Amends TCA Title 7, Chapter 53.

Present law encourages the redevelopment of large brownfield sites in economically disadvantaged areas within large and mid-size counties by authorizing local governments to approve economic impact plans that allocate certain amounts of sales and property tax revenue to industrial corporations to pay expenses of the corporation in furtherance of economic development in the municipality and to pay or reimburse qualified costs or to pay debt service on bonds or other obligations issued by the corporation. This bill makes the urban brownfield redevelopment project statute applicable to "mid-size and small counties" rather than "large and mid-size counties". <br /> <br /> Under present law, an urban brownfield redevelopment project must occur on a parcel or parcels of land located in a redevelopment zone and must either contain at least one brownfield site or contain a site of at least 10 acres that has remained vacant or substantially unoccupied for at least five years and, at any time within 20 years prior to June 1, 2011, included a manufacturing, industrial, distribution, or retail facility containing at least 1 million square feet. This bill allows the total amount of manufacturing, industrial, distribution, or retail facility space to be used to meet the 1 million square feet threshold. <br /> <br /> A redevelopment zone must be located in a county with a population of 80,000, or more. This bill adds that a redevelopment zone must also be located in a county having a population of 336,400, or less. <br /> <br /> This bill adds that an industrial development corporation must cease to receive allocations of sales and property tax revenue upon the maturity of the original bond or obligation used to finance the project, whose maximum amount of debt maturity must be no longer than 30 years.<br /> <br /> ON APRIL 15, 2019, THE SENATE ADOPTED AMENDMENT #1 AND PASSED SENATE BILL 355, AS AMENDED.<br /> <br /> AMENDMENT #1 rewrites this bill and revises present law provisions governing redevelopment of brownfield sites in economically disadvantaged areas, as follows:<br /> <br /> (1) This amendment removes the reference to "large and mid-size counties" in the present law provision encouraging the redevelopment of large brownfield sites in economically disadvantaged areas within large and mid-size counties. Present law defines "brownfield site" as a parcel or adjacent or related parcels of real property containing at least five acres that is currently, or at any time since January 1, 2000, has been the subject of an investigation or remediation as a brownfield project under a voluntary agreement or consent order pursuant to applicable provisions of the Hazardous Waste Management Act; this amendment removes the reference to "containing at least five acres". <br /> <br /> (2) Under present law, all sales and property taxes allocated for an economic impact plan approved may only be applied by the industrial development corporation to pay expenses of the corporation in furtherance of economic development in the municipality, to pay or reimburse qualified costs, or to pay debt service on bonds or other obligations issued by the corporation to finance any of the foregoing. This amendment adds that the corporation will cease to receive allocations such allocations upon the maturity of the original bond or obligation used to finance the project, whose maximum amount of debt maturity must be no longer than 30 years. Also, this amendment redefines "qualified costs" to specifically include costs that are directly related to the investigation, remediation, or mitigation of a brownfield project located in an urban redevelopment project as required by a voluntary agreement or consent order under the applicable provisions of the Hazardous Waste Management Act.<br /> <br /> (3) Under present law, the parcels involved in an urban brownfield redevelopment project must be located in a redevelopment zone. Present law defines "redevelopment zone" as either an area designated as of January 1, 2009, as a renewal community by the federal department of housing and urban development or an area designated as of January 1, 2009, as a low income community for purposes of the federal new markets tax credits program; and the zone must also be located in a county having a population of 80,000 or more. This amendment redefines "redevelopment zone" to remove the population requirement and to include a qualified opportunity zone as a "redevelopment zone". This amendment defines "qualified opportunity zone" as census tracts identified as qualified opportunity zones as certified under the federal Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017. Also, under present law, an urban brownfield redevelopment project parcel or parcels of contiguous, adjacent, or related properties must total at least 100 acres; this amendment removes the 100-acre requirement.<br /> <br />