§ 17 — Center for employee ownership; purpose; powers and duties of director

Section 17. (a) There is hereby established a Massachusetts center for employee ownership within the Massachusetts office of business development established pursuant to section 1 of chapter 23A. The Massachusetts center for employee ownership shall provide education, conduct outreach and promote efforts to create an overall environment in the commonwealth to: (i) expand and enhance employee ownership; (ii) increase the number of employee-owned companies; (iii) publicize and promote the benefits of employee involvement and ownership to policy makers and the general public; (iv) encourage collaborative outreach efforts regarding involvement and ownership in the workplace; (v) research and evaluate employee involvement and employee ownership in the commonwealth; (vi) showcase employee ownership initiatives in the commonwealth; (vii) facilitate and coordinate the sharing of existing information and resources; and (viii) provide grants pursuant to this chapter.(b)(1) The director of the Massachusetts center for employee ownership shall have the power to hire staff, appoint any specific committee or task force and contract with consultants, agents or advisors deemed necessary to further the purposes of this section.(2) The director may accept gifts or grants of money or property from any source to further the work of the center; provided, however, that any money received shall be deposited with the state treasurer to be kept in a separate fund in the treasury to be named the Massachusetts Center for Employee Ownership Fund dedicated to the center and for expenditure without appropriation by the director of the center in accordance with the conditions of such a gift or grant. Amounts remaining in the fund at the end of a fiscal year shall not revert to the General Fund and shall be available for expenditure in subsequent fiscal years.(3) The director shall issue rules, regulations and procedures governing the application for and delivery of services which are deemed necessary for the proper performance of the duties of the center.(4) Annually, the director shall file a report with the clerks of the house of representatives and senate, including an inventory of employee-owned businesses in the state and the specific activities taken by the center to support and promote the transition of traditionally structured companies to an employee ownership model.(5) The director shall be a full-time employee of the Massachusetts office of business development and shall be appointed by and report directly to the director of the Massachusetts office of business development.