Braun signs bill to create IEDC land-purchase guardrails, new state business office
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Gov. Mike Braun, as expected, signed a bill Thursday requiring the Indiana Economic Development Corp. to be more transparent when it makes large land purchases for major projects like the massive business park in Boone County.
The bipartisan bill is one of the only pieces of legislation passed in this year’s session that attempts to rein in the agency’s reach. Bill author Sen. Brian Buchanan, R-Lebanon, has said Senate Bill 516 would streamline the development process. The bill passed the House 87-4 and the Senate 41-0.
Braun is taking a closer look at the IEDC after his office found potential “impropriety” between the agency and spun-off venture capital firm Elevate Ventures. In the last few weeks, he’s frozen certain funds and is hiring an outside firm to do a forensic audit of the entire agency’s financials.
However, criticism has been building for years over whether the IEDC, which receives hundreds of millions in tax dollars each year, has been transparent and fiscally responsible enough. Questions were largely spurred by the state’s large land purchases and proposed water pipeline to support its massive LEAP Research and Innovation District in Lebanon. (LEAP stands for Limitless Exploration/Advanced Pace.)
Under the legislation, if the IEDC wants to purchase more than 100 acres of land in a county, it must notify local government and the State Budget Committee at least 30 days before the deal closes.
For each innovation development district in the state, the IEDC and involved local governments would be required to produce an annual report detailing the district’s tax-increment financing plan. Innovation development districts allow the state to capture state and local revenue to fund improvements and incentives at the sites. The state currently has two sites under the designation: the SK Hynix site in West Lafayette and Eli Lilly and Co.’s 600 acres in the LEAP District.
New office
The bill also will create the Office of Entrepreneurship and Innovation, which is one of the agenda items Braun sought to rework the state’s economic development strategy.
Braun and members of his administration have said the new office will consolidate several programs currently overseen by the IEDC and act as a more accessible touch point for entrepreneurs. It’s not yet determined what programs will be placed under the office’s umbrella.
The move is part of his strategy to focus state economic development efforts on growing new and existing small businesses instead of pursuing major investment from out-of-state companies.
Commerce officials will launch the office in the coming months with a $1 million per year allotment in the state budget. The office will be separate from the IEDC and under the direction of Secretary of Commerce David Adams.
The new office will oversee certified technology parks instead of the IEDC. The state has more than 20 such parks, including the Purdue Research Park in West Lafayette and WestGate@Crane Technology Park in Odon.