Senate Bill 696 proposes significant amendments to the statutes governing tax incremental financing (TIF) in Wisconsin. The bill aims to increase the percentage of a municipality's equalized value that can be included within a tax incremental district (TID) from 12% to 18%. Additionally, it allows for the inclusion of construction costs for residential buildings as project costs within a TID, thereby eliminating previous restrictions on such expenditures. The bill also repeals certain provisions from the 2023-24 legislative session that affected local levy limits related to TIDs, restoring previous calculations that allow for greater flexibility in local property tax levies.

Key changes include the removal of limitations on including newly platted residential development costs as project costs, and the explicit addition of costs for developing, improving, or expanding parks as eligible project costs. The bill also repeals various sections of existing law that previously governed the calculation of local property tax levy limits in relation to TIDs, thereby reverting to earlier practices that may provide municipalities with more favorable conditions for financing development projects. Overall, the bill seeks to enhance the effectiveness of TIF as a tool for local economic development by broadening the scope of eligible project costs and increasing the allowable value within TIDs.

Statutes affected:
Bill Text: 60.23(32)(b)4, 60.23, 66.0602(1)(d), 66.0602, 66.0602(3)(dm), 66.0602(3)(dq), 66.0602(3)(ds), 66.0602(3)(dv), 66.1105(2)(cm), 66.1105, 66.1105(2)(f)1.a, 66.1105(2)(f)3, 66.1105(4)(gm)4.c, 66.1105(4)(h)7, 66.1105(4m)(b)2m, 66.1105(5)(bn), 66.1105(5)(bo)