CS for CS for SB 582 - Neighborhood Improvement Districts

• Renames the "Safe Neighborhoods Act" to the "Neighborhoods Improvement Act" and removes crime-prevention-focused language throughout the statute, emphasizing broader neighborhood improvement and revitalization.

• Shifts oversight from the Department of Legal Affairs to the Department of Economic Opportunity for district registration and notification requirements.

• Changes district creation from requiring a "planning ordinance" to requiring only an ordinance, and removes provisions allowing the Department of Legal Affairs to provide planning grants.

• Adds new authority for local government neighborhood improvement districts to borrow money, issue bonds, levy ad valorem taxes up to 2 mills, and impose special assessments not exceeding $500 per parcel annually, all subject to freeholder referendum approval.

• Repeals eight statutes related to the Safe Neighborhoods Program, crime prevention initiatives, state redevelopment programs, and neighborhood councils, and simplifies the required elements of neighborhood improvement plans to focus on demographics, land use, and district goals rather than crime prevention strategies.