Prospects far Community Economic Development Are Finally Looking Up

摘要

With an economic crash, double-digit unemployment, widespread foreclosures and the dissolution of redevelopment and enterprise zones in recent years, good news has been hard to come by for city economic development, but now it appears that things are moving in a more positive direction. After several years of trying to enact new tax increment authority for local agencies, the League's lobbying efforts finally paid off in late 2014 when Governor Jerry Brown signed legislation addressing two new economic development tools. These laws took effect in January 2015: SB 628 (Beall), Chapter 785, Statutes of 2014. This Enhanced Infrastructure Financing District (EIFD) law provides broad authority for local agencies to use tax increment to finance a wide variety of infrastructure, affordable housing and industrial and sustainable development. While not as financially robust as redevelopment, this tool has extensive flexibility. No public vote is required to establish an authority, but a 55 percent vote is required to issue bonds. Some minor but necessary cleanup to this bill is contained in AB 313 (Atkins), now pending in the Legislature.