Several sessions ago, legislation was adopted to support the establishment of TRZs (Transportation Reinvestment Zones) to provide an additional funding tool for investing in local mobility projects. HJR99 fixes a technicality in the original legislation that prevented counties from fully participating.
HJR 99 eliminates the limitation on the authority of a county to implement tax increment financing. This aids in facilitating a county’s financing of transportation projects in conjunction with a transportation reinvestment zone (“TRZ”).
TRZs are an innovative tool for generating funding by capturing and leveraging the economic growth that results from a transportation project. A TRZ allows a city (or a county if HJR 99 is adopted) to designate a geographic area around a proposed transportation project and capture the incremental property tax revenue generated in the area for use in funding the development of that project.
A TRZ is not a tax increase—it simply allows for the dedication of all or a portion of the incremental increase in tax revenues generated within the boundaries of the TRZ to support the funding of the project, which influenced the growth in tax revenues. Therefore, this legislation will provide a valuable tool for counties to fund transportation projects without raising taxes or fees.
