Second Regular Session Sixty-eighth General Assembly STATE OF COLORADO INTRODUCED LLS NO. 12-0415.01 Kate Meyer x4348 HOUSE BILL 12-1133 HOUSE SPONSORSHIP Lee and Hullinghorst, Court, Duran, Fischer, Jones, Kefalas, Kerr A., Labuda, Levy, McCann, Pabon, Ryden, Schafer S., Tyler, Williams A., Young, Casso, Ferrandino, Fields, Hamner, Todd, Vigil SENATE SPONSORSHIP (None), House Committees Senate Committees Economic and Business Development A BILL FOR AN ACT Concerning the creation of the economic gardening pilot program in the Colorado office of economic development. Bill Summary (Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced and does not reflect any amendments that may be subsequently adopted. If this bill passes third reading in the house of introduction, a bill summary that applies to the reengrossed version of this bill will be available at http://www.leg.state.co.us/billsummaries.) The bill creates an economic gardening pilot program (pilot program) in the Colorado office of economic development (office). Under the pilot program, the office contracts with entities that will provide management and technical assistance to the eligible businesses participating in the pilot program. The participating businesses are selected by the entities from among nominees forwarded by economic gardening partnerships. The number of participating businesses in the state is capped at 49, or 7 in each of 7 economic gardening regions in the state, in equal allotments per region. The office is authorized to accept gifts, grants, and donations to finance costs incurred in establishing the pilot program. The pilot program terminates in 2020, and the office's duty to report annually on the results of the pilot program to the general assembly expires in 2022. Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Colorado: SECTION 1. Legislative declaration. (1) The general assembly hereby finds and declares that: (a) Colorado's persistently high unemployment rate during the recent recession has created economic and social hardships for the people of the state; (b) Local start-up companies and small businesses are likely, as they grow, to remain in their communities of origin, thereby creating local jobs and an economic multiplier effect with their payrolls and taxes while providing local economic stimuli, which increases the local tax base; (c) Statewide economic prosperity and job creation, therefore, are advanced significantly by creating, promoting, and retaining local start-up companies and small businesses with high growth potential; (d) Entrepreneurs and small business owners of second-stage growth companies, which are those companies that are beyond the start-up stage but have not yet fully matured, with innovative products or services that satisfy market needs have particular potential for expansion and job creation; (e) Such entrepreneurs and owners can benefit from specialized business assistance to refine core strategies and provide access to in-depth market research, competitor analyses, geographic information systems, search engine optimization, and other strategic information, as well as relationships with mentors and advisers; (f) The aspects of economic gardening that incorporate these principles have proven successful in improving the entrepreneurial process and promoting economically sustainable local businesses; and (g) It is vital to the overall health and growth of the state's economy to promote favorable conditions for those expanding Colorado businesses that demonstrate the ability to grow. (2) In recognition of the foregoing findings and principles, it is the intent of the general assembly to create a Colorado economic gardening pilot program in the Colorado office of economic development. SECTION 2. In Colorado Revised Statutes, add 24-48.5-102.5 as follows: 24-48.5-102.5. Economic gardening pilot program - eligibility - supervising economic gardening contractors - annual report - notice of funding through gifts, grants, and donations - economic gardening pilot program fund - creation - definitions - repeal. (1) As used in this section, unless the context otherwise requires: (a) "Corporate level tools" includes databases, geographic information systems, new media marketing, and network analyses. (b) "Economic gardening" means growing local economies by providing strategic assistance to stage two emerging growth companies using corporate level tools and new science concepts. (c) "Economic gardening management and technical assistance" includes performing database research, utilizing geographic information systems, advising on new media marketing, assisting with network analyses and innovation strategies, and strategic assistance. (d) "Economic gardening region" means any of the seven areas that are coextensive with the state's congressional district boundaries, as those boundaries exist for the 2012 general election. (e) "Eligible business" means a for-profit, privately held business that: (I) Employs full-time at least six persons but not more than fifty persons; (II) Has maintained its principal place of business in the state for at least the previous two years; and (III) Generates at least seven hundred fifty thousand dollars but not more than twenty-five million dollars in annual gross revenues. (f) "Local economic gardening partnership" means an organization, formed by its region's supervising economic gardening contractor, that consists of one or more entities such as a small business development center, small business counseling office, chamber of commerce, local or regional economic development corporation, postsecondary educational institution, or library. (g) "Local growth company" means an eligible business that, in the considered opinion of the local economic gardening partnership, produces a product or offers a service with the potential to be sold in regional, national, or international markets. (h) "New science concepts" includes network theory, systems thinking, complexity science, and temperament. (i) "Office" means the Colorado office of economic development created in section 24-48.5-101. (j) "Pilot program" means the economic gardening pilot program created in subsection (2) of this section. (k) "Resource providers" includes