A BILL to amend chapter seven of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, by adding thereto a new article, designated article eleven-b, relating to the tax increment financing act; legislative findings and purpose; definitions; tax increment financing procedures; copies of tax increment financing ordinance provided to assessor, sheriff and director of finance; issuance of obligations for project costs; terminating tax increment financing; and severability.

This article may be known and cited as "The Tax Increment Financing Act."

It is hereby found and declared that public improvements, and publicly promoted private improvements, in any development area which result in the increase in the value of property located in the development area or result in increased employment within the development area serve a public purpose for each taxing district possessing the authority to impose ad valorem taxes from such taxes in the development area. The increment in revenues from such taxes derived by each taxing district from the development area is found and declared to be one of the benefits derived by each taxing unit from any economic development project.

As used in this article, the term or phrase:

(a) Upon receipt of an agency's proposed development project area and tax increment financing plan, or when there is no such agency upon its own initiative, the county commission of any county may adopt tax increment financing by passing an ordinance designating a development project area and providing that ad valorem property taxes on real property in the development project area shall be assessed, collected and allocated by the taxing units in the following manner for so long as any obligations secured by the tax increment financing fund, hereinafter authorized, are outstanding and unpaid:

The county commission shall transmit to the assessor, sheriff and director of finance a copy of the tax increment financing ordinance, a description of all real property located within the development project area, a map indicating the boundaries of the development project area and the manner of collecting and allocating property taxes pursuant to this article.

(a) Any county which adopts tax increment financing, or any municipality in such county in which all or any portion of a project area will be located, may issue obligations secured by the tax increment financing fund to finance the development project costs only if approved by three fifths of the voters when the bond creates a debt of the taxing unit, or by a simple majority when the bond does not create such a debt. All obligations issued pursuant to this section shall be subject to the requirements and limitations of articles one or two-c, chapter thirteen, or article twelve, chapter seven, or any other relevant statutory provisions of this code. The ordinance authorizing the issuance of obligations may pledge all or any part of the funds deposited in the tax increment financing fund for the payment of the development project costs and any obligations to be issued to finance them. Such funds may include net revenues resulting from any revenue bonds issued for a project undertaken pursuant to this article.

(a) Upon the retirement of all obligations secured by the tax increment financing fund, the county commission may pass an ordinance to dissolve the tax increment financing fund and to terminate the existence of a development project area. When the fund is dissolved, any and all revenue remaining in the fund after payment of all such obligations shall be paid into the general fund of the county and municipalities in proportion to their respective contributions to the fund.

If any provision of this article or the application thereof to any person or circumstance is held unconstitutional or otherwise invalid, such unconstitutionality or invalidity shall not affect, impair or invalidate other provisions or applications of the article, and to this end the provisions of this article are declared to be severable.