§ 4. New relocating employee incentives

(a) The Agency of Commerce and Community Development shall design and implement a program to award incentive grants to relocating employees as provided in this section and subject to the policies and procedures the Agency adopts to implement the program.

(b) A relocating employee may be eligible for a grant under the program for qualifying expenses, subject to the following:

(1) A base grant shall not exceed $5,000.00.

(2) The Agency may award an enhanced grant, which shall not exceed $7,500.00, for a relocating employee who becomes a resident in a labor market area in this State in which:

(A) the average annual unemployment rate in the labor market area exceeds the average annual unemployment rate in the State; or

(B) the average annual wage in the State exceeds the annual average wage in the labor market area.

(c) The Agency shall:

(1) adopt procedures for implementing the program, which shall include a simple certification process to certify relocating employees and qualifying expenses;

(2) promote awareness of the program, including through coordination with relevant trade groups and by integration into the Agency’s economic development marketing campaigns;

(3) adopt procedures to initially approve an applicant for a grant after verifying a relocating employee’s eligibility and to make final payment of a grant after verifying that the relocating employee has completed relocation to this State; and

(4) adopt measurable goals, performance measures, and an audit strategy to assess the utilization and performance of the program.

(d) Annually, on or before January 15, the Agency shall submit a report to the House Committee on Commerce and Economic Development and the Senate Committee on Economic Development, Housing and General Affairs concerning the implementation of this section, including:

(1) a description of the policies and procedures adopted to implement the program;

(2) the promotion and marketing of the program; and

(3) an analysis of the utilization and performance of the program, including the projected revenue impacts and other qualitative and quantitative returns on investment in the program based on available data and modeling.

(e) As used in this section:

(1) “Qualifying expenses” means the actual costs a relocating employee incurs for relocation expenses, which may include moving costs, closing costs for a primary residence, rental security deposit, one month‘s rent payment, and other relocation expenses established in Agency guidelines.

(2) “Relocating employee” means an individual who meets the following criteria:

(A)(i) On or after July 1, 2021:

(I) the individual becomes a full-time resident of this State;

(II) the individual becomes a full-time employee at a Vermont location of a for-profit or nonprofit business organization domiciled or authorized to do business in this State, or of a State, municipal, or other public sector employer; and

(III) the employer attests to the Agency that, after reasonable time and effort, the employer was unable to fill the employee’s position from among Vermont applicants; or

(ii) On or after February 1, 2022:

(I) the individual becomes a full-time resident of this State; and

(II) the individual is a full-time employee of an out-of-state business and performs the majority of his or her employment duties remotely from a home office or a co-working space located in this State.

(B) The individual receives gross salary or wages that equal or exceed the Vermont livable wage rate calculated pursuant to 2 V.S.A. § 526.

(C) The individual is subject to Vermont income tax. (Added 2021, No. 51, § 2; amended 2021, No. 183 (Adj. Sess.), § 47a, eff. July 1, 2022.)