trade associations; think tanks; academic institutions; and providers of business roundtables, peer-to-peer learning sessions, temperament-pairing collaborations, or mentoring programs. (l) "Strategic assistance" includes performing market research, developing core strategies, business modeling, identifying qualified sales leads, team-building, and providing growth financing referrals. (2) (a) There is hereby created within the office the economic gardening pilot program. The purpose of the pilot program is to stimulate Colorado's economy and create good-paying, sustainable jobs by providing economic gardening management and technical assistance to the local growth companies nominated to and accepted for the pilot program in accordance with this section. (b) The pilot program terminates on September 1, 2020. (3) (a) The office shall contract with one or more supervising economic gardening contractors, but not more than one contractor per economic gardening region, to administer the pilot program established under this section. (b) The office shall award each contract in accordance with the competitive sealed best value bidding requirements specified in section 24-103-202.3 to a person that: (I) Has a proven record of successfully implementing economic gardening programs; (II) Demonstrates the ability to implement the pilot program in the economic gardening regions included in the contract; (III) Has an outreach plan; and (IV) Is able to provide: (A) Specialized economic gardening management and technical assistance; (B) Access to affordable information technology and consulting services, including information and services related to markets, customers, and competitors, and specifically to business databases, geographic information systems, search engine optimization information, and marketing information; (C) Development of business connections, including interaction and exchange among business owners and resource providers; and (D) Other similar services. (c) A supervising economic gardening contractor shall: (I) Designate a local economic gardening partnership for the contractor's region; (II) Provide economic gardening management and technical assistance to the local growth companies participating in the pilot program; and (III) Report periodically to the director of the office regarding the pilot program. (4) (a) A local economic gardening partnership shall nominate local growth companies located in the partnership's economic gardening region for inclusion in the pilot program. (b) From those companies nominated under paragraph (a) of this subsection (4), the supervising economic gardening contractor shall select local growth companies to participate in the pilot program. Each economic gardening region shall receive an equal number, not to exceed seven per region, of local growth companies selected to participate in the pilot program. (c) A participating local growth company receives the following under the pilot program: (I) Free or low-cost assistance with marketing, accounting, legal services, or other consulting services; (II) Free or low-cost information services and consulting services, including services relating to information on markets, customers, and competitors, such as business databases, geographic information systems, and search engine marketing; and (III) Development of business connections, including interaction and exchange among business owners and resource providers such as trade associations, think tanks, academic institutions, business roundtables, peer-to-peer learning sessions, lending institutions and venture capital firms, and mentoring programs. (5) On or before February 1, 2013, and on or before February 1 each year thereafter through February 1, 2022, the director of the office shall submit a report to the governor, the president of the senate, and the speaker of the house of representatives describing in detail the status of the pilot program. The report must include, at a minimum: (a) A statement of income for and expenditures by the pilot program that specifically delineates expenditures made on each local growth company and in each economic gardening region; and (b) The change in revenues, jobs, and salary ranges for each local growth company, aggregated by economic gardening region so that no particular local growth company is specifically identified in a manner that might divulge confidential business information. (6) (a) The office is authorized to seek and accept gifts, grants, or donations from private or public sources for the purposes of this section; except that the office may not accept a gift, grant, or donation that is subject to conditions that are inconsistent with this section or any other law of the state. The office shall transmit all private and public moneys received through gifts, grants, or donations to the state treasurer, who shall credit the same to the economic gardening pilot program fund, which fund is hereby created. The moneys in the fund are subject to annual appropriation by the general assembly to the office for the direct and indirect costs associated with implementing this section. (b) (I) In seeking or accepting a gift, grant, or donation, the office shall notify the legislative council staff when it has received adequate funding through gifts, grants, or donations for the pilot program and shall include in the notification the information specified in section 24-75-1303 (3). (II) This paragraph (b) is repealed, effective September 1, 2015. (7) This section is repealed, effective September 1, 2022. SECTION 3. Act subject to petition - effective date. This act takes effect at 12:01 a.m. on the day following the expiration of the ninety-day period after final adjournment of the general assembly (August 7, 2012, if adjournment sine die is on May 9, 2012); except that, if a referendum petition is filed pursuant to section 1 (3) of article V of the state constitution against this act or an item, section, or part of this act within such period, then the act, item, section, or part will not take effect unless approved by the people at the general election to be held in November 2012 and, in such case, will take effect on the date of the official declaration of the vote thereon by the governor.