{"data":{"id":"us-ky/krs-154.22-040","jurisdiction":"us-ky","citation":"KRS 154.22-040","heading":"Certification of qualified counties -- Loss  of certification --","body":"Coal-producing counties qualified for electric generation -- Selection of\neligible companies  under  Rural Economic  Development  Assistance\nProgram  -- Limitation of applicability to nonprofit corporations with\nhandicapped  and sheltered workers.\n(1) Each  year, the authority shall, under its Rural Economic  Development\nAssistance Program, on the basis of the final unemployment figures calculated\nby  the Department of Workforce Development in the Education and Labor\nCabinet, determine which  counties have  had  a  countywide rate of\nunemployment  exceeding  the  statewide unemployment  rate of  the\nCommonwealth  in the most recent five (5) consecutive calendar years, or\nwhich have had an average countywide rate of unemployment exceeding the\nstatewide unemployment rate of the Commonwealth  by two hundred percent\n(200%) in the most recent calendar year, and shall certify those counties as\nqualified counties. A county not certified on the basis of final unemployment\nfigures may also be certified as a qualified county if the authority determines\nthe county is one (1) of the sixty (60) most distressed counties in the\nCommonwealth  based on the following criteria with equal weight given to each\ncriterion:\n(a) The  average countywide rate of unemployment in the most recent three\n(3) consecutive calendar years, on the basis of final unemployment\nfigures calculated by the Department of Workforce Development in the\nEducation and Labor Cabinet;\n(b) In each county the percentage of adults twenty-five (25) years of age and\nolder who have attained at least a high school education or equivalent, on\nthe basis of the most recent data available from the United States\nDepartment of Commerce, Bureau of the Census; and\n(c) Road  quality, as quantified by the access within a county to roads ranked\nin descending order from best quality to worst quality as follows: two (2)\nor more interstate highways, one (1) interstate highway, a state four (4)\nlane parkway, four (4) lane principal arterial access to an interstate\nhighway, state two (2) lane parkway and none of the preceding road\ntypes, as certified by the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet to the\nauthority.\nIf the authority determines that a county which has previously been certified as\na qualified county no longer meets the criteria of this subsection, the authority\nshall decertify that county. The authority shall not provide inducements for any\nfacilities in that county and an approved company  shall not be eligible for the\ninducements  offered by KRS  154.22-010 to 154.22-070 unless the tax\nincentive agreements required herein are entered into by all parties prior to\nJuly 1 of the year following the calendar year in which the authority decertified\nthat county. In addition, the authority shall certify coal-producing counties, not\notherwise certified as qualified counties in this subsection, for economic\ndevelopment  projects involving the new  construction of electric generation\nfacilities. A coal-producing county shall mean a county in the Commonwealth  of\nKentucky that has produced coal upon which the tax imposed under KRS\n143.020 was paid at any time. For economic development projects undertaken\nin a regional industrial park, as defined in KRS  42.4588, or in an industrial park\ncreated pursuant to an interlocal agreement in which revenues are shared as\nprovided in KRS  65.210 to 65.300, where the physical boundaries of the\nindustrial park lie within two (2) or more counties of which at least one (1) of the\ncounties is a  qualified county under this section, an  eligible company\nundertaking an economic development project within the physical boundaries\nof the industrial park may  be approved for the inducements under KRS\n154.22-010 to 154.22-080.\n(2) The  authority shall establish the procedures and  standards for the\ndetermination and  approval of eligible companies  and  their economic\ndevelopment  projects by the promulgation of administrative regulations in\naccordance  with KRS  Chapter 13A. The  criteria for approval of eligible\ncompanies and economic development projects shall include but not be limited\nto the creditworthiness of eligible companies; the number of new jobs to be\nprovided  by  an  economic  development  project to  residents of  the\nCommonwealth;  and the likelihood of the economic success of the economic\ndevelopment project.\n(3) The economic development project shall involve a minimum investment of one\nhundred thousand dollars ($100,000) by the eligible company  and shall result\nin the creation by the eligible company, within two (2) years from the date of\nthe final approval authorizing the economic development project, of a minimum\nof fifteen (15) new  full-time jobs at the site of the economic development\nproject for Kentucky residents to be employed by the eligible company and to\nbe held by persons subject to the personal income tax of the Commonwealth.\nThe authority may extend this two (2) year period upon the written application\nof an eligible company requesting an extension.\n(4) (a) Within six (6) months after the activation date, the approved company\nshall compensate  a minimum  of ninety percent (90%) of its full-time\nemployees  whose jobs were created with base hourly wages equal to\neither:\n1. Seventy-five percent (75%) of the average hourly wage  for the\nCommonwealth;  or\n2. Seventy-five percent (75%) of the average hourly wage  for the\ncounty in which the project is to be undertaken.