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Committee advances bill to streamline tax-increment tools for local infrastructure
Summary
Assemblymember Carrillo told the Local Government Committee AB 417 would clarify and streamline rules for EIFDs and CRIAs so local governments can better use tax‑increment financing for infrastructure and affordable housing.
Assemblymember Carrillo presented AB 417, describing it as a set of clarifications and procedural fixes intended to make tax-increment financing tools more usable for local governments.
“EIFDs and CRIAs enable cities and counties to use existing property tax revenue and not new or increased property taxes to finance projects that have been vetted and approved by local communities,” Carrillo said. He said AB 417 aims to reduce formation barriers and align CREA law with changes made to EIFD law by SB 1140.
Gurbak Sahota, president and CEO of the California Association for Local Economic Development, testified in support and said local economic developers and practitioners supported the package of refinements. “The input that you see in this piece of legislation are the things that they said they needed in order to advance economic development, create opportunities, fund infrastructure, and also support affordable housing projects in their communities,” Sahota said.
Support also came from the American Planning Association (Lauren De Valencia) and city representatives (Paul Gonsalves on behalf of Carson and Lakewood). In opposition, Bob Naylor of Fieldstead & Company, speaking for an Orange County philanthropist, said his group did not object to EIFDs but opposed language in CREA law that authorizes eminent domain. “Our problem is with … the CREA law does have eminent domain authority,” Naylor said. He asked the author to amend the bill to remove CREA eminent-domain authority and said his group would withdraw opposition if that change were made.
The committee reported a do-pass-as-amended recommendation. The chair recorded that the bill passed as amended in committee; the transcript records the committee clerk’s tally as six ayes during the initial roll call excerpt (“You have 6”), and the chair said the bill is out and would be left open for members to add on.
Why it matters: Supporters said clarifications would help local governments form and use EIFDs and CRIAs more efficiently for affordable housing, climate adaptation, and other infrastructure. Opponents raised constitutional and property-rights concerns tied to eminent-domain authority in CREA law and requested an amendment to remove that authority.
Next steps: The committee voted to pass AB 417 as amended and left the measure open for members to add on; the transcript excerpt records six ayes on the roll call portion provided.
