From Ballotpedia
Nebraska Amendment 6 was on the November 2006 ballot in Nebraska as a legislatively-referred constitutional amendment, where it was defeated.
- Yes: 151,041 (30.5%)
- No: 344,483 (69.5%)
Objectives of the initiative
Amendment 6 was intended to authorize the Unicameral to make 4 substantial revisions to the prior TIF regulations, as follows:
- TIF authority would be extended to county governments, in addition to all the municipalities which had this authority under the old law.
- The amendment would remove the "substandard and blighted" qualification in defining areas that TIF can be implemented on, so that any municipal or county government would have authority to implement a TIF project anywhere.
- Under the old law, the time period for repayment of the redevelopment loan was set at a maximum of 15 years, after which all property tax revenue from the TIF project property would have to be directed back to its original recipient(s); namely, cities, counties, and school districts. This amendment would authorize the Unicameral to increase the maximum to 30 years for any TIF project(s) taking place on land of which 50% or more is owned by the State of Nebraska, thereby further ensuring complete repayment of loans when the state has a direct interest in the property in question.
- Municipal and county governments would no longer be restricted to performing TIF projects within their normal jurisdiction, but would be able to undertake such projects anywhere they were authorized to do so by the Unicameral.
Arguments for the amendment
- Would bring the constitution up-to-date with current TIF practices, which tend to extend beyond what some people consider constitutional under the original TIF amendment.
Arguments against the amendment
- Would likely increase property taxes for pre-existing home- and business- owners, as property taxes from TIF projects would be diverted to special projects, rather than the traditional recipients of property taxes, such as schools.
- Gives the legislature too much control over what should be local projects
External links
References
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