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An Act Regarding the Maine Coworking Development Fund
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1. 5 MRSA §13056-G, sub-§3, ¶B, as enacted by PL 2015, c. 362, §1, is amended to read:
 
B. The department shall solicit applications for grants or loans from the fund through a request for proposalscompetitive application process, which must include, at a minimum, the following criteria for the submission of applications:
 
(1) A description of the parties involved in the project, including the professional expertise and qualifications of the principals;
 
(2) A description of the scope of work that will be undertaken by each party involved in the project;
 
(3) The proposed budget, including verification of funding from other sources;
 
(4) A statement of the project objective, including specific information on how the project will promote the use of the space as a collaborative workspace;
 
(5) A statement that sets forth the implementation plan, the facilities and resources available or needed for the project and the proposed commencement and termination dates of the project;
 
(6) A description of the expected significance of the project, including a description of the market demand for the type of collaborative workspace proposed in the region in which the space will be located and the number of tenants and participants that will be served as a result of the project;
 
(7) Guidelines for the review and approval of applications that include preferences for applications that propose to redevelop existing properties located in the downtown area of a municipality, dedicate at least 25% of accessible space to collaborative use and support a cluster of at least 5 separate tenants;
 
(8) A description of the ability of the collaborative workspace business to carry out the provisions of this section;
 
(9) A summary of the proposed economic impact of the collaborative workspace on the community;
 
(10) A description of plans for conformance with regional and local economic development plans, if such plans exist; and
 
(11) A statement of the proximity of the collaborative workspace to an accredited Maine community college, college or university, as defined in Title 20-A, section 12541, subsection 1.
Sec. 2. 5 MRSA §13056-G, sub-§5, as enacted by PL 2015, c. 362, §1, is amended to read:
 
5. Report.   Beginning February 1, 20162020, the department shall annually provide a report to the Governor, the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representativesand the joint standing committee of the Legislature having jurisdiction over innovation, development, economic advancement and business matters that must include, but is not limited to:
 
A. The number of applications for collaborative workspace submitted to the department;
 
B. The number of applications for collaborative workspace approved by the department;
 
C. The number of collaborative workspaces created through the fund;
 
D. The numbers of tenants and participants engaged in each collaborative workspace;
 
E. The number of jobs provided by each collaborative workspace;
 
F. The occupancy rate of each collaborative workspace; and
 
G. The number of tenants that have left collaborative workspace and that are operating in the State and the number of jobs they have provided.
 
Effective 90 days following adjournment of the 129th Legislature, First Regular Session, unless otherwise indicated.