Rep. McCombie Introduces Economic Development for Illinois’ Future Legislative Package

Trio of bills will increase job opportunities, provide stable economic growth, and make home ownership more affordable across the entire State of Illinois. Springfield, IL - State Representative Tony McCombie (IL-71st) today filed three pieces of legislation, House Bills 5469, 5503, and 5736, creating the Economic Development for Illinois’ Future Legislative Package (EDIF) to restart Illinois’ sluggish economy and compete with neighboring states. “Living and operating a small business near the Illinois–Iowa border gives me the opportunity to see the effects of jobs and businesses crossing the Mississippi River into Iowa every single day. The Economic Development for Illinois’ Future Legislative Package will reverse that trend and provide the economic growth vital to a healthy economy in Illinois,” said Rep. McCombie. “This package will incentivize both families and businesses to make Illinois their home. Families who are first time homebuyers will be given a small incentive to make that big investment, students will benefit by being trained in in-demand skilled high-paying manufacturing jobs, and businesses will be reimbursed for investing in the people they hire.” HB 5469 provides for a tax credit of 25% of the Illinois labor expenditures made by a manufacturing company in order to foster job creation and retention in Illinois. The Department of Revenue will have the authority to award the tax credit to taxpayer-employers who apply for the credit and meet the labor expenditure criteria. HB 5503 creates the ‘Illinois First-Time Homebuyer Savings Account Act.’ First-time homebuyers may open a first-time homebuyer savings account to pay or reimburse costs in connection with a qualified home purchase. Under this legislation, taxpayers will be allowed an annual credit for amounts deposited by the taxpayer into a first-time homebuyer savings account of up to $2,000 for individual taxpayers, and up to $4,000 for married taxpayers. HB 5736 creates the ‘Employer and Community College Tax Credit’ to address the skills gap by encouraging partnerships between employers and community colleges to develop certain job training programs.  This is achieved through a small but significant credit of 1.5% of the wages paid by the employer to a participating employee during the first year of the employee's participation in the program. The bill creates a win-win-win for employers, employees, and community colleges. The three bills are currently waiting to be assigned to the appropriate House committees for further consideration. ###