1. (a) Background. The Texas Defense Economic Adjustment Assistance Grant Program (DEAAG) was authorized by the 75th Legislature to provide state funds to assist communities that have been adversely impacted by decreased defense expenditures and defense worker employment. Subsequently, the 79th Legislature amended the program to include defense communities that have been positively impacted and the 81st Legislature amended the program to include job retention.
2. (b) The goal of the program is to increase and/or retain employment opportunities for dislocated defense workers and residents of adversely affected defense communities and reuse vacated property as efficiently as possible. The goal is to also assist positively affected defense communities that receive new or expanded military missions as a result of the United States Department of Defense Base Realignment and Closure process.

3. (c) A local government entity is eligible for a grant if it is:

   1. (1) a municipality or county that is a defense community;
   2. (2) a regional planning commission that has a defense community within its boundaries;
   3. (3) a public junior college district all or part of which is located in a defense community;
   4. (4) a campus or extension center of the Texas State Technical College system located in a defense community;
   5. (5) a defense based development authority created under Chapter 379B, Local Government Code; or
   6. (6) a political subdivision having the power of a defense development authority created under Chapter 379B, Local Government Code.

4. (d) Grant Criteria:

   1. (1) To meet a matching money or investment requirement in order to receive from the United States Government assistance that is provided to allow the government entity to respond to or recover from an event listed in §486.003 of the Government Code;
   2. (2) Acquiring federal grant assistance or for sharing in the costs of purchases of property from the Department of Defense or its designated agent, new construction, rehabilitation, renovation or demolition of facilities;
   3. (3) Construct infrastructure and other projects necessary to accommodate a new or expanded military mission(s) at a military facility located in or near the local government entity;
   4. (4) If the grantee is a public junior college or a technical college, grant proceeds may be used to purchase or lease equipment to train defense workers whose jobs have been threatened, lost, gained or retained.

5. (e) Definitions. The following words and terms, when used in this subchapter, shall have the following meanings unless indicated otherwise.

   1. (1) Awardee--The local governmental entity whose application is approved by the governing board.

   2. (2) Defense worker--

      1. (A) An employee of the United States Department of Defense, including a member of the armed forces and government civilian workers;
      2. (B) An employee of a government agency or private business, or entity providing a Department of Defense related function, who is employed on a defense facility;
      3. (C) An employee of a business that provides direct services or products to the Department of Defense and whose job is directly dependent on defense expenditures; or
      4. (D) An employee or private contractor employed by the United States Department of Energy working on a defense or Department of Energy facility in support of a Department of Defense related project.
   3. (3) Defense worker job--A Department of Defense authorized permanent position or a position held or occupied by one or more defense workers for more than 12 months.
   4. (4) Defense Facility--A military base, camp, post, station, yard, center, homeport facility for any ship, or other activity under the jurisdiction of the Department of Defense, including leased space, that is controlled by, or primarily supports, DoD's activities
   5. (5) Defense community--A political subdivision, including a municipality, county, or special district, that is adjacent to, is near, or encompasses any part of a defense base.
   6. (6) New direct permanent job--A new employment position created by a qualified business that provides at least 1,820 hours of employment a year after the completion of the project and whose position is within the governmental entity's defense community and can be verified. A new direct permanent job can also include subcontractors to a qualified business so long as those jobs relate directly to the work being performed as defined in the DEAAG application and who perform no less than 50 percent of the person's service for the qualified business in the government entity's defense community and can be verified.
   7. (7) Retained jobs--A defense worker employed within the government entity's defense community before a Department of Defense action and is retained as a qualified employee by a qualified employer after the date on which the project is completed, employed at 1,820 hours annually and is located within the government entity's defense community and can be verified.
   8. (8) Office--Texas Economic Development and Tourism Division, Office of the Governor.
   9. (9) Commission--Texas Military Preparedness Commission.
   10. (10) Director--The Director of the Texas Military Preparedness Commission or his designee.
   11. (11) Financial partners--Federal and state agencies, private and public non-profit foundations, local taxing authorities, and private investors who agree to provide money for a project eligible for funding under this grant.
   12. (12) Fiscal year--The State of Texas fiscal year, September 1st through August 31st.
   13. (13) Application Deadline--Not later than 5:00 PM Central Time on the closing date indicated in the grant solicitation.
   14. (14) Governing Board--The Commissioners of the Texas Military Preparedness Commission.
   15. (15) Review Panel--The Defense Economic Adjustment Assistance Review Panel, a group of at least three and not more than five professional full-time employees from within the Office of the Governor, who evaluate grant applications and make grant award recommendations to the governing board.
   16. (16) Qualified Business--A business that is engaged in or has provided substantial commitment to initiate the active conduct of a trade or business within the government entity's defense community.

Source Note:The provisions of this §4.30 adopted to be effective November 25, 2009, 34 TexReg 8311.