(1) Any
local government may apply for approval of a regional tourism project, including
designation of a regional tourism zone, the creation of a regional tourism authority,
and designation of a financing entity to receive, utilize, and disburse state sales tax
increment revenue for eligible costs.
(1.5) (a) Before a local government submits an application for a regional
tourism project to the Colorado office of economic development pursuant to
subsection (2) of this section, the local government shall submit a map showing the
proposed boundaries of the proposed regional tourism zone to the office of state
planning and budgeting. The office of state planning and budgeting, in conjunction
with the Colorado office of economic development, shall determine the baseline
growth rate for the area included in the proposed regional tourism zone. In
determining the baseline growth rate, the office of state planning and budgeting
and the Colorado office of economic development shall consider the growth rate in
the area included in the proposed regional tourism zone during the previous five
calendar years at a minimum.
(b) The office of state planning and budgeting may charge a local
government a submission fee of up to three thousand dollars per submission for the
costs incurred in determining the baseline growth rate.
(c) The local government and the third-party analyst retained pursuant to
paragraph (i) of subsection (2) of this section shall use the baseline growth rate in
their assumptions and economic analyses for the purpose of calculating the total
cumulative dollar amount and percentage of the state sales tax increment revenue
that can be dedicated to the proposed regional tourism project as required by
paragraphs (h) and (i) of subsection (2) of this section.
(2) A local government shall submit an application for a regional tourism
project to the Colorado office of economic development in a form and manner to be
determined by the commission. The office shall provide the commission with each
application received after the director's review pursuant to section 24-46-305. The
application shall include, but need not be limited to, the following:
(a) Maps of the proposed project area showing both current conditions and a
conceptual rendering of the proposed project in its anticipated built condition;
(b) A map showing the proposed boundaries of the proposed regional
tourism zone;
(c) A narrative description of the proposed project, including the location and
estimated overall cost, estimated eligible costs, anticipated scope and phasing of
eligible improvements, and the infrastructure existing or needed in connection with
the project;
(d) A discussion of each of the application criteria and how the project will
meet each of the criteria, including an economic analysis detailing projected
economic development, impact on future state sales tax revenue during and after
the financing term, the number of new jobs to be created by the project by job
category as defined by the Colorado department of labor and employment
occupational employment statistics survey and the wages and, to the extent that it
is reasonably possible, information on health benefits for jobs in each category,
market impact, anticipated regional and in-state competition, the ability to attract
out-of-state tourists, the fiscal impact to local governments within and adjacent to
the regional tourism zone, an analysis of the impact to local school districts and an
estimate of the percentage of total program that the state will become responsible
to fund through the state's share of total program pursuant to section 22-54-106, if
the county revitalization authority or an urban renewal authority is the financing
entity for the regional tourism project and uses property tax revenue to finance the
project, and any other information reasonably requested by the commission;
(e) A description of the proposed financing entity, a general description of
the financing entity's plan for financing the eligible costs and providing the eligible
improvements, and whether authorization of a regional tourism authority is
requested. A request for authorization of a regional tourism authority shall include
a description of the proposed authority's geographic boundaries, requested powers,
and anticipated sources of revenue, if any, in addition to state sales tax increment
revenue.
(f) If it is anticipated that the financing entity will enter into contractual
arrangements with one or more urban renewal authorities, metropolitan districts,
local governments, or private parties with respect to the method of financing the
eligible costs and providing eligible improvements, a general description of such
contemplated contractual arrangements;
(g) If it is anticipated that the eligible improvements will be constructed in
phases or that financing of the eligible costs will be accomplished in phases, a
description of the contemplated phases and anticipated timing of the phases;
(h) The proposed financing term, the total cumulative dollar amount of
revenue that can be allocated to the financing entity, the percentage of state sales
tax increment revenue to be allocated to the financing entity, and the portion of the
financing term during which such percentage is to be allocated to the financing
entity. No single debt issuance of the financing entity shall have a maturity date in
excess of thirty years; except that the financing term may exceed thirty years to
the extent that the financing entity anticipates issuing a series of bonds or other
forms of debt and provided that the financing entity shall have the ability to
consolidate or refinance previously issued debt or bonds with a maturity date for
such consolidated or refinanced debt or bonds not to exceed thirty years.
(i) Along with the economic analysis submitted with the application, a report
by a third-party analyst who is an expert in the field of economic or public financial
analysis calculating the total cumulative dollar amount and percentage of the state
sales tax increment revenue that can be dedicated to the regional tourism project
to be set by the commission pursuant to section 24-46-305 (3)(d). The applicant
shall share its data and reasoning with the third-party analyst, and the analyst shall
rely on such data and reasoning as it deems appropriate in the exercise of its
independent judgment. An applicant dissatisfied with such report may revise its
application and request report revisions. The reviewing third-party analyst shall be
chosen through a request for proposals issued by the office of state planning and
budgeting to ensure an independent and thorough analysis, and the third-party
analyst shall report to that office. The office of state planning and budgeting shall
charge an application fee to the applicant to pay the costs for the third-party
analyst to:
(I) Assess the assumptions used in the application to estimate net new
tourism revenues to Colorado;
(II) Calculate the total anticipated sales tax increment revenue in the
proposed regional tourism zone;
(III) Calculate the amount and percentage of the total regional tourism zone
sales tax increment revenue that each county and municipality that is a party to a
multi-party application is eligible to receive; and
(IV) Assess the probability of the proposed project moving forward without
funding from tax increment financing.
(3) An application by a local government for designation as a regional
tourism project shall be approved by the commission upon a finding by the majority
of the commissioners participating in the review of the application that the
application demonstrates that each of the following criteria are materially met:
(a) The project is of an extraordinary and unique nature and is reasonably
anticipated to contribute significantly to economic development and tourism in the
state and the communities where the project is located;
(b) The project is reasonably anticipated to result in a substantial increase in
out-of-state tourism;
(c) A significant portion of the sales tax revenue generated by the project is
reasonably anticipated to be attributable to transactions with nonresidents of the
state. An exception to this requirement may apply if a significant portion of the
sales tax revenue generated by the project is reasonably anticipated to be
attributable to residents of the state but the revenue would otherwise leave the
state due to a lack of a similar project or facility in the state.
(d) The local government has provided reliable economic data demonstrating
that, in the absence of state sales tax increment revenue, the project is not
reasonably anticipated to be developed within the foreseeable future.
(4) The general assembly shall appropriate fifty thousand dollars to the
office of state planning and budgeting for the 2014-15 state fiscal year to be used
by the office for necessary and additional analytical work related to the proposed
regional tourism projects.