Brief (1)
HB 3011 would amend the Investments in Major Projects and Comprehensive Training (IMPACT) program to allow for the retraining of existing employees. Under the bill, a business could qualify for the IMPACT program if it had a job retention and retraining project with more than 1,000 employees and more than $250 million in capital investments. Projects would be funded through the diversion of a portion of the withholding taxes of the existing jobs. The bill would also require notice of the approval of a project under the IMPACT program be provided to the chairs of the Senate Commerce Committee and House Committee on Economic Development.
Background
The IMPACT program has two major components: State of Kansas Investments in Lifelong Learning (SKILL), which funds workforce training programs and the Major Project Investment Fund (MPI), which covers other expenses associated with business expansion.
SKILL. The SKILL program is primarily targeted to large firms and projects involving several smaller firms that have formed training groups to address common skill requirements. This program allows employers to establish training projects for new employees by covering instructor salaries, curriculum development, travel, materials, equipment, facilities, and administrative costs. Training costs are financed through tax-exempt, public-purpose bonds issued as needed by the Kansas Development Finance Authority.
MPI. This fund covers relocation expenses, labor recruitment, building purchases and equipment. To be eligible, the employer must spend more than 2 percent of payroll on workforce training or utilize funds from the SKILL program.
The House Committee held a hearing on HB 3011 at which time a representative of the Kansas Department of Commerce and Housing testified in favor of the bill. That Committee made a technical amendment to the bill before recommending it favorable for passage.
The Department of Revenue reports that average training costs under the SKILL program are about $1.5 million per project. Therefore, the Department estimates that if a new project of average proportion was undertaken under the proposed expansion of the program, the fiscal impact would be $150,000 in each year from FY 2002 to FY 2012.
1. *Supplemental notes are prepared by the Legislative Research Department and do not express legislative intent. The supplemental note and fiscal note for this bill may be accessed on the Internet at http://www.ink.org/public/legislative/bill_search.html