1. (a) The department may not designate a nominated qualified business as an enterprise project unless it determines that:

   1. (1) the business meets the requirements set forth in the Act, §2303.402, and this chapter;
   2. (2) the qualified business is located in or has made substantial commitment to locate in an enterprise project eligible enterprise zone;
   3. (3) the project demonstrates viability as determined by the department;
   4. (4) the applicant's governing body or bodies have demonstrated that a high level of cooperation between public, private, and neighborhood entities exists in the zone; and
   5. (5) the designation of the qualified business as an enterprise project will contribute significantly to the achievement of the plans of the applicant for development and revitalization of the zone.
2. (b) The department may approve the assumption of a state-designated enterprise project that leases or transfers ownership to another entity that will continue operations in the enterprise zone in the same way that was originally committed to in the initial enterprise project application or which otherwise demonstrates to the satisfaction of the department that the designation assumption is warranted to avoid disruption of operations and loss of jobs.
3. (c) For job creation a business must be seeking to create new jobs, or for an existing business seeking to expand and increase their current level of employment in Texas. The program, however, does not allow benefit for moving existing jobs from one Texas city to another within the state.

4. (d) For job retention a business must submit documentation and receive prior approval of documentation in order to qualify for using one of the following criteria:

   1. (1) that permanent employees will be permanently laid off; or
   2. (2) the business will permanently close down; or
   3. (3) the business will relocate out of state; or
   4. (4) a 10% increase in production capacity will occur; or
   5. (5) a 10% decrease in overall cost per unit produced will occur;
   6. (6) the business facility has been legitimately destroyed or impaired due to fire, flood, tornado, hurricane, or any other natural disaster.
5. (e) In any case, for job retention, the business must maintain the same level of employment that existed 90 days prior to the date of application. Any of the retained jobs that are subsequently vacated and refilled must meet the 25% ED/EZR hiring requirement.

Source Note:The provisions of this §176.5 adopted to be effective August 29, 2002, 27 TexReg 7788.