Committee advances broad urban renewal bill after hours of testimony and debate

Representative Jason Monks presented House Bill 436 to the House Revenue and Taxation Committee on March 25, describing it as a set of clarifications and new options for local governments, urban renewal agencies and overlapping taxing districts.

The bill creates a process by which a city may initiate dissolution of an urban renewal agency by resolution, requires a meeting between the city and the urban renewal agency to develop a termination plan, and preserves existing indebtedness while restricting new obligations during the review process. It also permits an extension of a revenue-allocation area for a single-owner manufacturing project in order to finance additional infrastructure, and—starting July 1, 2025—would require fire districts to opt in for a new urban renewal district to capture future property-tax increment; fire or ambulance districts also could withdraw from a revenue allocation area if they have no outstanding bonds or contractual indebtedness.

Sponsor Representative Jason Monks, District 22, said…