Established pursuant to Rule 31 of the Missouri Senate.

The committee shall consist of five members, three Republicans and two Democrats, and will be responsible for reviewing Tax Increment Financing in Missouri. The duties of the committee shall be:

1) to study current statutes, and recently proposed legislation regarding Tax Increment Financing

2) to explore and clarify the definitions (e.g. "blighted") and requirements within existing state documents

3) to evaluate the current Tax Increment Financing procedures, with specific attention paid to the impact TIFs have on local municipalities and municipal debt

4) to examine the potential for abuse inherent in the Tax Increment Financing statute

5) to assess the current implementation of Tax Increment Financing in relation to the original intent of the legislation

The committee shall be staffed by counsel from Senate Research and may hold public hearings at locations to be determined by the chairman. Reasonable, actual and necessary expenses of the committee shall be reimbursed by the Missouri Senate.

The committee shall issue a report and make recommendations, as deemed appropriate by a majority of the members of the committee, to the general assembly for legislative action no later than January 20, 2006.