HB 24-1172: County Revitalization Authorities Summary

• Creates county revitalization authorities as new governmental entities empowered to undertake revitalization projects in unincorporated county areas through acquisition, development, and redevelopment activities similar to urban renewal authorities.

• Establishes tax increment financing mechanism allowing authorities to capture incremental property tax revenue and county sales tax revenue (up to 30 years) from designated revitalization areas to finance bonds and project costs.

• Restricts use of eminent domain for private property transfers with multiple safeguards: requires county governing body approval, limits agricultural land inclusion, mandates property owner notice and relocation assistance, and restricts transfer to private parties unless owner consents or specific conditions are met.

• Implements vesting procedures (Article 7.5 of Title 38) allowing county revitalization authorities to acquire title and take possession of property before final just compensation determination through court-appointed commissioners, similar to existing urban renewal provisions.

• Protects agricultural land and municipal interests by prohibiting inclusion of agricultural land except under limited circumstances, requiring municipal consent for incorporated territory inclusion, and allowing municipalities to opt out of tax increment sharing without losing incremental revenue.