Annual Tax Increment Financing legislation introduced

March 3, 2016

This week several TIF bills were considered in subcommittees by the House and Senate. The House discussed a comprehensive TIF bill, HSB639, which makes significant changes to Iowa’s urban renewal law, including prohibiting the use of TIF for public buildings, limiting slum and blight TIFs to a shorter 25-year duration and sunsetting existing economic development TIFs with no end date. The bill also greatly changes the definition of blighted area for new slum and blight urban renewal areas. The House Ways and Means Committee is scheduled to consider the bill Monday.

The Senate held subcommittees on SF2005 and SF2006, both addressing wind turbine TIFs. The bills would prohibit the creation of new urban renewal areas on wind farms. SF2006 would also require any existing urban renewal areas with wind energy conversion property to cease within 20 years from the effective date. Neither subcommittee signed off on the bills, but are still considering them. ABI will continue to monitor this TIF legislation.  Staff contact: Jessica Harder