SECTION 32.     AMENDATORY     68 O.S. 2001, Section 3604, as last amended by Section 2, Chapter 457, O.S.L. 2004 (68 O.S. Supp. 2005, Section 3604), is amended to read as follows:

Section 3604.  A.  Except as otherwise provided in subsection I of this section, an establishment which meets the qualifications specified in the Oklahoma Quality Jobs Program Act may receive quarterly incentive payments for a ten-year period from the Oklahoma Tax Commission pursuant to the provisions of the Oklahoma Quality Jobs Program Act in an amount which shall be equal to the net benefit rate multiplied by the actual gross payroll of new direct jobs for a calendar quarter as verified by the Oklahoma Employment Security Commission.

B.  In order to receive incentive payments, an establishment shall apply to the Oklahoma Department of Commerce.  The application shall be on a form prescribed by the Department and shall contain such information as may be required by the Department to determine if the applicant is qualified.  An establishment may apply for an effective date for a project, which shall not be more than twenty-four (24) months from the date the application is submitted to the Department.

C.  Except as otherwise provided by subsection D or E of this section, in order to qualify to receive such payments, the establishment applying shall be required to:

1.  Be engaged in a basic industry;

2.  Have an annual gross payroll for new direct jobs projected by the Department to equal or exceed Two Million Five Hundred Thousand Dollars ($2,500,000.00) within three (3) years of the start date; and

3.  Have a number of full-time-equivalent employees residing in this state and working an annual average of twenty-five (25) thirty (30) or more hours per week in new direct jobs equal to or in excess of eighty percent (80%) of the total number of new direct jobs.

D.  In order to qualify to receive incentive payments as authorized by the Oklahoma Quality Jobs Program Act, an establishment engaged in an activity described under:

1.  Industry Group Nos. 3111 through 3119 of the NAICS Manual shall be required to:

a.         have an annual gross payroll for new direct jobs projected by the Department to equal or exceed One Million Five Hundred Thousand Dollars ($1,500,000.00) within three (3) years of the start date and make, or which will make within one (1) year, at least seventy-five percent (75%) of its total sales, as determined by the Incentive Approval Committee pursuant to the provisions of subsection B of Section 3603 of this title, to out-of-state customers or buyers, to in-state customers or buyers if the product or service is resold by the purchaser to an out-of-state customer or buyer for ultimate use, or to the federal government, unless the annual gross payroll equals or exceeds Two Million Five Hundred Thousand Dollars ($2,500,000.00) in which case the requirements for purchase of output provided by this subparagraph shall not apply, and

b.         have a number of full-time-equivalent employees working an average of twenty-five (25) or more hours per week in new direct jobs equal to or in excess of eighty percent (80%) of the total number of new direct jobs; and

2.  Division (4) of subparagraph a of paragraph 1 of subsection A of Section 3603 of this title, shall be required to:

a.         have an annual gross payroll for new direct jobs projected by the Department to equal or exceed One Million Five Hundred Thousand Dollars ($1,500,000.00) within three (3) years of the start date, and

b.         have a number of full-time-equivalent employees working an average of twenty-five (25) or more hours per week in new direct jobs equal to or in excess of eighty percent (80%) of the total number of new direct jobs.

E.  1.  An establishment which locates its principal business activity within a site consisting of at least ten (10) acres which:

a.         is a federal Superfund removal site,

b.         is listed on the National Priorities List established under Section 9605 of Title 42 of the United States Code,

c.         has been formally deferred to the state in lieu of listing on the National Priorities List, or

d.         has been determined by the Department of Environmental Quality to be contaminated by any substance regulated by a federal or state statute governing environmental conditions for real property pursuant to an order of the Department of Environmental Quality, shall qualify for incentive payments irrespective of its actual gross payroll or the number of full-time-equivalent employees engaged in new direct jobs.

2.  In order to qualify for the incentive payments pursuant to this subsection, the establishment shall conduct the activity resulting in at least fifty percent (50%) of its Oklahoma taxable income or adjusted gross income, as determined under Section 2358 of this title, whether from the sale of products or services or both products and services, at the physical location which has been determined not to comply with the federal or state statutes described in this subsection with respect to environmental conditions for real property.  The establishment shall be subject to all other requirements of the Oklahoma Quality Jobs Program Act other than the exemptions provided by this subsection.

3.  In order to qualify for the incentive payments pursuant to this subsection, the entity shall obtain from the Department of Environmental Quality a letter of concurrence that:

a.         the site designated by the entity does meet one or more of the requirements listed in paragraph 1 of this subsection, and

b.         the site is being or has been remediated to a level which is consistent with the intended use of the property.

