HB1842: Virginia Business Ready Sites Acquisition Fund and Program; created.

Legislative Summary

Economic development; Virginia Business Ready Sites Acquisition Fund and Program. Creates the Virginia Business Ready Sites Acquisition Program for the purposes of (i) acquiring sites for the purpose of creating and maintaining a portfolio of project-ready sites to promote economic development in the Commonwealth, (ii) developing such sites to increase their marketability, and (iii) entering into development agreements with private employers for large-scale economic development projects. The Virginia Economic Development Partnership Authority shall administer the Program, in consultation with the Department of General Services. Economic development; Virginia Business Ready Sites Acquisition Fund and Program. Creates the Virginia Business Ready Sites Acquisition Program for the purposes of (i) acquiring sites for the purpose of creating and maintaining a portfolio of project-ready sites to promote economic development in the Commonwealth, (ii) developing such sites to increase their marketability, and (iii) entering into development agreements with private employers for large-scale economic development projects. The Virginia Economic Development Partnership Authority shall administer the Program, in consultation with the Department of General Services. The bill requires Program activities to be reviewed by the MEI Project Approval Commission (the Commission), who shall review proposals for site acquisitions, site development activities, and development agreements with private employers and determine whether the proposals are consistent with the objective of the Program. If the Commission issues a negative finding, it shall communicate such finding to the Governor and to the General Assembly, and the Authority shall not implement the proposal unless the proposal, either in its original or revised form, is authorized by the General Assembly at its next session and enacted into law.