
"Subunit"
means an establishment, provided it
				  meets all requirements of 68 O.S. Section
				  3601 et
				  seq. and the requirements set out in
				  150:65-1-12 of this
				  chapter.
Added at 10 Ok Reg 4723,
				  eff 9-17-93 (emergency); Added at 11 Ok Reg 3671, eff 7-15-94; Amended at 12 Ok
				  Reg 19, eff 9-29-94 (emergency); Added at 11 Ok Reg 767, eff 12-3-94
				  (emergency); Amended at 12 Ok Reg 1339, eff 5-25-95; Amended at 21 Ok Reg 543,
				  eff 8-7-03 (emergency); Amended at 21 Ok Reg 2965, eff 7-25-04; Amended at 22
				  Ok Reg 1049, eff 5-26-05; Amended at 23 Ok Reg 1200, eff 5-25-06; Amended at 24
				  Ok Reg 1202, eff 5-25-07; Amended at 25 Ok Reg 1537, eff
				  6-12-08