COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE
FOR
Senate Bill No. 280
(By Senators McCabe, Bailey, Foster and Plymale)
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[Originating in the Committee on Finance;
reported February 21, 2008.]
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A BILL to amend and reenact §8-13B-3, §8-13B-5, §8-13B-7, §8-13B-11
and §8-13B-14 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended,
all relating to modifying the Downtown Redevelopment Act and
specifying additional expenditures from the Downtown
Redevelopment District Fund.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That §8-13B-3, §8-13B-5, §8-13B-7, §8-13B-11 and §8-13B-14 of
the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, be amended and
reenacted, all to read as follows:
ARTICLE 13B. DOWNTOWN REDEVELOPMENT DISTRICTS.
§8-13B-3. Definitions.
For purposes of this article, the term:
(1) "Committee" or "council" means
the committee established
in subdivision (3) (6), subsection (d), section eighteen-a, article
twenty-two, chapter twenty-nine the
West Virginia Development Office created in section one, article two, chapter five-b of this
code;
(2) "District" means a downtown redevelopment district created
pursuant to this article;
(3) "District board" means a district board created pursuant
to section ten of this article;
(4) "Downtown property" means any taxable or exempt real
property which is classified for ad valorem real property tax
purposes as Class IV;
(5) "Gross annual district tax revenue amount" means the total
amount of consumers sales and service tax actually remitted to the
Tax Commissioner by vendors maintaining places of business within
the district with respect to sales made and services rendered by
such vendors from a location within the district for the twelve
full calendar months immediately preceding the filing of an
application pursuant to section seven of this article;
(6) "Municipality" means a municipal corporation recognized as
such in this;
and
(7) "Redevelopment expenditures" means payments for
governmental functions, programs, activities, facility
construction, improvements and other goods and services which a
district board is authorized to perform or provide under section
five of this article;
and
(8) "Remediation" means measures undertaken to bring about the reconditioning or restoration of property located within the
boundaries of a downtown redevelopment district project that has
been affected by exploration, industrial operations or solid waste
disposal and which measures, when undertaken, will eliminate or
ameliorate the existing state of the property and enable the
property to be commercially developed.
§8-13B-5. Redevelopment expenditures.
Any municipality that has established a downtown redevelopment
district under this article may make, or authorize to be made by a
district board and other public or private parties,
such
redevelopment expenditures as will restore or promote the economic
vitality of the district and the general welfare of the
municipality, including, but not limited to, expenditures for the
following purposes:
(a) Beautification of the district, by means such as
landscaping and construction and erection of fountains, shelters,
benches, sculptures, signs, lighting, decorations and similar
amenities;
(b) Provision of special or additional public services, such
as sanitation, security for persons and property and the
construction and maintenance of public facilities, including
sidewalks and other public areas;
(c) Making payments for principal, interest, issuance costs,
any of the costs described in section eighteen of this article and appropriate reserves for bonds and other instruments and
arrangements issued or entered into by the municipality for
financing the expenditures of the district described in this
section and to otherwise implement the purposes of this article;
(d) Providing financial support for public transportation and
vehicle parking facilities open to the general public, whether or
not physically situate within the district's boundaries;
(e) Acquiring, demolishing, razing, constructing, repairing,
reconstructing, refurbishing, renovating, rehabilitating,
expanding, altering, otherwise developing, operating and
maintaining real property generally, parking facilities, commercial
structures and other capital improvements to real property,
fixtures and tangible personal property, whether or not physically
situate within the district's boundaries;
(f) Developing plans for the architectural design of the
district and portions thereof and developing plans and programs for
the future development of the district;
(g) Developing, promoting and supporting community events and
activities open to the general public;
(h) Providing the administrative costs for a district
management program;
(i) Providing for the usual and customary maintenance and
upkeep of all improvements and amenities in the district as may be
commercially reasonable and necessary to sustain its economic viability on a permanent basis;
(j) Providing any other services which the municipality or
district board is authorized to perform and which the municipality
does not also perform to the same extent on a municipality wide
basis;
(k) Making grants to the owners or tenants of downtown
property for the purposes described in this section;
(l) Acquiring an interest in any entity or entities that own
any portion of the real property situate in the district and
contributing capital to
any such the entity or entities;
and
(m) Remediation of publicly or privately owned landfills,
solid waste facilities or hazardous waste sites to facilitate
commercial development which would not otherwise be economically
feasible; and
(m) (n) To do any and all things necessary, desirable or
appropriate to carry out and accomplish the purposes of this
article:
Provided, That notwithstanding anything in this code to
the contrary, any redevelopment expenditure made by a licensed race
track, as defined in section three, article twenty-two-a, chapter
twenty-nine of this code, within thirty days after
such a
redevelopment expenditure
shall have been is requested in writing
by the district board shall entitle
such the licensed race track to
receive the same recoupment from its capital reinvestment fund
account as any other capital improvement expenditure described in subsection (b), section ten-c, article twenty-two-a, chapter
twenty-nine of this code.
§8-13B-7. Application to committee for approval of a downtown
redevelopment district project.
