For Immediate Release
7/4/08

Pippy Bill Expanding Keystone Opportunity Zones to Become Law

More areas, extended time frame to create jobs in PA communities.

Harrisburg – Legislation sponsored by Sen. John Pippy (R-37) to expand programs that use tax abatements to attract employers to Pennsylvania communities has been approved by the General Assembly and sent to the governor to be signed into law.

Senate Bill 1412 amends the Keystone Opportunity Zone, Keystone Opportunity Expansion Zone and Keystone Opportunity Improvement Zone Act to create 15 more KOEZ sites. It also extends the duration of the designation for seven to 10 years, depending on the project. 

“The extension will provide an incentive to attract businesses to locate on previously unoccupied parcels and to provide a meaningful period of tax exemption,” said Pippy, who chairs the Senate Urban Affairs and Housing Committee and worked with the state Department of Community and Economic Development to develop the legislation. 

The bill also addresses zones where an endangered species or other environmental concern is discovered that would prohibit development.  The measure would allow DCED to replace such sites with nearby parcels to allow development to go forward. 

The bill also prohibits a person receiving tax exemptions from knowingly allowing illegal aliens to work in the zone.  

The Keystone Opportunity Zone, Keystone Opportunity Expansion Zone and Keystone Opportunity Improvement Zone Act was originally enacted in 1998. 

Contact:

Cheryl Schriner
(717) 787-5839

  Print this page

 E-mail this page

Back