Budget Amendment ID: FY2012-S3-250
ECO 250
Tax Expenditure Commission
Mr. Eldridge and Ms. Chang-Diaz and Ms. Clark and Mr. DiDomenico moved that the proposed new text be amended by inserting, after Section 152, the following new Sections: -
Section ___
(a) Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, there shall be established a tax expenditure commission that shall review and evaluate tax expenditures, as defined in section 1 of chapter 29 of the General Laws, and make recommendations to the General Court on the effectiveness, timeliness, and cost benefit of tax expenditures. The commission shall consider the public policy objectives behind tax expenditures, the metrics for measuring success in meeting those objectives, and the need for additional reporting, sunset or clawback provisions.
The commission shall convene its first official meeting not later than September 30, 2011, and shall file a final report with the General Court by February 15, 2012. The final report shall include any recommendations regarding tax expenditures that should be repealed or modified and any changes to the ongoing evaluation of tax expenditures and criteria for evaluating proposals for new tax expenditures.
The commission shall be comprised of the secretary of administration and finance or the secretary’s designee, who shall serve as chair; the state auditor or the auditor’s designee; the state treasurer and receiver general or the treasurer’s designee; the speaker of the house or the speaker’s designee, the senate president or the president’s designee; the minority leader of the house of representatives or the house leader’s designee; the minority leader of the senate or the senate leader’s designee; the chair of the house committee on ways and means or the chair’s designee; the chair of the senate committee on ways and means or the chair’s designee; the house and senate chairs of the joint committee on revenue or their respective designees; and 4 persons appointed by the governor who shall have an expertise in economics or tax policy.
Section ___
(a)As used in Section _____, the following word shall, unless the context clearly requires otherwise, have the following meaning:-
"Development subsidy” means any expenditure of public funds with a value of at least $25,000.00 for the purpose of stimulating economic development within the Commonwealth, including but not limited to bonds, grants, loans, loan guarantees, enterprise zones, empowerment zones, tax increment financing, grants, fee waivers, land price subsidies, matching funds, tax abatements, tax exemptions, and tax credits.
(b) On an annual basis, each agency of the commonwealth shall file a progress report with the executive office of housing and economic development for each project for which a development subsidy has been granted, no later than December 31 of each year. The report shall include the following information: (1) a project tracking number; (2) the name, street and mailing addresses, phone number and chief officer of the granting body; (3) the name, street and mailing addresses, phone number, and chief officer of the recipient corporation; (4) the value and source of each subsidy, including TIF, annually and cumulative; (5) a list of all other development subsidies which the project has been granted by state or local agencies within the commonwealth; (6) the value of committed private investment and the value of the actual private investment; (7) a summary of the number of jobs committed, created, and lost, broken down by full-time, part- time and temporary positions, and by wage groups; (8) the type and amount of health care coverage provided to the employees at the project site, including any costs borne by the employees; (9) the comparison of the total employment in the commonwealth by the recipient's corporate parent on the date the subsidy was awarded and the date of the report, broken down by full-time, part-time and temporary positions; (10) a statement as to whether the use of the development subsidy during the previous fiscal year has reduced employment at any other site controlled by the recipient corporation or its corporate parent, within or without of the commonwealth as a result of automation, merger, acquisition, corporate restructuring or other business activity; and (11) a signed certification by the chief officer of the recipient corporation as to the accuracy of the progress report.
(c)The executive office of housing and economic development shall, on an annual basis, compile and publish all data from the progress reports in both written and electronic form, including to a reporting web site maintained by the office. The information in the reports shall be included as part of the searchable website administered by the secretary of administration and finance and shall be submitted to the clerks of the senate and house of representatives on or before January 31st of each year.