(a) The committee shall receive and act on applications filed
with it by municipalities pursuant to section six of this article.
Each
such application must contain a copy of the notice described
in section six of this article; a general description of the
capital improvements, additional or extended services and other
proposed redevelopment expenditures to be made in the district; a
description of the proposed method of financing
such redevelopment
expenditures, together with a description of
such the reserves to
be established for financing on going redevelopment expenditures
necessary to permanently maintain the optimum economic viability of
the district following its inception:
Provided, That the amounts
of
such the reserves shall not exceed the amounts that would be
required by ordinary commercial capital market considerations; a
description of the sources and anticipated amounts of all
such
financing, including, but not limited to, proceeds from the
issuance of any bonds or other instruments, revenues from the
special district excise tax and enhanced revenues from municipal
business and occupation taxes, property taxes and fees; a
description of the financial contribution of the municipality to
the funding of redevelopment expenditures, which contribution may include, but not be necessarily limited to, incremental business
and occupation taxes generated from district; a description of the
financial contribution to the funding of redevelopment expenditures
by the county commission of the county in which the district is
situate; identification of any entities which the municipality
expects to relocate their business locations from the district to
another place in the state in connection with the establishment of
district:
Provided,
however, That for purposes of this article,
any such entities shall be designated "relocated entities"; a good
faith estimate of the aggregate amount of consumers sales and
service tax that was actually remitted to the Tax Commissioner by
all relocated entities with respect to their sales made and
services rendered from their business locations in the district for
the twelve full calendar months next preceding the date of the
application:
Provided further, That for purposes of this article,
such the aggregate amount shall be designated as "the relocated tax
revenue amount"; a good faith estimate of the gross annual district
tax revenue amount; and the proposed application of any surplus
from all funding sources to further the objectives of this article:
And provided further, That the amount of all redevelopment
expenditures proposed to be made in the first twenty-four months
following the creation of the district shall be not less than fifty
million dollars:
And provided further, That for downtown
redevelopment district projects involving remediation the period shall be forty-eight months. The committee may not approve a
project involving remediation authorized under section five of this
article unless the municipality submits clear and convincing
information, to the satisfaction of the committee, that the
proposed remediation expenditures to be financed by the issuance of
bonds or notes pursuant to section fourteen of this article do not
constitute more than twenty-five percent of the total redevelopment
expenditures associated with the project. The committee may
establish other criteria for approving
such applications:
And
provided further, That the committee shall act to approve or not
approve any
such application within thirty days following the
receipt of the application:
And provided further, That the
committee may not approve more than one application in the absence
of further authorization of the Legislature.
(b) If the committee approves a municipality's downtown
redevelopment district project application, it shall issue to the
municipality a written certificate evidencing
such their approval:
Provided, That
such the certificate shall expressly state a base
tax revenue amount which, for purposes of this article shall be the
difference between the gross annual district tax revenue amount and
the relocated tax revenue amount all of which the council shall
have determined with respect to
such the district's application
based on
such the investigation as it
may deem considers reasonable
and necessary, including, but not limited to, any relevant information the council shall request from the Tax Commissioner and
the Tax Commissioner shall provide to the council:
Provided,
however, That, in determining the base tax revenue amount, in lieu
of confirmation from the Tax Commissioner of the gross annual
district tax revenue amount, the council shall use the estimate of
the gross annual district tax revenue amount provided by the
municipality pursuant to subsection (a) of this section.
(c) The council may promulgate rules to implement the downtown
redevelopment district project application approval process and to
describe the criteria and procedures it has established in
connection therewith. These rules are not subject to the
provisions of chapter twenty-nine-a of this code, but shall be
filed with the Secretary of State.
§8-13B-11. Special district excise tax authorized.
(a) The governing body of a municipality, authorized by the
Legislature to establish a downtown redevelopment district, may, by
ordinance, impose a special district excise tax on the privilege of
selling tangible personal property and rendering selected services
in the district in accordance with this section.
(b) The base of a special district excise tax imposed pursuant
to this section shall be identical to the base of the consumers
sales and service tax imposed pursuant to article fifteen, chapter
eleven of this code on sales made and services rendered within the
boundaries of the district:
Provided, That, except for the exemption provided in section nine-f, article fifteen, chapter
eleven of this code, all exemptions and exceptions from the
consumers sales and service tax shall also apply to the special
district excise tax.
(c) The rate of a special district excise tax imposed pursuant
to this section shall be provided in an ordinance adopted by the
governing body of the municipality and shall be six cents on the
dollar of sales and services subject to the tax.
(d) The ordinance of a municipality imposing a special
district excise tax shall provide procedures for the
administration, assessment, collection and enforcement of the tax
in conformity with similar provisions and requirements set forth in
articles ten and fifteen, chapter eleven of this code and to those
procedures in article ten, chapter eleven of this code and shall
conform with such provisions as they relate to waiver of penalties
and additions to tax:
Provided, That the governing body of the
municipality shall, in any such ordinance, also provide that the
state Tax Commissioner shall administer, assess, collect and
enforce a special district excise tax on behalf of and as the agent
for the municipality as provided in section eleven-a of said
article.
