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(Des Moines, IA) — A bill aimed at aiding Iowa's border cities in development has passed the Iowa House. House File 1037 loosens restrictions on the usage of Tax Increment Financing (TIF) money. As it stands, communities can only use those funds for housing if the proposed project includes low-and moderate-income facilities. This bill changes that while also increasing the tax collection period from 10 years to 20.
State Rep. Josh Turek (D-Council Bluffs) spoke on the bill.
"This is really where, in these border communities, you see the good, the bad, and the ugly of state policy as you go head-to-head with another state," Turek said. "In my lifetime, I have seen the community of Omaha essentially double in size. Meanwhile, I’ve seen my community of Council Bluffs maybe grow by 1,000 people."
He said that, in comparison to Nebraska, Iowa tends to lack the tools needed for development. That includes tax abatements and sanitary investment districts. However, he said the extra years of TIF funding were one of Nebraska's biggest advantages, and this bill would erase that. He said the situation is similar in other communities.
"This bill would really, really be able to generate a significant amount of development all across the state," Turek said. "But where you will really, really see enormous improvements is in communities like mine, as well as Sioux City, the Quad Cities, and Burlington. All around the state, cities are going head-to-head to create development."
The bill passed the House unanimously on Monday and still needs approval from the Iowa Senate.