Posted: | February 26, 2019 11:22 AM |
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From: | Representative Mark Longietti |
To: | All House members |
Subject: | City Revitalization Improvement Zones (CRIZ) Expansion |
Many of the Commonwealth’s cities have experienced economic hardships over the years. The City Revitalization Improvement Zones (CRIZ) program was designed to spur new growth, create jobs, and revive downtowns by using state and local taxes collected within the CRIZ to repay debt service for development projects therein. However, under the CRIZ initiative, only two cities are authorized to participate each year. My legislation would authorize a CRIZ in a total of 15 third-class and second-class-A cities before 2021, divided among four categories of population: four in cities of 60,000 or more; four in cities between 20,000 and 60,000; four in cities up to 20,000; and in three additional cities regardless of population. After 2021, all population restrictions for entry into the program would be lifted. Those cities in Act 47 protection would be given priority approval. Additionally, the bill would modify the existing pilot zone program, which allows one township or borough to introduce a CRIZ, by expanding the number of authorized pilot zones to five and by lowering the population requirement for those municipalities to 2,000 from 7,000, without restriction by the form of county government. Please join me in supporting this measure, which I believe reflects the reality of the economic state of our cities and gives them a fighting chance of recovery. Thank you for your consideration. Previous co-sponsors: SAINATO, FREEMAN, THOMAS, ROTHMAN, D. COSTA, McNEILL, MADDEN, MILLARD, CALTAGIRONE, MULLERY, V. BROWN, MATZIE and TOOHIL |
Introduced as HB914