Delaware-2015-HB273-Draft

Section 1. Amend Title 30 of the Delaware Code by making deletions as shown by strike through and insertions as shown by underline as follows and redesignating accordingly:

Chapter 20B. Career Readiness Exploration Credit Pilot Program.

§0B-101 Purpose.

This chapter creates a Career Readiness Exploration Credit Pilot Program to provide Delaware's high school students exposure to real-world work experiences and to provide employers with incentive to hire these students.

§20B-102 Definitions.

For purposes of this chapter:

(1) "Gross wages" means that part of the sum reported on Form W-2, or equivalent form of the United States Department of Treasury, Internal Revenue Service, as "Medicare wages and tips" that is attributable to Delaware sources.

(2) "Qualified employer" means an employer located in Delaware which hires and employs 1 or more qualified students in one or more of the following business fields:

a. Hospitality;

b. Health care;

c. Building trades;

d. Agriculture;

e. Financial services;

f. Science;

g. Technology;

h. Engineering;

i. Mathematics.

(3) "Qualified student" means a student at a Delaware high school who is at least 16 years old and works in a qualified internship that is monitored by the student's school's designated employee, in cooperation with the employer.

(4) "Qualified internship" means a work program lasting at least 20 weeks in duration and including at least 200 hours of paid work during the taxable year.These hours shall be recorded electronically and subject to periodic, unannounced inspections by the qualified student's high school's designated employee.

§20B-103 Credit for wages paid to qualified veterans.

(a) Subject to the limitations contained in §20B-104 of this title and to such return requirements as may be imposed by the State Bank Commissioner, the Insurance Commissioner, or the Secretary, qualified employers shall be eligible during the first year in which a qualified student is paid for a qualified internship for credits against the taxes imposed by the following statutory provisions:

(1) Chapter 11 of Title 5;

(2) Chapter 19 of this title;

(3) Chapter 11 of this title;

(4) Sections 702 and 703 of Title 18.

(b) The amount of the credit against the tax shall equal 50% of the gross wages paid by the qualified employer to a qualified student in the course of that student's sustained employment during the taxable year; provided, however, that no qualified employer shall receive a credit in excess of $500,000 in total for all qualified students in a given taxable year, and that the total credits given to all qualified employers shall not exceed $1,000,000 in a given taxable year.

(c) To the extent a qualified employer's credits exceed any amounts otherwise due for the taxes and fees listed under � 20B-103(a) of this title, such unused credits shall be paid to it in the nature of tax refunds.

§20B-104 Limitations.

Notwithstanding §20B-103 of this title, no qualified student counted for purposes of credits under this chapter may be included in the calculation of employment for purposes of claiming tax credits provided by subchapters II, III, IX and X of chapter 20 of this title.

§20B-105 Grant for retention.

In addition to the credit for wages pursuant to §20B-103 of this title, a qualified employer that hires at least 3 qualified students for full-time post-graduation employment and retains those qualified students for at least 1 year after hiring shall be entitled to receive a one-time credit of $1,200 against the taxes and fees listed under � 20B-103(a) of this title.

§20B-106 Rules and regulations.

The Director of Revenue is authorized to promulgate rules and regulations not inconsistent with this chapter and require such facts and information to be reported as the Director deems necessary for administration and enforcement of this chapter. No rule or regulation adopted pursuant to the authority granted by this section shall extend, modify or conflict with any law of this State or the reasonable implications thereof.

Section 2. This Act shall become effective on January 1, 2017 and shall be available for qualified students hired on or after January 1, 2017.

Section 3. The provisions of this Act shall automatically sunset on December 31, 2019, unless legislation to continue the program is enacted.

SPONSOR:	Rep. Bentz & Sen. Poore
	Reps. Bolden, Gray, Heffernan, Keeley, Kowalko, Longhurst, Lynn, Viola, Wilson; Sens. Cloutier, Hall-Long, Richardson