Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Tax Increment Financing topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Committee adopts amendment to expand projects eligible for tax-increment financing
Summary
The Housing & Community Development Committee voted to adopt amendment A00354 to House Bill 359, expanding eligible tax-increment financing projects and authorizing agreements with municipalities and school districts to create redevelopment funds; the amendment and the bill were reported out of committee 14-12.
The House Housing & Community Development Committee on Oct. 12 adopted amendment A00354 to House Bill 359, expanding the types of projects eligible for tax-increment financing (TIF) districts and authorizing an authority to enter agreements with municipalities and a school district to create a redevelopment fund.
The amendment, described orally by staff, "enables an authority to enter into agreements with the municipalities and school district for the creation of a redevelopment fund to further the purposes of the authority," according to a staff explanation presented to the committee.
Representative Powell, the bill sponsor, said the measure is aimed at local revitalization. "This bill is incredibly critical when it comes to revitalization of some of our, municipalities across the Commonwealth. Tax increment financing is a public financing tool, that allows for redevelopment of subs redevelopment subsidy. So, essentially, you're able to invest in parks, playgrounds, transit systems, all the things that we know that we need for a thriving, thriving, municipality ... I'm hopeful that this bill will pass and continue to be a tool that our municipalities can use, to invest in their respective communities," she said.
Members debated the scope of eligible activities. Committee member Chairman Urban said a caucus previously raised concerns about adding displacement-related activities to the list of projects; he said that issue had been a sticking point in committee last session. Representative Jeremy Schaefer asked whether smaller businesses would be able to access benefits from TIFs or whether the tool would mainly serve large redevelopment projects. "So I don't know if there's a way that we can help this so that all size businesses can be able to take advantage of it, not just the major projects," Schaefer said.
In response, Representative Powell and staff said TIFs can be structured with guidelines to broaden access. Staff noted there is currently no statewide cap on the number of TIFs and that each community can determine how to design and deploy the tool.
On A00354, the committee vote passed 14 to 12. The committee then voted on final passage of House Bill 359 as amended; committee members recorded a pass vote of 14 to 12 and the bill was reported to the next stage as amended.
