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State representative briefs council on House File 617 to expand residential TIF options
Summary
State Representative Josh told the City Council about House File 617 (the '20‑20‑20' proposal), which would allow up to 20‑year tax increment financing for certain residential projects and require a 20% low‑ and moderate‑income set‑aside; he said bipartisan support has moved the bill through subcommittee and ways and means.
State Representative Josh addressed the Council Bluffs City Council during the meeting to explain House File 617, a legislative proposal nicknamed “20‑20‑20” that he said is intended to expand tax-increment financing (TIF) tools for residential development.
Josh described the bill as allowing up to a 20‑year TIF in places where the land has been inside municipality limits for at least 20 years, and with a 20% set-aside for low- and moderate-income housing. He said the change was designed to make residential projects more comparable to commercial development in nearby Nebraska communities, which can use longer TIF terms.
“Now this would be a great opportunity really with the bill that we initiated here in Council Bluffs to be able to generate genuine development across the state,” Josh said, describing both bipartisan sponsorship and unanimous subcommittee support. He told council members the measure had passed subcommittee and ways-and-means and he was hopeful the bill could reach a House vote before the legislative session closed.
Josh said the bill was originally limited to communities above 15,000 people but an amendment removed that cap. He also discussed possible further amendments raised by opponents, such as limiting the exemption to border communities within a set distance of a fiscal border, or making it a pilot program for specific projects such as Dodge Park.
Josh framed the bill as a response to cross‑state competition along the Omaha border: “When you're in these border communities… you see the good, the bad and the ugly of state policies going head to head against each other,” he said, and added Nebraska’s land banks, sewer districts and TIF options give it an advantage. He said the bill had bipartisan support and cited conversations with legislative leaders and a supporting senator.
No formal action on the bill was taken by the council; the presentation informed council members about the state-level legislative option and local officials’ interest in pursuing development tools that could apply to projects discussed at the meeting.
