Economic development: enterprise zones.

The Enterprise Zone Act provides for the designation and oversight by the Department of Housing and Community Development of various types of economic development areas throughout the state, including enterprise zones, targeted tax areas, and manufacturing enhancement areas, collectively known as geographically targeted economic development areas, or G-TEDAs. Pursuant to these provisions, qualifying entities in those areas may receive certain tax and regulatory incentives. This bill would revise various definitions for purposes of the act and modify specified requirements for designating and administering enterprise zones and G-TEDAs, collectively. The bill would impose new requirements on the Department of Housing and Community Development with respect to the enterprise zone program and modify department and Franchise Tax Board reporting requirements. Existing law, the Enterprise Zone Act, authorizes the Department of Housing and Community Development to assess a fee of not more than $15 on each enterprise zone and manufacturing enhancement area for each application for issuance of a certificate pursuant to specified tax credit provisions. This bill would instead authorize the department to charge a fee for those applications not to exceed the reasonable cost of administering the Enterprise Zone Act, but not to exceed $20. The bill would require any increase in the fee higher than the amount that was charged by the department as of January 1, 2014, to be adopted by regulation. This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.