2021 Colorado Code
Title 39 - Taxation
Article 30.5 - Rural Jump-Start Zone Act
§ 39-30.5-103. Definitions

As used in this article 30.5, unless the context otherwise requires:

1. “Colorado economic development commission” or “commission” means the Colorado economic development commission created in section 24-46-102, C.R.S. (1.5) “Colorado office of economic development” or “office” means the Colorado office of economic development created in section 24-48.5-101 .
2. “Credit certificate” means a statement issued by the commission certifying that the new business or new hire qualifies for an income tax credit allowed in section 39-30.5-105. The credit certificate shall not specify the amount of the credit, but must specify that the new business or new hire is eligible for the credit.
3. “Department” means the department of revenue.
4. “Distressed county” means a county with a population of less than two hundred fifty thousand and that reflects indicators of economic distress such as:
   1. Per capita income that is substantially below the statewide average;
   2. Local gross domestic product or similar performance measures that are substantially below the statewide average over the preceding five-year period;
   3. Unemployment levels that are substantially above the statewide average over the preceding five-year period;
   4. A net loss of people of workforce age measured over the preceding five-year period, or a failure to recover from a loss over the preceding ten-year period; or
   5. A countywide concentration of pupils eligible for free lunch pursuant to the federal “Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act”, 42 U.S.C. sec. 1751 et seq., greater than the statewide average concentration of pupils eligible for free lunch. (4.5) “Economic development organization” means a nonprofit organization or governmental entity such as a small business development center, a business accelerator or incubator, a workforce center, a local economic developer, or other such organization or entity that promotes local economic development, but does not include the commission or the office.

5. “Guidelines” means the guidelines developed by the commission as specified in section 39-30.5-104 (1).
6. “Municipality” means a municipality as defined in section 31-1-101 (6), C.R.S., with boundaries wholly or partly within the distressed county's boundaries.
7. “New business” means a business that:
   1. Is not operating in the state at the time it submits its application to a state institution of higher education to participate in the rural jump-start zone program;
   2. Is not moving existing jobs into the rural jump-start zone from another area in the state;
   3. Hires at least five new hires;
   4. Is not substantially similar in operation to and, at the time the new business submits its application to participate in the rural jump-start zone program, does not directly compete with the core function of a business that is operating in the rural jump-start zone in which the new business will be located and in a distressed county contiguous to the rural jump-start zone; and
   5. Adds to the economic base and exports goods and services outside the distressed county.

8. “New hire” means an individual who has performed labor or services in the rural jump-start zone for the new business for more than six months from the date hired and for which such individual receives a federal form W-2 and where the job performed by the individual:
   1. Is either a full-time, wage-paying job or is equivalent to a full-time, wage-paying job requiring at least thirty-five hours per week; and
   2. Has a salary or compensation equal to or greater than the county average annual wage.

9. “Rural jump-start zone” means an area within the boundaries of a distressed county that is either:
   1. In one or more incorporated portions of the distressed county if the municipality provides the commission with a general resolution as described in section 39-30.5-106 agreeing to provide incentive payments, exemptions, or credits to offset the imposition of business personal property tax on and, if the municipality wishes, to offset the imposition of any other municipal tax on all new businesses in order to be a participant in the rural jump-start zone program;
   2. In one or more incorporated portions of the distressed county if the municipality provides the commission with a limited resolution as described in section 39-30.5-106 that indicates the municipality agrees to only provide incentive payments, exemptions, or credits to offset the imposition of business personal property tax on and, if the municipality wishes, to offset the imposition of any other municipal tax on a specific new business in order to be a limited participant in the rural jump-start zone program; or
   3. In the unincorporated portions of the distressed county.

10. “Rural jump-start zone program” means the rural jump-start zone program created in this article.
11. “State institution of higher education” means a state institution of higher education as defined in section 23-18-102 (10), C.R.S., a local district college, or an area technical college that:
    1. Has a campus located in the distressed county; or
    2. Includes a distressed county in the community college's service area or the regional education provider's service area.

12. “Tier one transition community” means a coal transition community that is located in a rural jump-start zone and that the office, with the concurrence of the executive directors of the department of labor and employment and the department of local affairs, determines has already experienced or is at risk of experiencing significant economic disruption, the proximate cause of which is either the closure or conversion of a coal-fueled electrical power generating plant in Colorado or in a contiguous state or a sustained and likely permanent decline in broader coal markets due to similar closures or conversions nationally and globally.

History. Source: L. 2015: Entire article added,(SB 15-282), ch. 186, p. 608, § 1, effective May 13. L. 2016: IP(11) amended,(HB 16-1082), ch. 58, p. 153, § 45, effective August 10. L. 2020: IP and (7)(d) amended and (1.5) and (4.5) added,(HB 20-1003), ch. 234, p. 1130, § 2, effective September 14. L. 2021: (12) added,(SB 21-229), ch. 236, p. 1240, § 2, effective June 15.

For the legislative declaration in SB 21-229, see section 1 of chapter 236, Session Laws of Colorado 2021.