Sponsors say new Alabama tax increment finance law about luring ...

HUNTSVILLE, Alabama - A new law designed to help lure high-tech manufacturing jobs to Alabama does not give cities greater eminent domain powers, several people involved in the legislation said Monday.

"It's a jobs issue; it's not an eminent domain issue in any way," said Huntsville Mayor Tommy Battle.

In his Monday column, Birmingham News and al.com columnist John Archibald said Senate Bill 96 allows the government to seize private property and give it to large corporations such as Airbus and Mercedes.

But state Sen. Arthur Orr, R-Decatur, said that's simply not the case. Orr said the "Major 21st Century Manufacturing Zone Act" does nothing to change or broaden eminent domain laws.

In fact, he said taking private land would undermine the whole premise of a tax increment finance district.

The bill - which sailed through the Legislature and was signed into law by Gov. Robert Bentley last month - gives cities the ability to create TIF districts for automotive, aviation, medical, pharmaceutical, semiconductor, computer, electronics, energy conservation, cyber technology or biomedical companies willing to invest at least $100 million on sites larger than 250 acres.

Cities could borrow money up front to make improvements sought by the manufacturer. Once the industry is up and running, any increase in property tax revenues within the district would be siphoned off to pay back the debt.

Orr said it "makes no sense whatsoever" for the government to seize land because it would be removed from the tax rolls.

State Sen. Bill Holtzclaw, R-Madison, said he is "very big on personal property owner rights" and would not have co-sponsored the legislation if he thought it might be used to expand the use of eminent domain.

"I've been adamantly opposed to that," Holtzclaw said Monday. "If there's something there that was unintentional, we'll close the loop on it."

Senate Bill 96 does mention eminent domain, but Orr said that language is from the state's original 1987 tax increment finance law.

What's new, he said, is that cities for the first time can use TIF dollars for public works such as new roads or sewer lines as well as private improvements such as new buildings or manufacturing equipment.

Source: http://blog.al.com/breaking/2013/04/sponsors_say_new_alabama_tax_i.html

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