Committee hears cleanup, cap increase for economic revitalization zone tax credits (SB 404)

Sen. James Gray (Senate District 6) told the committee SB 404 was requested by the Department of Business and Economic Affairs to make technical changes to the economic revitalization zone tax credit program. Among the changes Gray summarized were an increase in the aggregate credits available from $825,000 to $1,000,000 and a move from a grant year to a calendar-year award schedule.

Bridget Beckwith of the Department of Business and Economic Affairs described the bill as largely cleanup to modernize the statute and maximize credit utilization. She said she has worked on the program for roughly a decade and that the changes are intended to make the program run smoother and allow more of the authorized credits to be used by qualifying applicants.

Committee members asked questions about the reevaluation interval (moving from five to eight years for zone reevaluation) and whether proration of awards would change. Beckwith said the extension to eight years was intended to better align review timing with the slow pace of economic change in many zones. She testified that awards have been prorated at roughly 30 cents on the dollar in recent cycles and that the bill would modestly increase the portion of requested credits that recipients actually receive.

Why it matters: The change increases the program’s ceiling and updates timing and administrative details, potentially allowing more credits to be fully used by qualifying projects. The bill was discussed without reported opposition in this transcript; no final committee vote appears in the provided segments.

What’s next: Committee may schedule executive action; agency staff indicated the bill is mostly administrative and intended to maximize credit utilization.