\n(b) If the base hourly wage  calculated in paragraph (a)1. or 2. of this\nsubsection is less than one hundred fifty percent (150%) of the federal\nminimum  wage, then the base hourly wage  shall be one hundred fifty\npercent (150%) of the federal minimum  wage. However, for projects\nreceiving preliminary approval of the authority prior to July 1, 2008, the\nbase hourly wage shall be one hundred fifty percent (150%) of the federal\nminimum  wage existing on January 1, 2007. In addition to the applicable\nbase hourly wage calculated above, the eligible company  shall provide\nemployee benefits equal to at least fifteen percent (15%) of the applicable\nbase  hourly wage; however, if the eligible company  does not provide\nemployee benefits equal to at least fifteen percent (15%) of the applicable\nbase hourly wage, the eligible company may qualify under this section if it\nprovides the employees hired by the eligible company  as a result of the\neconomic  development project total hourly compensation equal to or\ngreater than one hundred fifteen percent (115%) of the applicable base\nhourly wage  through increased hourly wages combined with employee\nbenefits.\n(c) The requirements of this subsection shall not apply to eligible companies\nwhich  are nonprofit corporations established under KRS  273.163 to\n273.387 and whose employees are handicapped and sheltered workshop\nworkers  employed  at less than the established minimum  wage  as\nauthorized by KRS 337.295.\nFor an eligible company, within a regional industrial park which lies within two\n(2) or more counties, the calculation of the wage and benefit requirement shall\nbe determined by averaging the average county hourly wage for all counties\nwithin the regional industrial park.\n(5) No  economic development project which will result in the replacement of\nagribusiness, manufacturing, or electric generation facilities existing in the state\nshall be approved by the authority; however, the authority may  approve an\neconomic development project that:\n(a) Rehabilitates an  agribusiness, manufacturing, or electric generation\nfacility:\n1. Which has not been in operation for a period of ninety (90) or more\nconsecutive days;\n2. For which the current occupant of the facility has published a notice\nof closure so long as the eligible company  intending to acquire the\nfacility is not an affiliate of the current occupant; or\n3. The title to which is vested in other than the eligible company or an\naffiliate of the eligible company  and that is sold or transferred\npursuant  to a  foreclosure ordered by  a  court of competent\njurisdiction or an  order of a  bankruptcy court of competent\njurisdiction;\n(b) Replaces an agribusiness, manufacturing, or electric generation facility\nexisting in the Commonwealth:\n1. The  title to which shall have been taken under the exercise of the\npower of eminent domain, or the title to which shall be the subject of\na  nonappealable judgment granting the authority to exercise the\npower of eminent domain, in either event to the extent that normal\noperations cannot be resumed  at the facility within twelve (12)\nmonths; or\n2. Which  has been damaged  or destroyed by fire or other casualty to\nthe extent that normal operations cannot be resumed at the facility\nwithin twelve (12) months; or\n(c) Replaces an existing agribusiness, manufacturing, or electric generation\nfacility located in the same qualified county, and the existing agribusiness,\nmanufacturing, or electric generation facility to be replaced cannot be\nexpanded  due to the unavailability of real estate at or adjacent to the\nagribusiness, manufacturing, or electric generation facility to be replaced.\nAny  economic development project satisfying the requirements of this\nsubsection shall only be eligible for inducements to the extent of the\nexpansion, and no inducements shall be available for the equivalent of\nthe agribusiness, manufacturing, or electric generation facility to be\nreplaced. No  economic development project otherwise satisfying the\nrequirements of this subsection shall be approved by the authority which\nresults in a lease abandonment  or lease termination by the approved\ncompany  without the consent of the lessor.\n(6) With respect to each eligible company  making an application to the authority\nfor inducements, and with respect to the economic  development project\ndescribed in the application, the authority shall request materials and make\ninquiries of the applicant as necessary or appropriate. Upon  review of the\napplication and completion of initial inquiries, the authority may, by resolution,\ngive its preliminary approval by designating an  eligible company  as a\npreliminarily approved company  and  authorizing the undertaking of the\neconomic development project. After preliminary approval, the authority may by\nfinal approval designate an eligible company to be an approved company.","path":[],"source_url":"https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/law/statutes/statute.aspx?id=52362","current_through":"Includes enactments through the 2026 Regular Session","vintage":"09/05/2026","retrieved_at":"2026-09-05T20:50:54Z","sha256":"e9802ef02e00b2fcf2740ea5bf96c825e9fa49ac848eabec4cd96e4f8a73b962","source_id":"us-ky","stale":false,"prev":"us-ky/krs-154.22-030","next":"us-ky/krs-154.22-050"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}