Rep. Scott Drury

Filed: 4/17/2013

 

 


 

 


 
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1
AMENDMENT TO HOUSE BILL 2958

2    AMENDMENT NO. ______. Amend House Bill 2958, AS AMENDED, by
3replacing everything after the enacting clause with the
4following:
 
5    "Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the
6Economic Policy Planning Act.
 
7    Section 5. Findings and purpose. The General Assembly finds
8that:
9    (a) The State of Illinois does not currently have a
10comprehensive policy on economic development incentives.
11Instead, the State has a wide variety of incentives reducing
12specific State or local tax burdens that are provided mostly
13upon request by citizens and corporations. This creates an
14uncertain tax environment for businesses in Illinois and, as
15witnessed during the fall 2011 veto session, can leave the
16State vulnerable to competition from other states that have

 

 

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1tried to entice businesses with financial incentives to
2relocate or expand outside of Illinois.
3    (b) In Fiscal Year 2010, the State spent a total of
4$313,600,000 on tax incentives for businesses. According to
52009 Illinois Department of Revenue data, only 0.7% of the more
6than 450,000 corporations filing taxes in Illinois take
7advantage of these tax incentives.
8    (c) The State of Illinois must develop a formal economic
9development policy to guide the awarding of incentives. A
10transparent economic development policy would effectively curb
11economic brinksmanship by Illinois businesses by creating a
12predictable process for applying for and earning tax
13incentives. Such a policy needs to be in place before the State
14renews, expands, or creates any economic development
15incentives, and to guide policy makers in determining which tax
16incentives are most beneficial to the State.
 
17    Section 10. Economic Policy Planning Commission.
18    (a) There is created the Economic Policy Planning
19Commission. The Commission shall have 10 voting members
20appointed as follows:
21        One member of the General Assembly, who shall serve as
22    co-chairperson, and one member of the public appointed by
23    the President of the Senate;
24        One member of the General Assembly and one member of
25    the public appointed by the Minority Leader of the Senate;

 

 

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1        One member of the General Assembly, who shall serve as
2    co-chairperson, and one member of the public appointed by
3    the Speaker of the House of Representatives;
4        One member of the General Assembly and one member of
5    the public appointed by the Minority Leader of the House of
6    Representatives; and
7        2 members appointed by the Governor.
8        The Director of the Department of Commerce and Economic
9    Opportunity, or his or her designee, the Director of the
10    Department of Revenue, or his or her designee, the
11    Secretary of the Department of Transportation, or his or
12    her designee, the Executive Director of the Capital
13    Development Board, or his or her designee, and the
14    Executive Director of the Illinois Finance Authority, or
15    his or her designee, shall serve as non-voting, ex-officio
16    members of the Commission.
17    (b) The co-chairpersons may appoint such other individuals
18as they may deem helpful as non-voting members of the
19Commission.
20    (c) The members of the Commission shall serve without
21compensation, but may be reimbursed for expenses from funds
22appropriated for that purpose.
23    (d) The Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity
24shall provide administrative support, together with meeting
25space, to assist the Commission in fulfilling its mission.
26    (e) All appointments required by this Section shall be made

 

 

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1within 60 days of the effective date of this Act.
 
2    Section 15. Meetings.
3    (a) The Commission shall conduct meetings, conference
4calls, or both, as the co-chairpersons shall direct, and shall
5conduct at least 2 public hearings, as the co-chairpersons
6shall direct, before filing its final written findings and
7recommendations as provided in Section 25 of this Act.
8Additional public hearings may be held at the discretion of the
9co-chairpersons.
10    (b) The public hearings shall be held at geographically
11convenient locations around the State. The locations, dates and
12times of the public hearings shall be determined by the
13co-chairpersons, on a schedule that is publicly announced in
14area newspapers, State buildings, websites, and other media no
15less than 2 weeks in advance of each hearing. All hearings
16shall be completed at least 2 months prior to the time for
17submission of the final written findings and recommendations as
18provided in Section 25 of this Act.
19    (c) At the public hearings, the Commission shall allow
20interested persons to present their views and comments and to
21present any written literature, statements, articles, or
22comments. Based on attendance and time frames, the Commission
23may set limits for the time each speaker may comment. These
24hearings may be continued if all persons could not be heard.
 

 

 

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1    Section 20. Activities and purpose.
2    (a) The Commission will conduct a thorough review of the
3current economic condition of the State of Illinois, which may
4include its natural resources, geography, infrastructure,
5businesses, workforce, and educational system, within the
6context of the national and international economy.
7    (b) The Commission will also conduct a thorough review of
8relevant and available studies relating to the current economic
9condition of the State of Illinois as compared to other states,
10and the nation, including those studies conducted by
11governments, universities, and reputable groups and
12institutions. The Commission shall also conduct a review of all
13laws and regulations relating to economic planning in the State
14of Illinois, other states, and the nation.
15    (c) Through the public hearings required in Section 15 of
16this Act and otherwise, the Commission will gather information,
17review studies, evaluate testimony, and consider and summarize
18written comments received, and shall make written findings and
19recommendations as required in Section 25 of this Act.
 
20    Section 25. Report; legislation.
21    (a) The Commission shall make its report to the General
22Assembly on or before December 31, 2014. The report of the
23Commission shall detail those findings and recommendations
24supported by a majority of the voting members.
25    (b) The findings and recommendations shall include, but are

 

 

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1not limited to:
2        (1) Specific goals and objectives for the economy of
3    the State of Illinois, including but not limited to: target
4    economic sectors, business retention or recruitment,
5    geographic focus, job creation, blight mitigation,
6    improving economically distressed neighborhoods, and
7    environmental improvements. The goals and objectives shall
8    be stated in measurable terms, so that they can be used to
9    provide context and accountability for the use of economic
10    development incentives.
11        (2) Specified types of economic development
12    incentives, including eligibility and qualifications for
13    individual firms, maximum funding for particular programs,
14    the jurisdictions that will use them and the extent to
15    which those jurisdictions may use them.
16        (3) A clearly defined evaluation process for each type
17    of economic development incentive, including, but not
18    limited to:
19            (A) how a proposal measures up to established
20        economic development criteria;
21            (B) a cost/benefit analysis;
22            (C) an evaluation of tax base impact, both in terms
23        of increases in taxable value and, where a Tax
24        Increment Financing District is proposed, the impact
25        on all overlapping taxing jurisdictions;
26            (D) an analysis of the impact of a project on

 

 

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1        existing businesses;
2            (E) a determination of whether the project would
3        have proceeded if the incentive is not provided; and
4            (F) the required documentation for demonstrating
5        these criteria.
6        (4) Specific performance standards for each project
7    receiving economic development incentives, to help gauge
8    the effectiveness of both the specific economic
9    development incentives provided as well as the State's
10    overall economic development program, together with the
11    recovery of promised financial benefits, through clawbacks
12    or linkage agreements, of recipients failing to fulfill
13    their commitments.
14        (5) A process for ongoing and regular monitoring of the
15    economic development incentives granted and the
16    performance of each project receiving incentives,
17    including the designation or creation of a State agency or
18    other body to provide the monitoring. Ongoing and regular
19    monitoring must include, at a minimum, the examination of
20    performance standards relative to each economic
21    development agreement, and the determination of whether
22    the goals for each project have been achieved within the
23    defined timeframe.
24    (c) In addition to the report, the Commission shall provide
25to the General Assembly its recommendations in the form of
26legislation. The Legislative Reference Bureau shall provide

 

 

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1drafting assistance to the Commission.
 
2    Section 30. Repealer. This Act is repealed on December 31,
32015.
 
4    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
5becoming law.".