Today the House Commerce committee took testimony again on HB 5856, a bill to amend the DDA act to provide for additional transparency and reporting requirements as well as adding in fund accumulation restrictions.  A substitute was adopted (HB5856 (H-1) (2)) during committee that adds in an element of gain sharing (1.25% accumulative per year beginning 5 years after TIF plan is adopted). The bill was not voted on during the committee today.

Thank you to the members who were able to come testify or be at the committee hearing and to those who have contacted their representatives on this important issue.  The chair indicated his desire to continue to work on this issue with the bill sponsor through the month of October, including opt outs, and potentially try to vote it out of committee when they return after the election.  As legislators are in district these next few weeks, I would encourage you to talk with them about the importance of the DDA in your community and how an opt out or resetting of a baseline would impact the funding level and therefore your ability to continue the good work you are doing.

Nikki Brown is a legislative associate for the League handling economic development and land use issues.  She can be reached at nbrown@mml.org or 517-908-0305.