On Thursday, October 8, the Assembly Ways and Means Committee held a public hearing on the following bills recommended by the Legislative Council TIF study committee. The Senate has passed all but number 6.
Summary: Updates Wisconsin’s TIF laws to make them easier to administer, more effective at promoting economic development, and better protect property tax payers by doing the following:
- Technical Changes (SB 50) — Makes a number of technical changes to Wisconsin’s TIF Law including specifying that the requirement to maintain industrial zoning applies only to Industrial TIDs, and not to Mixed Use TIDs, and excluding the value of any TID increments from the levy limits upon closure of a TID.
- Joint Review Boards (SB 51) – Makes a JRB a permanent standing committee as long as the TID is in existence, and requires municipalities to file more detailed performance reports with JRB and DOR.
- TID Revenue Sharing (SB 52) – Would allow any type of TID to be a recipient of revenue sharing.
- Change in TID Cash Flows (SB 53) – If legislation or administrative action changes TID cash flow, the bill would allow municipalities to amend a TID’s boundaries at any time, request redetermination of a TID’s base value, or request an extension of a TID’s life.
- Vacant Land Test (SB 54) — Eliminates the 25% vacant land test, which prohibits inclusion of an area of vacant land comprising more than 25% of the total area of the TID land in a blight or rehab district.
- Increases 12% Limit (SB 55) — Increases from 12% to 15% the limit on the amount of taxable property permitted to be within a TID or TIDs at the time a TID is created or territory is added.
- Distressed TID Sunset (SB 56) — Extends the sunset date for declaring a TID distressed or severely distressed from October 1, 2015 until October 1, 2020.
- Redetermination of Base Value (SB 57) – Provides municipalities with more flexibility for redetermining TID base values when the current value of the TID has fallen at least 10% below its base value.
Status: Introduced by Joint Legislative Council in 2/2015; public hearing held on all the bills; SB 50, SB 51, SB 52, SB 53, SB 54, SB 55, SB 56 and SB 57 passed by the Senate Economic Development and Commerce Committee (5-0); SB 50, SB 51, SB 52, SB 54 have passed the Senate (33-0).