(e) The ordinance of a municipality imposing a special
district excise tax shall provide that the Tax Commissioner shall
deposit the net amount of tax collected in the special Downtown Redevelopment District Fund to the credit of the municipality's
subaccount therein and may only be used to pay for development
expenditures provided under this article:
Provided, That the state
Treasurer shall withhold from the municipality's subaccount in the
Downtown Redevelopment District Fund and shall deposit in the
General Revenue Fund of this state, on or before the fifteenth day
of each calendar month next following the effective date of a
special district excise tax, a sum equal
: (i) To one twelfth of the
base tax revenue amount last certified by the council pursuant to
section seven of this article
; plus (ii) not less than twenty
percent nor more than fifty percent of the excess of the special
district excise taxes collected during the preceding month above
one twelfth of the base tax revenue, said percentage to be fixed by
the committee in conjunction with its approval of an application in
accordance with section seven of this article based on the amount
of state funds, if any, to be expended in conjunction with the
respective downtown redevelopment district project for items
including, but not limited to, the acquisition, construction,
reconstruction, improvement, enlargement or extension of roadways,
rights-of-way, sidewalks, traffic signals, water or sewer lines and
other public infrastructure and such other expenditures of state
funds identified by the committee.
(f) Any taxes imposed pursuant to the authority of this
section shall be effective on the first day of the calendar month that begins on or after the date of adoption of an ordinance
imposing such tax or at such later date expressly designated in the
ordinance that begins on the first day of a calendar month.
§8-13B-14. Bonds issued to finance downtown redevelopment district
projects.
The governing body of a municipality may issue bonds or notes
for the purpose of financing redevelopment expenditures, as
described in section five of this article, with respect to one or
more downtown redevelopment district projects within the
municipality. All bonds issued by a municipality under the
authority of this article shall be limited obligations of the
municipality. No municipality may issue notes, bonds or other
instruments for funding district projects or improvements that
exceed a repayment schedule of forty years.
The maximum repayment
schedule of bonds issued to finance remediation authorized under
section five of this article may not exceed twenty years. The
principal and interest on
such the bonds shall be payable out of
the funds on deposit in the subaccount established for the downtown
redevelopment district pursuant to section eight of this article,
including, without limitation, any funds derived from the special
district excise tax imposed by section eleven of this article or
other revenues derived from the downtown redevelopment project to
the extent pledged for
such the purpose by the governing body of
the municipality in the resolution authorizing the bonds. To the extent that the average daily amount on deposit in the subaccount
established for a district pursuant to section eight of this
article exceeds, for more than six consecutive calendar months, the
sum of: (1) One hundred thousand dollars; plus (2) the amount
required to be kept on deposit pursuant to the documents
authorizing, securing or otherwise relating to the bonds or notes
issued under this section, then
such the excess shall be used by
the district either to redeem the bonds or notes previously issued
or shall be remitted to the General Revenue Fund of this state.
The bonds and any interest coupons issued under the authority of
this article shall never constitute an indebtedness of the
municipality issuing the same within the meaning of any
constitutional provision or statutory limitation and shall never
constitute or give rise to a pecuniary liability of the
municipality issuing the same. Neither shall
such any bond nor
interest thereon be a charge against the general credit or taxing
powers of the municipality and
such that fact shall be plainly
stated on the face of each
such bond.
Such Bonds may be executed,
issued and delivered at any time and from time to time; may be in
such any form and denomination; may be of such tenor; must be
negotiable, but may be registered as to the principal thereof or as
to the principal and interest thereof; may be payable in
such
amounts and at such time or times; may be payable at such place or
places; may bear interest at
such rate or rates payable at
such place or places and evidenced in such manner; and may contain
such
provisions therein not inconsistent herewith, all as shall be
provided in the proceedings of the governing body of the
municipality whereunder the bonds shall be authorized to be issued.
Said Bonds may be sold by the governing body of the municipality at
public or private sale at, above or below par, as the governing
body of the municipality shall authorize.
The bonds issued pursuant to this article shall be signed by
the mayor or other chief officer thereof and attested by the clerk,
recorder or other official custodian of the records of
said the
municipality and under the seal of the municipality. Any coupons
attached thereto shall bear the facsimile signature of the mayor or
other chief officer of the municipality. In case any of the
officials whose signatures appear on the bonds or coupons shall
cease to be
such officers before the delivery of
such the bonds,
such the signatures shall, nevertheless, be valid and sufficient
for all purposes to the same extent as if they had remained in
office until
such delivery.
If the proceeds of
such the bonds, by error of calculation or
otherwise, shall be less than the cost of the downtown
redevelopment district project or if additional real or personal
property is to be added to the downtown redevelopment district
project or if it is determined that financing is needed for
additional redevelopment expenditures, additional bonds may in like manner be issued to provide the amount of the deficiency or to
defray the cost of acquiring or financing
such additional real or
personal property or
such redevelopment expenditures and unless
otherwise provided for in the trust agreement, mortgage or deed of
trust,
shall be deemed is considered to be of the same issue and
shall be entitled to payment from the same fund, without preference
or priority, and shall be of equal priority as to any security.
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