Bill > A353

Introduced Session

This bill increases financial assistance to urban enterprise zones (UEZs) over a seven-year period, by dedicating from the beginning of Fiscal Year 2016 to the end of Fiscal Year 2022, one half of one penny for every dollar of sales tax revenues, as increased annually, in the sales tax of goods and services in UEZs subject to the tax, to the accounts held in the Urban Enterprise Zone Assistance Fund (UEZ Assistance Fund) in the name of the respective municipalities having UEZs. The bill ends all UEZ Assistance fund appropriations to UEZs at the end of the seven-year period and thereafter dedicates all sales tax collection revenues in UEZs to the General Fund. In doing so, the bill deletes the schedule of financial assistance to UEZs and municipalities having UEZs as provided in current law but continues the 20-year original designation period as well as the one-time 16-year extension period for qualified UEZs. The bill increases the sales tax in UEZs from 3.5 percent to seven percent over the seven-year period to provide funding to UEZs from the UEZ Assistance Fund. The bill requires UEZs to contribute an increasing percentage from at least 10 percent in Fiscal Year 2016, to at least 40 percent in Fiscal Year 2020 and thereafter, of UEZ funds to be spent on eligible capital projects and public improvements in UEZs and grant and loan programs for qualified UEZ businesses. Further, under the same designation period as for UEZs, the bill increases the amount of the reduced sales tax collected by qualified businesses located in UEZ-impacted business districts.

AI Summary

Committee Categories

Sean Kean (R)*,  Edward Thomson (R)*, 

Introduced, Referred to Assembly Commerce and Economic Development Committee (on 01/14/2020)

Official Document