Finance Committee increases per-project cap for historic-preservation tax credit

The House Finance Committee voted 25–1 to report House Bill 15 72, a bill sponsored by Representative Gogener that would raise the per-project cap for the historic preservation incentive tax credit from $500,000 to $1.5 million.

Mark Forman, the committee's senior executive director, described the bill as an increase in the maximum per-project credit award to $1.5 million. Committee members noted that last year the Legislature increased the overall historic preservation tax credit program from $5 million to $20 million but left the per-project cap at $500,000. "Most of the applicants, almost all of the applicants are projects of 10,000,000 or more," a committee member said, explaining the rationale for raising the cap.

Sponsors and supporters argued the higher cap would allow large-scale historic projects to access greater credit awards, while critics did not prevail in the committee vote. The committee called for a roll-call vote; the clerk recorded the yeas and nays before announcing, "House bill 15 72 is reported from the finance committee by a vote of 25 to 1."

Action: the committee formally reported HB 15 72 to the next step in the legislative process by a recorded 25–1 vote. No amendments were recorded during the committee consideration.

The committee record shows the bill was brought up for consideration with a brief description and moved forward after member discussion and the roll-call vote. The committee did not set additional directions for implementation; the Department of Revenue would continue to administer tax-credit allocations if the bill becomes law.