Smart Government – Page 9

Tax Incentive Reform

Problem

Tools like tax incentive financing and investment incentives, which were made to address blight and help poor urban areas, were often being used in already successful real estate areas. As a result, members of the minority community and public institutions felt defensive against economic development, and these programs were building up areas that were not in need of extra support.

Solution

Disagreement over how tax incentives were being used had been a problem for decades without any successful compromise. I introduced a reform to tax incentive financing policy that reduced incentive amounts in developed areas to steer investment to poorer communities. My plan was the result of collaboration with poorer communities and community advocates, but also the business community that had previously resisted any reform.

Paystub Transparency

Problem

Since 2008, wage theft has increased dramatically. Working families can barely survive on the low wages they receive, let alone when employers shirk responsibility of paying what is owed. States then lose out too, on taxes to be collected, and honest employers are put at a disadvantage. This problem is easy to mask because of minimal requirements for paystubs: many paystubs have only the name of the employee and the total amount paid – failing to indicate what hours and what rate of pay, or whether taxes were withheld. Many low-wage workers don’t even know which contractor is paying them, so they don’t know who to sue or complain to.

Solution

Setting a new standard to ensure necessary information is being provided to workers is imperative to reduce wage theft and economic inequality. No federal and minimal state requirements currently exist regarding required information on paystubs. To protect workers in a contract economy and to level the playing field for employers, we need to set regulations to require companies to provide standardized paystubs.

Buy Local: How Government Spending Can Create Jobs and Support the Economy

Problem

In New Mexico alone, over $2 billion in government procurement dollars trickled to out-of-state companies in two years. This problem is replicated in varying degrees all across the nation. Even when local firms are ready and willing to bid on government contracts, loopholes in the procurement code can encourage governments to hire out-of-state firms. This limits the economic impact state spending has on the local economy.

Solution

When state and local businesses buy local, money flows directly into the local economy creating jobs, building tax revenue, reducing the ecological impacts of transport, and increasing food security. Our recent study found a clear path for government to contract more with local businesses to create thousands of permanent jobs, while also building tax revenue. We produced the first report that provides a snapshot to the public and policymakers of in-state and out-of-state purchasing by state agencies, municipalities, counties and school districts. The report provides a roadmap of doable best practices and can be replicated nationally. We have conducted a series of trainings to connect procurement officials with local businesses, and we will introduce legislation to close procurement loopholes that incentivize out-of-state spending.

Narrowing Open Records Exemptions

Problem

Open records laws allow citizens to be privy to what their local, state, and federal governments are doing with taxpayer money. They also provide transparency so that citizens can see whether or not elected officials are performing appropriately. During his tenure as a Magistrate on the Pike County Fiscal Court, Chris’s attempt to obtain records regarding a public water district was denied. Legislation passed in the 2012 General Assembly had left a loophole that allowed private companies operating in governmental capacities and paid with taxpayer dollars to keep their records private.

Solution

In an effort to increase transparency in state and local government, Rep. Harris sponsored legislation which would narrow the open records exemptions for private firms providing public services. The bill would require entities offering services traditionally performed by government agencies, and receiving at least a quarter of their revenue from taxpayers, to comply with the same open records laws as their government counterparts.

Battlefields to Boardrooms

Problem

Veterans have a higher unemployment rate than the broader labor market. The idea that veterans come home and have trouble finding long-term employment is unacceptable.

Solution

My proposal utilizes our tax code to encourage employers to provide work opportunities to those who have honorably served our country. The NJ Battlefield to Boardroom Act would provide a corporation business tax credit and gross income tax credit for qualified wages of certain veterans. These two credits would provide an employer with a credit in the amount of 10 percent of the wages paid to a veteran. The credits may not exceed $1,200 for each qualified veteran per tax year. The bill also contains provisions aimed at preventing potential misuse of the credit, prohibiting taxpayers from simultaneously using the wages or employment of a veteran to qualify for this credit and any other generally available employment incentive that comes in the form of a New Jersey tax credit or grant.

Government by the Numbers

Problem

County governments are unlike any other entities, providing a breathtaking array of services. They include public safety and jails, road maintenance and repairs, permitting and other land use services, mosquito control, recycling and waste management, health clinics for disadvantaged communities, homeless services, marriage licenses, parks and beach access and the list goes on. But how do all these services fit together? How does the county apply limited resources across so many fields in a way that best fits the values of the community? We needed a Strategic Plan and an Operational Plan tied to the budget to put it into action and a website to track our progress.

