HB 1629 -- Tax Increment Financing

Co-Sponsors:  Green, Scheve, Reynolds, Bray, Murray, Hanaway,
Ladd Stokan, Chrismer, Fraser

This bill makes a number of changes to the Tax Increment
Financing (TIF) laws.  In its main provisions, the bill:

(1)  Adds definitions of "high unemployment," "low fiscal
capacity," and "poverty" to the TIF statutes;

(2)  Requires redevelopment areas and municipalities to meet the
following requirements:

(a)  They must have a low fiscal capacity, have high
unemployment, or be characterized by poverty;

(b)  The assessed valuation within the proposed redevelopment
area has not increased in the 3 most recent reassessments; and

(c)  At least one of the indicators of business and residential
property decline outlined in the bill is present;

(3)  Restricts the expenditures for retail development to no
more than 50% of the project's costs, unless the redevelopment
is within a distressed community, a federal enterprise zone, or
a federal empowerment zone; or unless at least 50% of the
residents living within 1/4 mile of the proposed area are living
in poverty;

(4)  Requires developers to submit the proposed redevelopment
plan to the governing body and to the Department of Economic
Development (DED);

(5)  Requires the DED to conduct a cost-benefit analysis of the
impact of the proposed project, to include an assessment of
fiscal impacts; net new job growth; wages associated with newly
created jobs; effect on nearby land uses; impact on community
cohesiveness and diversity; environmental impacts on the air,
soil, and water; and sustainability of the revenue stream for
affected municipalities;

(6)  Authorizes the DED to charge the developer for the costs of
the cost-benefit analysis, and requires DED to submit the
analysis to the developer, the host municipality, and
surrounding municipalities;

(7)  Prohibits proposals from being approved unless the cost--
benefit analysis completed by DED shows a negative impact on
local taxing jurisdictions;

(8)  Authorizes any affected person to file a challenge in
circuit court regarding any decision of the TIF commission or
the governing body within 60 days of the decision;

(9)  Limits the maximum amount of public funding for approved
TIF projects to 30% of the total project costs; in some
situations, including areas experiencing high levels of
unemployment or poverty, the share of public funding for TIF
projects may be 50% of the total project's costs;

(10)  Requires the municipality and the developer to annually
submit information regarding an approved project to the DED; and

(11)  Requires the DED to submit an annual report regarding TIF
projects in the state.