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Sponsor says SJR 15 would let local governments create economic‑development districts to attract investment
Summary
Sen. Jonathan Dismaine presented SJR 15 to authorize creation of locally governed economic development districts that can offer targeted tax incentives and abatements; sponsors said the change would let cities and counties compete for retail and mixed‑use development.
Senator Jonathan Dismaine (District 18) told the committee that Senate Joint Resolution 15 would create a constitutional basis for locally governed economic development districts that could be used to offer targeted incentives — for example to redevelop a dilapidated downtown building or to attract a retail project.
Dismaine said the resolution aims to give counties and cities tools similar to economic development districts used in other states, and that without such authority localities can struggle to compete for large projects. He described the districts as flexible, targeted tools that local taxing authorities could create by local action and that could include tax abatements or tax‑increment‑style financing to support infrastructure and bonding for development in a designated area.
Committee members asked whether the provision would authorize the abatement of school or other taxes; Dismaine said the enabling substantive statutory language was still being finalized but that the constitutional change was intended to allow targeted, locally governed options. No public testimony for or against the measure was recorded at the hearing, and the committee did not vote.
