Text: HF00444 Text: HF00446 Text: HF00400 - HF00499 Text: HF Index Bills and Amendments: General Index Bill History: General Index
PAG LIN
1 1 Section 1. NEW SECTION. 15A.10 EMPOWERMENT ZONES.
1 2 1. FINDINGS. The general assembly finds and declares that
1 3 the provision of economic development assistance to
1 4 empowerment zones is necessary to enhance opportunities for
1 5 Iowans to start and expand businesses, create quality jobs,
1 6 and develop suitable housing and will provide significant
1 7 economic benefits to the state through the expansion of Iowa's
1 8 economy. Assistance provided by the state or a local
1 9 community will be for the well-being and benefit of the
1 10 residents of the state and will be for a public purpose.
1 11 2. DEFINITIONS. As used in this section, unless the
1 12 context otherwise requires:
1 13 a. "Department" means the Iowa department of economic
1 14 development.
1 15 b. "Empowerment zone" means an enterprise or empowerment
1 16 zone or community designated by the federal government under
1 17 Title XIII of the federal Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of
1 18 1993 or an area designated as an empowerment zone by the
1 19 department to be eligible for the benefits of this section.
1 20 c. "State agency" means the departments of economic
1 21 development, employment services, cultural affairs, elder
1 22 affairs, human services, natural resources, and
1 23 transportation, as well as the Iowa finance authority and the
1 24 office of the treasurer of state.
1 25 3. EMPOWERMENT ZONE &endash; SELECTION.
1 26 a. The department shall establish criteria for determining
1 27 what areas qualify as an empowerment zone for zones designated
1 28 by the department. The criteria established shall be
1 29 consistent with criteria established for selecting enterprise
1 30 or empowerment zones or communities by the federal government
1 31 under Title XIII of the federal Omnibus Budget Reconciliation
1 32 Act of 1993.
1 33 b. The department shall designate no more than six
1 34 empowerment zones, and the department shall ensure that an
1 35 equal number of rural and urban zones are designated.
2 1 4. ELIGIBLE BUSINESS.
2 2 Notwithstanding the requirements for an eligible business
2 3 under section 15.329, a business with operations or facilities
2 4 within an empowerment zone is eligible to receive the benefits
2 5 provided in sections 15.331 through 15.336 if the following
2 6 conditions apply:
2 7 a. The community empowerment corporation has approved the
2 8 startup or expansion of the business within the empowerment
2 9 zone for purposes of receiving the benefits of this chapter.
2 10 b. The business has not closed or substantially reduced
2 11 its operation in one area of the state of Iowa and relocated
2 12 substantially the same operation in the zone. This paragraph
2 13 does not prohibit a business from expanding its operations in
2 14 the zone if existing operations of a similar nature in the
2 15 state of Iowa are not closed or substantially reduced.
2 16 c. The department, in consultation with the community
2 17 empowerment corporation, concludes that the business with
2 18 operations or facilities in the zone will not receive an
2 19 unfair advantage over its competitors as a result of benefits
2 20 received under this chapter.
2 21 5. STATE ASSISTANCE. In order to assist an empowerment
2 22 zone within the state to achieve its potential to secure new
2 23 economic opportunities, state agencies shall provide technical
2 24 assistance to designated empowerment zones, and shall
2 25 designate a contact person within each state agency to act as
2 26 a liaison between designated empowerment zones and the state
2 27 agency. An applicant for assistance under any program
2 28 administered by state agencies shall be given priority based
2 29 upon the selection criteria for assistance established by the
2 30 departments. A state agency contact person shall provide
2 31 assistance in applying for technical or financial assistance
2 32 and work to expedite departmental decision making regarding
2 33 activities within a designated empowerment zone, including but
2 34 not limited to the issuance of permits, interpretations of
2 35 rules or regulations, and the provision of technical or
3 1 financial assistance. Environmental cleanup within a
3 2 designated empowerment zone ordered by or under the purview of
3 3 the department of natural resources shall be given priority by
3 4 the department of natural resources to receive technical or
3 5 financial assistance to aid in the cleanup.
