2001 Summary of Legislation ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT Published by the Iowa General Assembly -- Legislative Service Bureau

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT LEGISLATION

SENATE FILE 81 - Criteria for State Economic Development Financial Assistance (full text of act)

   BY MILLER. This Act provides that a state agency may give additional consideration or additional points in the application of rating or evaluation criteria in providing financial assistance for economic development-related purposes to a person or business for whose benefit the financial assistance is to be provided if the person or business is located in an area that is a brownfield site, a blighted area, or is located in a city or county that meets the distress criteria provided under the Enterprise Zone Program.

HOUSE FILE 103 - Written Promotional Material -- VETOED BY THE GOVERNOR (full text of act)

   BY COMMITTEE ON LABOR AND INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS. This bill would have required that any written material, including web sites, designed, produced or distributed by the Department of Economic Development for purposes of promoting the state in an attempt to recruit new businesses include a clear and conspicuous statement regarding the Right-to-Work Law contained in Code Section 731.1.

HOUSE FILE 230 - Iowa Economic Development Board Strategic Planning Duties (full text of act)

   BY COMMITTEE ON ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT. This Act modifies the strategic planning duties of the Iowa Economic Development Board. The Act eliminates requirements that the board coordinate and implement a 20-year comprehensive economic development plan for the state and prepare a five-year strategic plan for state economic growth, and instead directs the board to prepare a three-year comprehensive strategic plan of specific goals, objectives and policies for state economic growth.

HOUSE FILE 349 - Economic Development Programs -- Investment Tax Credits -- Enterprise Zones (full text of act)

   BY COMMITTEE ON ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT. This Act amends the Enterprise Zone Program administered by the Department of Economic Development.

   The Act creates a new type of eligible business under the program. The Act provides that a development business is eligible to receive incentives and assistance under the program if the business constructs, expands or rehabilitates a building space with a minimum capital investment of at least $500,000 in that part of a city or county in which there is a designated enterprise zone. The Act provides for two possible exemptions to the capital investment requirement. The Act provides that, upon completion of the construction, expansion or rehabilitation project, the building space shall not be occupied by retail business. A development business shall complete the construction, expansion or rehabilitation of the building space within three years from the time the business receives approval from the department. Prior to applying for assistance, an eligible development business shall enter into an agreement with at least one business for purposes of locating the business in all or a portion of the building space for a period of at least five years.

   The Act provides that an eligible development business that has been approved to receive incentives and assistance shall be eligible to receive a new investment tax credit for up to a maximum of 10 percent of the new investment; a sales, services and use tax refund; and a property tax exemption for all or a portion of the value added to the property. The incentives and assistance may be received for a period of 10 years. The Act provides for the repayment of incentives and assistance received under the program if a development business fails to meet the requirements of the program or if the building space is sold or leased to a retail business within five years of the completion of construction, expansion or rehabilitation.

   The Act provides that a business eligible to receive incentives and assistance under the other portion of the Enterprise Zone Program and located in a building for which a development business received incentives and assistance under the program shall receive reduced incentives and assistance. An eligible business shall not receive a benefit that has already been received by the eligible development business.

   The Act amends the new investment tax credit under the New Jobs and Income Act that is also currently available under the Enterprise Zone Program. The Act amends the term "new investment directly related to new jobs created by the location or expansion of an eligible business under the program" to remove the requirement that the cost of improvements made to real property must be that which receives a partial property tax exemption for the actual value added. The Act provides a number of conforming amendments necessary as a result of adding the development business provisions to the Enterprise Zone Program.

   The Act amends the housing business portion of the Enterprise Zone Program. The Act eliminates the $120,000 maximum limit that a single-family home or each unit of a multiple dwelling unit containing three or more units may be worth after completion of the building or rehabilitation. The Act provides that new investment that may be used to compute the tax credit that a housing business may claim shall not exceed the new investment used for the first $140,000 of value for each single-family home or for each unit of a multiple dwelling unit building containing three or more units.

   The Act amends the sales, services and use tax refund allowed for eligible housing businesses to require that the refund is for taxes paid by an eligible business, including an eligible business acting as a contractor or subcontractor. This provision of the Act takes effect May 16, 2001, and is retroactively applicable to July 1, 1998. The remainder of the Act is retroactively applicable to January 1, 2001.

HOUSE FILE 384 - Economic and Community Development and Job Training Programs (full text of act)

   BY COMMITTEE ON ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT. This Act eliminates a number of provisions of the Code related to duties and programs of the Department of Economic Development (DED). The Act eliminates the management duty of DED for the Iowa High Technology Council. The Act eliminates the Microenterprise Development Program and Revolving Fund. The Act eliminates the ability of DED to enter into cooperative agreements to provide funds under the terms of Section 123 of the federal Job Training Partnership Act of 1982.

   The Act repeals Code sections and departmental duties relating to coordinating the formation of a statewide regional network of private sector small business economic development corporations; repeals the Rural Community 2000 Program and related Code sections; repeals Code sections related to local development corporations and financial assistance for such corporations; repeals Code sections and departmental duties related to the Iowa Seed Capital Corporation, the Iowa Export Trading Company, the Iowa Business Investment Corporation, and the Iowa Capital Investment Board; and repeals the Job Training Partnership Program. The Act makes conforming amendments to the Code as a result of Code provisions eliminated in the Act.

