(1) In consultation with the Department of Revenue, the Oregon Business Development Department shall establish and administer the Oregon Industrial Site Readiness Program. The purpose of the program is to:

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(a) Enter into tax reimbursement arrangements with qualified project sponsors pursuant to subsection (5) of this section; or

(b) Provide loans, including forgivable loans, to qualified project sponsors pursuant to subsection (5) of this section.

(2)(a) Subject to standards and procedures that the Oregon Business Development Department shall establish by rule, the department shall designate regionally significant industrial sites for inclusion in the program.

(b) A regionally significant industrial site designated under this section must be an industrial site that is planned and zoned for industrial use.

(3) A project sponsor may apply to participate in the program by submitting an application and development plan in writing in a form prescribed by the department by rule.

(4) The department shall establish by rule criteria and standards for the qualification of project sponsors to participate in the program.

(5) Upon qualification of a project sponsor under this section, and before July 1, 2023, the department may:

(a) Enter into a tax reimbursement arrangement with the project sponsor pursuant to which the project sponsor shall receive an amount equal to 50 percent of the estimated incremental income tax revenues generated by an eligible employer per tax year, beginning with the first tax year following the tax year in which a project sponsor is qualified under this section, until the total investment of the qualified project sponsor in the eligible site preparation costs, including interest, established under subsection (7) of this section has been recovered, at which time the tax reimbursement arrangement shall end; or

(b) Enter into a loan agreement with the project sponsor under terms and conditions specified and required by the department. In making a determination to enter into a loan agreement with the project sponsor, the department shall consider the reasonableness of the project sponsor’s estimated costs to prepare the site for industrial use, including but not limited to eligible site preparation costs established by the department pursuant to subsection (7) of this section. The agreement may specify that a portion of the loan may be forgiven if the project sponsor enters into a contract with an eligible employer to conduct a business in the traded sector industry on a regionally significant industrial site within seven years after the project sponsor was qualified under this section.

(6)(a) The total amount of the loan that may be forgiven under subsection (5) of this section is the lesser of:

(A) Fifty percent of the total cost of eligible site preparation costs; or

(B) Fifty percent of the amount of the estimated incremental income tax revenues for the eligible employer for the term of the loan.

(b) Loan forgiveness may not be allowed under subsection (5) of this section if any portion of the loan that would not be forgiven would be repaid by the project sponsor with state funds received from any source.

(7) The department shall establish, by rule, eligible site preparation costs including, but not limited to, some or all of the following:

(a) Acquisition and assembly costs associated with creating large development parcels.

(b) Transportation improvements such as access roads, intersections, turning lanes, signals, sidewalks, curbs, transit stops and storm drains.

(c) Water and sewer infrastructure.

(d) Natural resource mitigation.

(e) Site grading activities.

(f) Environmental remediation and mitigation activities to address brownfields issues in accordance with state and federally approved remediation plans.

(g) Planning, engineering and administrative costs associated with applying for necessary local, state and federal permits.

(h) Interest-carrying costs incurred by a project sponsor for amounts borrowed to develop a regionally significant industrial site, not to exceed 20 percent of the total amount forgiven, if any, under subsection (5) of this section.

(8) The total amount of tax reimbursement arrangements and loan amounts authorized under this section may not exceed $10 million per year.

(9) Funds received pursuant to a tax reimbursement arrangement or a loan agreement under subsection (5) of this section may not be used for the payment of:

(a) A penalty or fine; or

(b) Environmental remediation activities conducted at a regionally significant industrial site that is listed or proposed to be listed as a national priority pursuant to the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (42 U.S.C. § 9605) for which the project sponsor, eligible employer or any party to the tax reimbursement arrangement or loan agreement is liable under 42 U.S.C. § 9607 at that regionally significant industrial site.

(10) The department shall adopt rules to administer and implement the provisions of this section. [2013 c.763 § 3; 2017 c.561 § 3]

See note under 285B.625.