SENATE BILL No. 14

 

 

January 18, 2017, Introduced by Senators BRANDENBURG, O'BRIEN, PROOS, COLBECK, KNOLLENBERG, JONES, BOOHER, HORN, SCHUITMAKER, HANSEN, KOWALL, GREGORY, JOHNSON and WARREN and referred to the Committee on Michigan Competitiveness.

 

 

     A bill to establish and implement a work opportunity employer

 

reimbursement program; and to prescribe the powers and duties of

 

certain state agencies and officials.

 

THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN ENACT:

 

     Sec. 1. This act shall be known and may be cited as the "work

 

opportunity act".

 

     Sec. 3. As used in this act:

 

     (a) "Department" means the department of talent and economic

 

development.

 

     (b) "Employer" means an employer as defined in section 3401(d)

 

of the internal revenue code of 1986, 26 USC 3401. Any person

 

required to withhold for federal income tax purposes shall prima

 

facie be deemed an employer.

 

     (c) "Full-time job" means a service performed by an individual

 


for 35 hours or more each week and whose income and social security

 

taxes are withheld from the wages earned by that individual for

 

performing the service.

 

     (d) "Fund" means the work opportunity employer reimbursement

 

fund created in section 7.

 

     (e) "Grant program" means the work opportunity employer

 

reimbursement program established in section 5.

 

     (f) "Person" means an individual, partnership, corporation,

 

association, governmental entity, or other legal entity.

 

     (g) "Qualified employee" means an individual who is currently

 

on probation or parole.

 

     (h) "Qualified first-year wages" means the wages paid or

 

incurred by the employer attributable to services rendered by a

 

qualified employee during the 1-year period beginning with the day

 

the qualified employee begins work for the employer.

 

     (i) "Qualified new job" means a full-time job created by the

 

employer or another full-time job previously held by another

 

employee who separated from employment voluntarily or for cause.

 

     Sec. 5. (1) The department shall establish and implement a

 

work opportunity employer reimbursement program that uses money

 

from the fund to provide grants to employers for the hiring of

 

qualified employees.

 

     (2) The grant program shall require that an employer applying

 

to receive a grant shall employ at least 1 qualified employee in a

 

qualified new job for a minimum of 120 hours.

 

     (3) An employer that wishes to apply for a grant shall submit

 

an application to the department containing the information


required by the department, including all of the following:

 

     (a) The employer's federal employer identification number or

 

the department of treasury number assigned to the employer.

 

     (b) The qualified employee's department of corrections number,

 

if applicable, and the status of his or her parole or probation.

 

     (c) The amount of qualified first-year wages.

 

     (4) If the department approves a grant, the department shall

 

notify the employer. Upon confirmation that the employer has hired

 

a qualified employee who worked at least 120 hours in a qualified

 

new job, the department shall, subject to the limitation under

 

subsection (5), approve and disburse the grant funds to the

 

employer as follows:

 

     (a) For a qualified employee who worked at least 120 hours but

 

not more than 400 hours, an amount equal to 25% of the qualified

 

first-year wages or $1,500.00, whichever is less.

 

     (b) For a qualified employee who worked more than 400 hours,

 

an amount equal to 40% of the qualified first-year wages or

 

$2,400.00, whichever is less.

 

     (5) The department shall not approve a grant of more than

 

$7,200.00 per employer per fiscal year.

 

     Sec. 7. (1) The work opportunity employer reimbursement fund

 

is created within the state treasury.

 

     (2) The state treasurer may receive money or other assets from

 

any source for deposit into the fund. The state treasurer shall

 

direct the investment of the fund. The state treasurer shall credit

 

to the fund interest and earnings from fund investments.

 

     (3) Money in the fund at the close of the fiscal year shall


remain in the fund and shall not lapse to the general fund.

 

     (4) The Michigan talent investment agency in the department

 

shall be the administrator of the fund for auditing purposes.

 

     (5) The Michigan talent investment agency shall expend money

 

from the fund, upon appropriation, only for 1 or more of the

 

following purposes:

 

     (a) Grants issued pursuant to the grant program.

 

     (b) Not more than 10% of the money appropriated from the fund

 

for the employment of not more than 1 FTE to administer the grant

 

program.  

 

     Sec. 9. The department shall prepare an annual report that

 

describes the money received by the fund, the balance of the fund,

 

the total expenditures from the fund, and the number of grants

 

issued with money from the fund for that year. The department shall

 

provide this report to the standing committees of each house of the

 

legislature with jurisdiction over corrections issues.