In making its determination, the Department of Environmental Quality may rely on existing data and information available to it, but may also require the applying entity to provide additional data and information as necessary.

4.  If authorized by the Department of Environmental Quality pursuant to paragraph 3 of this subsection, the entity may utilize a remediated portion of the property for its intended purpose prior to remediation of the remainder of the site, and shall qualify for incentive payments based on employment associated with the portion of the site.

F.  Except as otherwise provided by subsection G of this section, for applications submitted on and after the effective date of this act, in order to qualify to receive incentive payments as authorized by the Oklahoma Quality Jobs Program Act, in addition to other qualifications specified herein, an establishment shall be required to pay new direct jobs an average annualized wage which equals or exceeds:

1.  One hundred ten percent (110%) of the average county wage as determined by the Oklahoma State Data Center based on the most recent U.S. Department of Commerce data for the county in which the new direct jobs are located.  For purposes of this paragraph, healthcare health care premiums paid by the applicant for individuals in new direct jobs shall be included in the annualized wage; or

2.  One hundred percent (100%) of the average county wage as that percentage is determined by the Oklahoma State Data Center based upon the most recent U.S. Department of Commerce data for the county in which the new jobs are located.  For purposes of this paragraph, healthcare health care premiums paid by the applicant for individuals in new direct jobs shall not be included in the annualized wage.

Provided, no average wage requirement shall exceed Twenty-five Thousand Dollars ($25,000.00), in any county.  This maximum wage threshold shall be indexed and modified from time to time based on the latest Consumer Price Index year-to-date percent change release as of the date of the annual average county wage data release from the Bureau of Economic Analysis of the U.S. Department of Commerce.

G.  As used in this subsection, "opportunity zone" means one or more census tracts in which, according to the most recent federal decennial census, at least thirty percent (30%) of the residents have annual gross household incomes from all sources below the poverty guidelines established by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.  An establishment which is otherwise qualified to receive incentive payments and which locates its principal business activity in an opportunity zone shall not be subject to the requirements of subsection F of this section.

H.  The Department shall determine if the applicant is qualified to receive incentive payments.

I.  If the applicant is determined to be qualified by the Department and is not subject to the provisions of subparagraph d of paragraph 6 of subsection A of Section 3603 of this title, the Department shall conduct a cost/benefit analysis to determine the estimated net direct state benefits and the net benefit rate applicable for a ten-year period and to estimate the amount of gross payroll for a ten-year period.  In conducting such cost/benefit analysis, the Department shall consider quantitative factors, such as the anticipated level of new tax revenues to the state along with the added cost to the state of providing services, and such other criteria as deemed appropriate by the Department.  In no event shall incentive payments, cumulatively, exceed the estimated net direct state benefits, except for applicants subject to the provisions of subparagraph d of paragraph 6 of subsection A of Section 3603 of this title.

J.  Upon approval of such an application, the Department shall notify the Oklahoma Tax Commission and shall provide it with a copy of the application and the results of the cost/benefit analysis.  The Tax Commission may require the qualified establishment to submit such additional information as may be necessary to administer the provisions of the Oklahoma Quality Jobs Program Act.  The approved establishment shall report to the Tax Commission periodically to show its continued eligibility for incentive payments, as provided in Section 3606 of this title.  The establishment may be audited by the Tax Commission to verify such eligibility.  Once the establishment is approved, an agreement shall be deemed to exist between the establishment and the State of Oklahoma, requiring the continued incentive payment to be made as long as the establishment retains its eligibility as defined in and established pursuant to this section and Sections 3603 and 3606 of this title and within the limitations contained in the Oklahoma Quality Jobs Program Act, which existed at the time of such approval.

K.  A municipality with a population of less than one hundred thousand (100,000) persons in which an establishment eligible to receive quarterly incentive payments pursuant to the provisions of this section is located may file a claim with the Tax Commission for up to twenty-five percent (25%) of the amount of such payment.  The amount of such claim shall not exceed amounts paid by the municipality for direct costs of municipal infrastructure improvements to provide water and sewer service to the establishment.  Such claim shall not be approved by the Tax Commission unless the municipality and the establishment have entered into a written agreement for such claims to be filed by the municipality prior to submission of the application of the establishment pursuant to the provisions of this section.  If such claim is approved, the amount of the payment to the establishment made pursuant to the provisions of Section 3606 of this title shall be reduced by the amount of the approved claim by the municipality and the Tax Commission shall issue a warrant to the municipality in the amount of the approved claim in the same manner as warrants are issued to qualifying establishments.