3 6 6. REGULATORY FLEXIBILITY. A state agency required to
3 7 provide economic development assistance under this section
3 8 shall do the following:
3 9 a. Provide a waiver or partial waiver of any rule or regu-
3 10 lation which would negate or mitigate the effect of any waiver
3 11 of a federal rule or regulation approved by the community
3 12 enterprise board established under Title XIII of the federal
3 13 Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1993.
3 14 b. Apply a federal rule or regulation within a designated
3 15 empowerment zone, if a state rule or regulation establishes a
3 16 higher or more restrictive standard than the federal rule or
3 17 regulation.
3 18 c. Upon the request of a designated empowerment zone,
3 19 examine the feasibility of providing a waiver or partial
3 20 waiver of the application of any rule or regulation within a
3 21 designated empowerment zone. If the request would require a
3 22 waiver of a federal rule or regulation, the department shall
3 23 assist the designated empowerment zone to apply for the
3 24 necessary waiver from the proper federal agency.
3 25 7. COMMUNITY EMPOWERMENT CORPORATION. In order to qualify
3 26 for special economic assistance under this section, a
3 27 designated empowerment zone shall establish a nonprofit
3 28 community empowerment corporation to act on behalf of and as
3 29 an advocate for residents, businesses, community groups and
3 30 other organizations within the zone. The corporation shall
3 31 have a board of directors representative of a broad cross-
3 32 section of the population, including private businesses and
3 33 community groups within the designated empowerment zone. The
3 34 mission of the corporation shall be to help the designated
3 35 empowerment zone achieve its potential to enhance
4 1 opportunities to start and expand businesses, create quality
4 2 jobs, and develop suitable housing, including but not limited
4 3 to seeking technical and financial support from the private
4 4 sector, acting as an advocate before various governmental
4 5 bodies, coordinating planning and other activities within the
4 6 designated empowerment zone, and assisting residents,
4 7 businesses, and community groups to apply to various
4 8 governmental departments or agencies for assistance.
4 9 Sec. 2. NEW SECTION. 16.187 EMPOWERMENT ZONES.
4 10 The authority is authorized to enter into an agreement with
4 11 a municipality to issue its bonds on behalf of a municipality
4 12 to provide financing for projects within an empowerment zone
4 13 as defined by section 15A.10, subsection 2. The bonds may
4 14 only be issued to finance projects within an environment zone
4 15 which has been approved by the governing body of the
4 16 municipality, and the authority shall have all of the powers
4 17 delegated to it in a chapter 28E agreement between the
4 18 municipality and the authority. Bonds may be issued in order
4 19 to fund the construction and equipping of a project or
4 20 projects, the payment of interest on the bonds, the
4 21 establishment of reserves to secure the bonds, the cost of
4 22 issuance of the bonds, and other expenditures incident or
4 23 convenient to carry out the bond issue. The issues are
4 24 investment securities and negotiable instruments within the
4 25 meaning of and for the purposes of the uniform commercial
4 26 code.
4 27 EXPLANATION
4 28 This bill provides for the establishment of empowerment
4 29 zones in Iowa and details the assistance available to the
4 30 zones and businesses in the zones.
4 31 The bill provides that empowerment zones are zones
4 32 established as an enterprise or empowerment zone or community
4 33 by the federal government under Title XIII of the federal
4 34 Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1993 and zones declared
4 35 by the department of economic development based on criteria
5 1 similar to the criteria used by the federal government in
5 2 selecting zones. The bill provides for no more than six zones
5 3 to be designated by the department of economic development of
5 4 which an equal number of zones shall be rural and urban. The
5 5 bill also provides that certain businesses within the zones
5 6 are eligible for benefits provided under sections 15.331
5 7 through 15.336 pursuant to the new jobs and income Act. The
5 8 bill also provides for certain assistance to empowerment zones
5 9 by state agencies and for certain other regulatory waivers.
5 10 The bill also establishes a community empowerment corporation
5 11 within each zone. Finally, the bill also provides for bonding
5 12 to finance projects within an empowerment zone under the Iowa
5 13 finance authority.
5 14 LSB 2153HH 76
5 15 ec/jw/5
Text: HF00444 Text: HF00446 Text: HF00400 - HF00499 Text: HF Index Bills and Amendments: General Index Bill History: General Index
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