Delete the title and insert the following:
A BILL FOR AN ACT to amend the Indiana Code concerning
economic development.
exemption incentive available under this chapter, IC 6-1.1-45,
IC 6-3-2-8, IC 6-3-3-10, IC 6-3.1-7, IC 6-3.1-9, or IC 6-3.1-10.
Sec. 5. As used in this chapter, "zone" means a railroad
redevelopment zone designated by the board under section 6 of this
chapter.
Sec. 6. (a) The board may designate an eligible area as a
railroad redevelopment zone at any time after receiving notice that
the rail line through the eligible area is the subject of a petition
described in section 2 of this chapter.
(b) Except as provided in section 8 of this chapter, the
geographic area of a railroad redevelopment zone designated
under this section consists of the territory located within
one-fourth (1/4) mile of the rail line for the entire length of the rail
line that is the subject of a petition described in section 2 of this
chapter.
(c) A railroad redevelopment zone expires ten (10) years after
the day on which it is designated by the board.
Sec. 7. The board has the following powers, in addition to other
powers that are contained in this article:
(1) To designate railroad redevelopment zones according to
the criteria for designation that this chapter provides.
(2) To waive or modify rules as provided in this chapter.
(3) To provide a procedure by which railroad redevelopment
zones may be monitored and evaluated on an annual basis.
(4) To adopt rules for the disqualification of a zone business
from eligibility for any or all incentives available to zone
businesses, if that zone business does not do one (1) of the
following:
(A) If all its incentives, as contained in the summary
required under section 10 of this chapter, exceed one
thousand dollars ($1,000) in any year, pay a registration
fee to the board in an amount equal to one percent (1%) of
all its incentives.
(B) Use all its incentives, except for the amount of the
registration fee, for its property or employees in the zone.
(C) Remain open and operating as a zone business for
twelve (12) months of the assessment year for which the
incentive is claimed.
(5) To disqualify a zone business from eligibility for any or all
incentives available to zone businesses in accordance with the
procedures set forth in the board's rules.
(6) To employ staff and contract for services for the
administration of the railroad redevelopment zone program.
(7) To receive funds from any source and expend the funds for
the administration and promotion of the railroad
redevelopment zone program.
Sec. 8. The board may modify a railroad redevelopment zone
boundary if the board determines that the modification is in the
best interests of the zone.
Sec. 9. An eligible entity or an employee of an eligible entity is
entitled to the benefits provided by the following statutes, as if the
eligible entity were located in an enterprise zone:
(1) IC 6-1.1-45.
(2) IC 6-3-2-8.
(3) IC 6-3-3-10.
(4) IC 6-3.1-7.
(5) IC 6-3.1-9.
(6) IC 6-3.1-10-6.
Sec. 10. (a) Subject to subsections (c) and (d), a zone business
that claims any of the incentives available to zone businesses shall,
by letter postmarked before June 1 of each year:
(1) submit to the board, on a form prescribed by the board, a
verified summary concerning the amount of tax credits and
exemptions claimed by the business in the preceding year; and
(2) pay the amount specified in section 7(4)(A) of this chapter
to the board.
(b) In order to determine the accuracy of the summary
submitted under subsection (a), the board is entitled to obtain
copies of a zone business's tax records directly from the
department of state revenue, the department of local government
finance, or a county official, notwithstanding any other law. A
summary submitted to a board or a record obtained by the board
under this section is confidential. A board member or employee of
the corporation who knowingly or intentionally discloses
information that is confidential under this section commits a Class
A misdemeanor.
(c) The board may grant one (1) extension of the time allowed
to comply with subsection (a). To qualify for an extension, a zone
business must apply to the board by letter postmarked before June
1. The application must be in the form specified by the board. The
extension may not exceed forty-five (45) days under rules adopted
by the board under IC 4-22-2.
(d) If a zone business that did not comply with subsection (a)
before June 1 and did not file for an extension under subsection (c)
before June 1 complies with subsection (a) before July 16, the
amount of the tax credit and exemption incentives for the
preceding year that were otherwise available to the zone business
because the business was a zone business are waived, unless the
zone business pays to the board a penalty of fifteen percent (15%)
of the amount of the tax credit and exemption incentives for the
preceding year that were otherwise available to the zone business
because the business was a zone business. A zone business that pays
a penalty under this subsection for a year must pay the penalty to
the board before July 16 of that year. The board shall deposit any
penalty payments received under this subsection in the railroad
development zone fund.
(e) This subsection is in addition to any other sanction imposed
by subsection (d) or any other law. If a zone business fails to
comply with subsection (a) before July 16 and does not pay any
penalty required under subsection (d) by letter postmarked before
July 16 of that year, the zone business is:
(1) denied all the tax credit and exemption incentives available
to a zone business because the business was a zone business
for that year; and
(2) disqualified from further participation in the railroad
redevelopment zone program under this chapter until the
zone business:
(A) petitions the board for readmission to the railroad
redevelopment zone program under this chapter; and
(B) pays a civil penalty of one hundred dollars ($100).
Sec. 11. (a) The railroad redevelopment zone fund is established
within the state treasury.
(b) The fund consists of:
(1) the revenue from the registration fee required under
section 7(4)(A) of this chapter;
(2) penalties deposited in the fund under section 10 of this
chapter; and
(3) appropriations from the general assembly.
(c) The corporation shall administer the fund. The fund may be
used to:
(1) pay the expenses of administering the fund;
(2) pay nonrecurring administrative expenses of the railroad
redevelopment zone program; and
(3) provide grants for brownfield remediation in railroad
redevelopment zones.
However, money in the fund may not be expended unless it has
been appropriated by the general assembly and allotted by the
budget agency.
