HARRISBURG – Sen. Jarrett Coleman (R-16) announced today that his Senate Bill 367 was passed with unanimous support out of the Senate Intergovernmental Operations Committee that he chairs.
SB 367, as amended during the meeting, would enable the statutorily required audits of local tax transfers. SB 367 specifically authorizes the independent auditor for the Allentown Neighborhood Improvement Zone (NIZ) contracting authority (the Allentown NIZ Development Authority, or ANIZDA) access to a qualified NIZ business’ state and local tax information to conduct these audits.
“I’ve been fighting for more transparency and accountability from the NIZ for more than two years, and I think real progress is finally being made. I appreciate that my Democratic colleagues supported these reforms, and I look forward to my bill being taken up the full Senate and then the House so it can get to the governor without delay. These changes serve the public interest,” Coleman said.
The bill also would make changes to the ANIZDA board. More than half the members continue to serve expired terms, a concern raised by the Legislative Budget and Finance Committee that was charged with reviewing the NIZ program.
Coleman’s bill would establish a new board and process for selecting members: three appointed by the mayor, one by each of the three state representatives representing Allentown, and one by each of the two state senators, with a third selected by the senators jointly. The members will have staggered but fixed terms. They can’t be members of the General Assembly or state employees and must abide by state ethics requirements for filing financial interest statements.
The bill now moves to the full Senate for consideration.
CONTACT: Leo Knepper, 717-787-1349