HOUSE FILE 694 - Housing Trust -- VETOED BY THE GOVERNOR (full text of act)

   BY COMMITTEE ON ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT. This bill related to housing by creating a Housing Trust Fund and a Housing Trust Commission.

   The Iowa Finance Authority (IFA) and the Department of Economic Development (DED) would have jointly administered the Housing Trust Fund. Moneys in the fund would be used for any housing-related program administered by IFA and DED.

   The bill would have required the nine-member Housing Trust Commission, in cooperation with IFA, DED, the Attorney General, and the Iowa Department of Public Health, to provide the General Assembly and the Governor with an interim process report regarding preliminary findings and a final report regarding the implementation of the consolidation of all housing programs under one agency. The bill would have required the commission to submit an annual written report to the General Assembly and the Governor regarding, at a minimum, the activities of the commission and any recommendations regarding legislation.

   The bill would have repealed the provisions of the bill relating to the commission on June 30, 2004.

RELATED LEGISLATION

SENATE FILE 141 -- Accelerated Career Education Program -- Allocation of Program Job Credits (Complete summary under TAXATION.)

   This Act amends the Accelerated Career Education Program in relation to using program job credits to meet program job costs.

SENATE FILE 267 -- Supplemental Appropriations and Reductions (Complete summary under APPROPRIATIONS.)

   This Act relates to state budgetary matters by making reductions to appropriations made for FY 2000-2001 from the General Fund of the State and includes various reductions in appropriations made to the departments of Economic Development and Workforce Development.

SENATE FILE 525 -- Federal Block Grant Appropriations (Complete summary under APPROPRIATIONS.)

   This Act appropriates federal block grant and other nonstate moneys to state agencies for the federal fiscal year beginning October 1, 2001, and ending September 30, 2002. The Act includes funding for various economic development programs, including the Community Development Block Grant.

HOUSE FILE 292 -- Information Technology Department -- Financial Operations and Transactions (Complete summary under STATE GOVERNMENT.)

   This Act authorizes the Information Technology Department to accept contributions and expend them in conducting departmental functions and to charge a negotiated fee to recover a share of the costs related to research and development, initial production, and derivative products of its proprietary software and hardware, telecommunications architecture design, and proprietary technology applications developed to support authorized users.

HOUSE FILE 383 -- Designation of Model Communities -- Approval (Complete summary under STATE GOVERNMENT)

    This Act provides requirements that must be met prior to any state financial support being disbursed to a person under the project, pilot project, or similar initiative undertaken by the Governor or the executive branch which includes the designation of a model community.

HOUSE FILE 470 -- Iowa Communications Network -- Proprietary Interests (Complete summary under STATE GOVERNMENT.)

   This Act permits the Iowa Telecommunications and Technology Commission to charge a negotiated fee to recover a share of the costs related to research and development, initial production, and derivative products of its proprietary software and hardware, telecommunications architecture design, and proprietary technology applications developed to support authorized users.

HOUSE FILE 695 -- School-to-Career Program -- Miscellaneous Changes (Complete summary under EDUCATION.)

   This Act amends the School-to-Career Program.

HOUSE FILE 696 -- Employment Security Administrative Contribution Surcharge -- Computation -- Use of Funds -- EXTRAORDINARY SESSION (Complete summary under LABOR & EMPLOYMENT.)

   This Act relates to payment of the employment security administrative contribution surcharge and the permissible uses of the moneys in the Administrative Contribution Surcharge Fund. The Act takes effect June 26, 2001.

   This Act relates to regulatory and expenditure matters and includes authorization for the Treasurer of State to create bond reserve funds for the Vision Iowa Fund and for the Department of General Services to take various actions involving development of a parking structure and office facilities on the Capitol Complex. HOUSE FILE 714 - Community Development Program -- Tax Credits -- VETOED BY THE GOVERNOR SEE TAXATION. This bill would have established a Community Development Program, administered by the Department of Economic Development, to provide tax incentives to businesses that make contributions to projects in communities or neighborhoods that would benefit by these projects or make expenditures to provide child care benefits to their employees. The tax incentives would be in the form of tax credits of up to $100,000 to offset the tax liability under the individual and corporate income taxes, the financial institution franchise tax, the insurance gross premiums tax, and the credit union moneys and credits tax.

HOUSE FILE 698 -- Appropriations -- Regulatory and Expenditure Matters -- EXTRAORDINARY SESSION (Complete summary under APPROPRIATIONS.)

HOUSE FILE 718 -- Appropriations -- Economic Development (Complete summary under APPROPRIATIONS.)

   This Act makes a number of appropriations from the General Fund of the State, the Iowa Community Development Loan Fund, and the Community Attraction and Tourism Fund to the Department of Economic Development for the administration of the department and for specific programs and funds.

HOUSE FILE 742 -- Appropriations -- Infrastructure and Capital Projects (Complete summary under APPROPRIATIONS.)

   This Act makes several changes related to the Community Attraction and Tourism Program, Vision Iowa Program, and School Infrastructure Program.

HOUSE FILE 755 -- Miscellaneous Appropriations, Reductions, and Other Provisions (Complete summary under APPROPRIATIONS.)

   Division V of this Act maintains the limit on program job credits under the Accelerated Career Education Program at the same level as FY 2000-2001 instead of increasing it as currently provided in Code Section 260G.4B.

© 1998 Cornell College and League of Women Voters of Iowa

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