AWC urges you to contact your Senators and ask them to request a public hearing on SB 5564 in the Senate Ways & Means Committee and support an amendment to reinstate some of the provisions removed by the policy committee.

SB 5564, AWC’s economic development priority bill, allows local governments to compete for state sales tax credits to finance public infrastructure improvements that spur private investments. On February 8, a substitute version of the bill was adopted and voted out of the Senate Financial Institutions, Economic Development & Trade Committee and referred to the Senate Ways & Means Committee.

The substitute version of the bill reduced the state’s annual credit against the state sales and use tax from $15 million under the original version to $4,965,000 per year and limited the number of allowable projects to three. The bill has until the fiscal committee cutoff, Friday, March 1, to be voted out of Ways & Means. AWC is requesting a public hearing and an amendment to increase the state contribution rate and remove the limit on the number of projects.

Through a competitive grant process, SB 5564 would allow cities to create development areas where annual increases in revenues from local sales and use taxes and local property taxes would be measured. These increases in revenues and any additional funds from other local public sources would then be used to pay for public improvements in the development area and used to match a state contribution. State funding for the program is provided through a credit against the state sales tax. The state sales tax credit is then used to finance public improvements that encourage job creation and private development. Local government award recipients could receive up to:

• $1 million per year for 20 years;
• $800,000 per year for 25 years; or
• $665,000 per year for 30 years.

Please take a moment to contact your Senator now. Ask them to request a public hearing on SB 5564 in the Ways & Means Committee and support an amendment to increase the state contribution rate and remove the limit on the number of projects.

For more information on SB 5564, please see AWC’s economic development priority fact sheet.