Over the course of the next several weeks, I intend to introduce legislation that would amend the act of April 9, 1929 (P.L. 343, No. 176) providing for City Revitalization and Improvement Zones.
The City Revitalization and Improvement Zone (CRIZ) Act will reinvest state and local tax funds created in a city directly back into the city. The focus of the CRIZ is to create jobs, improve business opportunities in underdeveloped communities and ultimately increase both state and local revenues through increased economic activity.
CRIZ highlights:
- Enables a Third Class City with a population of 40,000 to 70,000 (2010 Census) to create a City Revitalization and Improvement Zones.
- Authorizes the construction of facilities and redevelopment within a City Revitalization & Improvement Zone. For the purposes of redevelopment, eligible properties include vacant, blighted and/or abandoned properties to be used for commercial, exhibition, hospitality, conference, retail community and mixed-use purposes.
- City Revitalization & Improvement Zones in any one city may not exceed a total of 100 acres.
- A municipal authority created by the city may issue bonds for the purpose of financing improvements and redevelopment within the CRIZ.
- All state taxes collected from entities during construction and redevelopment in the CRIZ, from businesses currently located in the CRIZ and from any future business developed in the CRIZ will be transferred to the CRIZ Fund. The State Treasurer will make quarterly payments to the municipal authority from the Fund until the bonds issued to finance the redevelopment are retired.
- State taxes that will be collected and transferred to the CRIZ Fund include corporate net income taxes, capital stock and franchise taxes, sales and use taxes, taxes related to the sale of liquor, wine or malt/brewed beverages and personal income taxes.
- Earned Income Taxes collected from City residents employed within the CRIZ and Local Services Taxes collected from all individuals employed within the CRIZ will also be directed to the CRIZ Fund.
- CRIZ Funds may only be utilized for payment of debt service on bonds issued for the improvement and redevelopment of all or any part of the City Revitalization & Improvement Zone and for the purpose of paying bonds on qualifying facilities in existence prior to the creation of the CRIZ.
- Funds may not be utilized for purposes of renovating or repairing a facility or facility complex, except for capital maintenance, improvement projects and funding Furniture, Fixtures and Equipment Reserve Funds of qualifying facilities in existence prior to the creation of the CRIZ.
- The City Revitalization & Improvement Zone shall be in effect for a period equal to the length of time of the bonds that are initially issued.
- For the Commonwealth, the creation of the CRIZ must be revenue neutral, i.e. no net loss of revenue to the Commonwealth due to the transfer of state tax revenues to the CRIZ Fund. To ensure revenue neutrality for the Commonwealth, a city creating a CRIZ must provide financial support to the CRIZ until new state tax revenues created from the CRIZ exceed those produced prior to the creation of the CRIZ. Such financial support can be provided in form of direct funding, bond guarantees or a combination of the two. Any direct financial investment made by a city shall be the first funds to be repaid from the CRIZ Fund when sufficient revenues are available for repayment.
Previous co-sponsors of this legislation include Senators: Waugh, Yudichak, Pileggi, and Brubaker.
If you have questions as to the intent of the bill, please contact Matt Parido at mparido@pasen.gov.
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