                                 CODE OF VIRGINIA

AWARD OF GRANTS TO REGIONAL COUNCILS (§ 2.2-2489)

A. The Board shall establish guidelines, procedures, and objective criteria for
the award and distribution of grants from the Fund to regional councils.

B. In order to qualify to receive grants from the Fund, a regional council shall
develop an economic growth and diversification plan to (i) promote
private-sector growth and opportunity in the region; (ii) identify issues of
economic competitiveness for the region, including gaps in education and skills
required to meet existing and prospective employer needs within the region; and
(iii) outline steps that the collaborating business, education, and government
entities in the region will pursue to expand economic opportunity, diversify the
economy, and align workforce development activities with the education and
skills needed by employers in the region. A regional council shall review such
plan not less than biennially while the regional council is receiving grants
from the Fund.

C. The Board shall only consider those regional activities endorsed by a
regional council in its application for grants from the Fund. For any regional
activity included in a regional council&#8217;s application, the regional
council shall identify (i) the amount of grants requested and the number of
years for which grants are sought; (ii) the participating business, education,
and government entities and their respective roles and contributions; (iii) the
private, local, and other sources of nonstate funding that the grant from the
Fund will assist in generating, including specific amounts pledged by such
sources as of the application date; (iv) how the regional activity addresses the
skills gaps identified in the council&#8217;s economic growth and
diversification plan; and (v) the economic impact or other outcomes that are
reasonably expected to result from the proposed regional activity, including
timetables and means of measurement.

D. Regional activities eligible for grants from the Fund shall be focused on
high-impact, collaborative projects in a region that promote new job creation,
entrepreneurship, and new capital investment; leverage nonstate resources to
enhance collaboration; foster research, development, and commercialization
activities; encourage cooperation among public bodies to reduce costs and
duplication of government services; and promote other economic or workforce
development activities consistent with this article that are authorized by the
Board. The Board shall give initial priority to grant proposals that promote
workforce development and other activities focused on eliminating skills gaps
identified in a region&#8217;s economic growth and diversification plan.

E. In determining a regional council&#8217;s eligibility to receive grants from
the Fund, and the amount of such grants, the Board shall review and score the
proposed regional activities. Scores shall be assigned on the basis of
predetermined criteria established by the Board in its guidelines and procedures
based on the following factors:

   1. The expected economic impact or outcome of the activity, with particular
   emphasis on goals identified in the regional council&#8217;s plan for economic
   growth and diversification;

   2. The fiscal resources from non-Fund sources that will be committed to the
   activity, including local or federal funds, private contributions, and cost
   savings expected to be achieved through regional collaboration;

   3. The number and percentage of localities, including political subdivisions
   and bodies corporate and politic, within the region that are participating in
   the activity, the portion of the region&#8217;s population represented by the
   participating localities, and the participation of localities that are outside
   of the applicant region;

   4. The compatibility with other projects, programs, or existing infrastructure
   in a region to maximize the leverage of grants from the Fund to encourage new
   collaborative activities;

   5. The expected economic impact and outcomes of the project and the complexity
   of the project relative to the size of the economy of the region or to the
   population of the participating localities;

   6. The projected cost savings and other efficiencies generated by the proposed
   activity, and the local resources generated by collaboration that have been or
   will be repurposed to support the activity;

   7. The character of the regional collaboration, including the nature and
   extent of the regional effort involved in developing and implementing the
   proposed activity, the complexity of the activity, the prospective impact on
   relations between and among the affected localities, and the prospective
   impact on collaboration between and among business, education, and government
   entities in the region;

   8. Interstate, inter-regional, and other beneficial forms of collaboration, if
   any, that will accompany, result from, or be encouraged by the activity;

   9. Efficiency in the administration and oversight of regional activities; and

   10. Other factors deemed to be appropriate by the Board.

F. Each regional council awarded a grant from the Fund shall issue an annual
report that shall include, at a minimum, an assessment of the impact and
outcomes from regional activities supported by grants from the Fund and the
region&#8217;s overall progress in addressing the goals and strategies
identified in the region&#8217;s plan for economic growth and diversification.
Such assessment shall address performance criteria prescribed in the program
guidelines and procedures.

G. Subject to the provisions of &#xA7; 2.2-2488 and this section, once a
regional council becomes eligible for grants from the Fund, the regional council
may continue to apply for and receive grants from the Fund to support economic
activities consistent with the regional council&#8217;s economic growth and
diversification plan in such amounts and for such duration as the Board may
determine in accordance with its guidelines and procedures. The Board may
terminate any payments to regional councils that fail to perform in accordance
with this article, the Board&#8217;s guidelines or procedures, or any conditions
expressly agreed upon as part of a grant award, or for malfeasance. The Board
may require the refund of moneys from the Fund upon such termination. Grants
that are terminated shall revert to the Fund for distribution on an unallocated
competitive basis.

H. In making Fund recommendations and awards, the Board may consider regional
activities that commenced prior to the enactment of this article, provided that
the grant-funded program or project will expand the scope of, or increase the
number of localities participating in, such preexisting activity.

I. No regional council may have outstanding grant commitments of more than 25
percent of the total amount appropriated to the Fund.

J. The year for grant payments shall be the Commonwealth&#8217;s fiscal year
following the calendar year in which the region qualifies, with payments made
annually by the Comptroller upon certification by the Board. Grant amounts shall
be made at the sole discretion of the Board.

K. (Effective until July 1, 2028) Any grant awarded from the Fund to a regional
council shall require matching funds at least equal to half the amount of the
grant. Such matching funds may be from local, regional, federal, or private
funds, but shall not include any state general or nongeneral funds, from
whatever source.

(Effective July 1, 2028) Any grant awarded from the Fund to a regional council
shall require matching funds at least equal to the grant, provided, however,
that the Board shall have the authority to reduce the match requirement to no
less than half of the grant upon a finding by the Board of fiscal distress or an
exceptional economic opportunity in a region. Such matching funds may be from
local, regional, federal, or private funds, but shall not include any state
general or nongeneral funds, from whatever source.

L. Decisions of the Board shall be final and not subject to review or appeal.

HISTORY: 2016, cc. 778, 779; 2020, c. 525; 2024, cc. 276, 624.