STATE AND LOCAL ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

Tax Increment Financing: Maximize the ability of local government units to respond to redevelopment and economic development opportunities through utilization of Tax Increment Financing (TIF) districts

• Transparency: Establish a schedule of performance reports to local governing bodies and encourage the establishment of public online resources for tracking TIF performance metrics, funded by TIF revenue

Local Incentives: Secure and maintain flexibility of local incentives for economic and community development efforts to encourage new growth and redevelopment of existing resources

• Certified Tech Parks: Increase the Certified Technology Park (CTP) tax capture allowance from the current $5 million cap to allow high performing CTPs to increase public-private investment in the CTP and surrounding areas

State Incentives: Maintain Indiana’s economic competitiveness through the preservation and responsible use of existing state tax incentives, placing emphasis on skills enhancement and workforce training to attract investment from diverse industry sectors

• Increase funding the state Skills Enhancement Fund to assist companies in addressing 21^st Century skills gap

Entrepreneurship and Innovation Investments:  Support policies that can improve the State’s capital environment and nurture innovative activity through:

• Maintain permanence of the state’s Research and Development, Hoosier Business Investment, and Venture Capital Investment tax credit programs.
• Increase funding for the 21^st Century Research and Technology Fund to support industry driven initiatives.
• Maximize immediate value of state EDGE and VCI tax credit by allowing recipients to transfer credits for cash value
• Enhancing flexibility for public investment in venture capital funds that invest in Indiana companies
• Enhancing funding to support more university-sponsored grant programs and seed funding for applied research and commercialization
• Amend the definition of a “participating lender” under the state’s Capital Access Program to include micro-lending entities to enhance a small business’ access to vital financial resources, helping them grow in Indiana
• Software as a Service (SaaS): Support the continued growth of Indiana information technology sector by clarifying Indiana’s tax laws to clearly exempt SaaS from sales tax collection

Advanced Telecommunications: Building upon the 2006 telecommunications reform, support increased statewide private sector investment in wireless and wire line broadband telecommunications infrastructure. Promote efforts by telecom providers to transition their networks from old legacy technology to an advanced all-IP, all-mobile and all-cloud infrastructure

COMMUNITY REDEVELOPMENT AND INVESTMENT

Regional Cities Initiative: Promote regional cooperation and strategic quality of life investments through the IEDC’s Regional Cities Initiative (RCI):

• Support the development of clear metrics to measure success or return on investment of the Regional Cities Initiative from application to project implementation and beyond
• Develop criteria to prioritize brownfield redevelopment through the RCI
• Increase funding for technical assistance and planning grants for regional development authorities
• Encourage the creation of federally recognized Economic Development Districts

Stellar Communities: Support continued investment and rural communities and small towns across Indiana by strengthening and expanding the Indiana Stellar Communities program

Historic Rehabilitation: Increase state funding and incentives to encourage redevelopment and investment in aging commercial, industrial and residential properties

Shovel Ready Redevelopment: Support shovel ready community redevelopment efforts through the creation of a statewide grant program to fund the demolition of blighted commercial properties

Revitalization Grants and Revolving Loan Fund: Allow local governments the ability to make grants and loans to private enterprise for the creation of jobs or otherwise stimulate economic activity

Food Deserts: Support innovative efforts to increase access to healthy food options to improve the health of Indiana resident and workforce

TRANSPORTATION, INFRASTRUCTURE AND ENVIRONMENT

Local Roads and Streets: Ensure adequate funding for local roads and streets, while maintaining equitable funding for urban and suburban areas

• Financing and Delivery: Provide maximum flexibility to local governments in the financing, design and construction of local transportation infrastructure, including the use of Public-Private Partnerships and Design-Build

Transportation Infrastructure: Advocate for a comprehensive and sustainable multi-modal transportation funding package that addresses both immediate needs and develops long term solutions, balances the needs of state and local governments and prioritizes maintenance, rehabilitation and expansion of existing transportation infrastructure

I-69:  Advocate for the completion of I-69 from the Ohio River Bridge to Indianapolis in the least intrusive, most economically strategic and cost efficient manner

Indiana Commerce Connector (ICC): Advocate that such an undertaking should only commence after careful study on the impact on economic development, core-city development, regional taxation and sprawl and should not be advanced as an alternative to a regional mass transit system

Transportation Alternatives:

• Autonomous Vehicles: Advocate for regulatory changes that will promote the development, testing and deployment of autonomous vehicles in Indiana
• Hoosier State Line: Maintain state support to continue operations and enhance service of the Hoosier State Line to better facilitate connectivity and economic opportunity between Indianapolis and Chicago
• Complete Streets: Pursue state transportation policies that encourage transportation planners and engineers to plan, design, operate and maintain the state’s road and street infrastructure with all users in mind
• Greenways: Support the creation of a statewide loan or grant fund to build out of greenways and bike lanes for local communities
• Mass Transit: Further enhance the regional coordination of transit services through the addition of Boone, Hendricks and Morgan counties to the central Indiana transit statute. Restore a dedicated funding stream for the Public Mass Transportation Fund (PMTF) to account for increased participation and demand of transit agencies throughout the state

  • Incentives: Create state employer incentives for employee benefits for alternative modes of transportation, transit packages, workplace bike infrastructure or other modes of transportation that encourage healthier workforce

Water: Support the creation of a statewide coordinating body to ensure sustained economic opportunity through responsible management of water resources

Flooding Mitigation: Create a mechanism to allow communities to capture the increased revenue associated with increased assessed valuation as a result of the flood mitigation project to help pay for the investments

Energy Efficiency: Secure state incentives for business and local government investments in energy-efficient commercial and industrial rehabilitation and fleet management