(d) The treasurer of state shall invest the money in the fund not
currently needed to meet the obligations of the fund in the same
manner as other public funds may be invested. Interest that
accrues from these investments shall be deposited in the fund.
(e) Money in the fund at the end of a state fiscal year does not
revert to the state general fund. The corporation shall develop
appropriate applications and may develop grant allocation
guidelines, without complying with IC 4-22-2, for awarding grants
under this subsection. The grant allocation guidelines must take
into consideration the competitive impact of brownfield
redevelopment plans on existing zone businesses.
Sec. 12. (a) This section applies to records and other
information, including records and information that are otherwise
confidential, maintained by the following:
(1) The board.
(2) The department of state revenue.
(3) The corporation.
(4) The department of local government finance.
(5) A county auditor.
(6) A township assessor (if any).
(7) A county assessor.
(b) A person or an entity listed in subsection (a) may request
another person or entity described in subsection (a) to provide any
records or other information maintained by the second person or
entity that concern an individual or a business that is receiving a
tax deduction, exemption, or credit related to a railroad
redevelopment zone. Notwithstanding any other law, the person or
entity to whom the request is made under this section shall comply
with the request. A person or entity receiving records or
information under this section that are confidential shall also keep
the records or information confidential.
(c) A person or an entity that receives confidential records or
information under this section and knowingly or intentionally
discloses the records or information to an unauthorized person
commits a Class A misdemeanor.
Sec. 13. (a) Any business that substantially reduces or ceases an
operation located in Indiana and outside a railroad redevelopment
zone (referred to as a nonzone operation) in order to relocate in an
Indiana railroad redevelopment zone is disqualified from benefits
or incentives available to zone businesses. Determinations under
this section shall be made by a hearing panel composed of the
chairperson of the board or the chairperson's designee, the
commissioner of the department of state revenue or the
commissioner's designee, and the commissioner of the department
of local government finance or the commissioner's designee. The
panel, after an evidentiary hearing held subsequent to the
relocation of the business, shall submit a recommended order to
the board for its adoption. The recommended order shall be based
on the following criteria and subsection (b):
(1) A site specific economic activity, including sales, leasing,
service, manufacturing, production, storage of inventory, or
any activity involving permanent full-time or part-time
employees shall be considered a business operation.
(2) With respect to a nonzone operation, any of the following
that occurs during the twelve (12) months before the
completion of the physical relocation of all or part of the
activity described in subdivision (1) from the nonzone
operation to the enterprise zone as compared with the twelve
(12) months before that twelve (12) months is considered a
substantial reduction:
order. The business and these persons shall be considered parties
for purposes of this section.
(d) A party who wishes to oppose the board's adoption of the
recommended order of the hearing panel shall, not later than ten
(10) days after the party's receipt of the recommended order, file
written objections with the board. If the objections are filed, the
board shall set the objections for oral argument and give notice to
the parties. A party at its own expense may cause to be filed with
the board a transcript of the oral testimony or any other part of
the record of the proceedings. The oral argument must be on the
record filed with the board. The board may hear additional
evidence or remand the action to the hearing panel with
instructions appropriate to the expeditious and proper disposition
of the action. The board may adopt the recommendations of the
hearing panel, may amend or modify the recommendations, or may
make an order or determination as is proper on the record.
(e) If no objections are filed, the board may adopt the
recommended order without oral argument. If the board does not
adopt the proposed findings of fact and recommended order, the
parties shall be notified and the action shall be set for oral
argument as provided in subsection (d).
(f) The final determination made by the board shall be made by
a majority of the quorum needed for board meetings.
Sec. 14. The state pledges to and agrees with the direct recipient
of any railroad redevelopment zone incentive under this chapter
that the state will not limit or alter the rights vested in the board to
fulfill the terms of any agreements it makes with those recipients
or in any way impair the rights and remedies of those recipients
until the terms of the incentive are fulfilled. The board may include
this pledge and agreement of the state in any agreement it makes
with the recipient.
who (1) has satisfies either of the following conditions:
(1) In the case of an individual employed in an enterprise
zone, the individual must do the following:
(A) Maintain the employee's principal place of residence in
the enterprise zone in which the employee is employed.
(2) performs (B) Perform services for the taxpayer, the
employer, the nonprofit entity, the state, the political
subdivision, or the United States government, ninety percent
(90%) of which are directly related to:
(A) (i) the conduct of the taxpayer's or employer's trade or
business; or
(B) (ii) the activities of the nonprofit entity, the state, the
political subdivision, or the United States government;
that is located in an enterprise zone. and
(3) performs (C) Perform at least fifty percent (50%) of the
employee's service for the taxpayer or employer during the
taxable year in the enterprise zone.
(2) In the case of an individual employed in a railroad
redevelopment zone, the individual must do the following:
(A) Perform services for an eligible entity (as defined by
IC 5-28-35-3), ninety percent (90%) of which are directly
related to the conduct of the eligible entity's trade or
business that is located in a railroad redevelopment zone.
(B) Perform at least fifty percent (50%) of the individual's
service for the eligible entity (as defined by IC 5-28-35-3)
during the taxable year in the railroad redevelopment
zone.
(b) Except as provided in subsection (c), a qualified employee is
entitled to a deduction from the employee's adjusted gross income in
each taxable year in the amount of the lesser of:
(1) one-half (1/2) of the employee's adjusted gross income for the
taxable year that the employee earns as a qualified employee; or
(2) seven thousand five hundred dollars ($7,500).
(c) No qualified employee is entitled to a deduction under this
section for a taxable year that begins after the termination of the:
(1) enterprise zone in which the employee resides; or
(2) railroad redevelopment zone in which the eligible entity
employing the qualified employee is located.
manner prescribed by section 10 of this chapter.