HB 1085 / Chamber Opposed
A bill that would make changes to the membership of redevelopment commissions across the state and require excess revenue from a tax increment financing (TIF) district to be passed through to other units of government stalled in the House this week. An amended version of House Bill 1085, authored by Rep. Bob Cherry (R-Greenfield), passed the Ways and Means Committee mostly along party lines. An early indication that the bill was in trouble occurred last week when it was returned to the second reading calendar after it was engrossed for further amendment. House Bill 1085 was not acted upon before the third reading deadline in the House and so it has died.
The Chamber was opposed to various aspects of the bill, which would impinge on the flexibility of TIF for community economic development projects. Some legislators are seeking to address specific abuses of TIF. However, local government leaders rallied against HB 1085 and it seems were successful in defeating the legislation. The Chamber is committed to working with policymakers to identify ways that TIF is being abused and addressing those specific problems while leaving the economic development tool as flexible as possible.
David Ober is the Indiana Chamber’s vice president of taxation and public finance. Ober, a native of Noble County, started with the Chamber in June 2022 and is a former state legislator and commissioner for the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission.