Solution

After an unprecedented level of public and employee input, Santa Cruz County developed its first Strategic Plan, Vision Santa Cruz County, an overarching vision with six focus areas: Comprehensive Health and Safety, Attainable Housing, Reliable Transportation, Sustainable Environment, Dynamic Economy and Operational Excellence. Goals aren’t enough. We needed an Operational Plan to make it happen. The county now has 178 distinct objectives to pursue over the next two years. And all of it, from the strategic plan to the objectives is synthesized with the county’s first-ever two-year budget. Residents can visit www.sccvision.us to follow the county’s progress on each objective by tracking the key steps necessary to complete each task.

Fair Fees and Fines for Vulnerable Residents

Problem

San Francisco is the first city in the nation to launch a Financial Justice Project to assess and reform how fees and fines impact our city’s most vulnerable residents. Too often government programs and courts levy fines and fees on people, partly to generate revenue to balance public budgets. There is often an insidious unintended impact of this practice—to push people into poverty. These fines and fees can knock people down so hard they can’t get back up. Poor people and people of color are usually hit the hardest. These financial penalties can make government a driver of inequality, not an equalizer.

Solution

The Financial Justice Project was launched in November 2016. The Project is housed in the Office of the San Francisco Treasurer, the entity in charge of revenue collection for the City and County. Together the Project works with community organizations, advocates, city and county departments, and the courts to enact reforms that result in meaningful change for low-income San Franciscans.

Safety for deaf/hard of hearing drivers and law enforcement officers

Problem

With an estimated 825,000 Floridians who are deaf or hard of hearing, routine traffic stops can create dangerous situations. A hearing impaired driver likely cannot hear a siren or law enforcement commands during a traffic stop, which has resulted in tragedies for both law enforcement and hearing-impaired drivers. Without prior knowledge that the driver is hearing impaired, the officer may believe the driver is not complying or is resisting the officer.

Solution

Florida now has a voluntary process for deaf/hard of hearing drivers to indicate their hearing impairment on their vehicle registration. In the event of a traffic stop, law enforcement is able to access this information while running the tag – before approaching the vehicle – eliminating any potential communications issues and giving the officer the information necessary to adjust their approach appropriately.

Remote Worker Incentive Program

Problem

In the wealthy Boston suburbs, housing prices and rent are rising sharply, affordable housing is difficult to find, traffic is a nightmare, and the city is overcrowded. But travel west and the picture is completely different. Housing prices are among the lowest in the state, cost of living is much lower, and there are great open spaces and incredible cultural assets. However, because Western Massachusetts has a graying population, the region’s population growth is slowly declining, and this decline has presented a self-reinforcing cycle of challenges – not enough jobs causes many of the area’s young people to leave, which causes a decline in school enrollments, leading to less state aid and fewer workers to support the region’s businesses.

Solution

My bill creates a pilot grant program that incentivizes workers to relocate to Western MA, allocating $1 million in a three-year incentives period to eligible new citizens on a first come first served basis. These grants will fund the relocation expenses of remote workers and telecommuters who move to Hampshire, Hampden, Franklin or Berkshire County. The purpose of the grant is to help offset the cost of moving, including buying computer software and hardware, obtaining or increasing broadband access, and/or establishing membership in a co-working office space. Qualified remote workers that are eligible for reimbursement would receive a maximum of $5,000 per year, and a total maximum of $10,000 per worker over the life of the program.

Purpose Built Communities

Problem

We know that the starting line isn’t the same for everyone. The bottom line is that place matters as to how well we live, and how well our children live. Poverty and place are inextricably connected – children who grow up in poverty have different outcomes than those who grow up in healthy neighborhoods. My community is a community of neighborhoods. Most of us are defined by the neighborhood we live in, and the sad truth is that too many of our neighborhoods are not healthy. Nearly half of Leon County families with children under the age of 5 are living in poverty, and these numbers are even higher in neighborhoods like South City, where 68.5 % of families live in poverty.

Solution

Purpose Built Communities has been working across the country to successfully impact family outcomes by transforming struggling neighborhoods like South City into healthy and vibrant neighborhoods. By focusing at the neighborhood level on mixed income housing, a cradle to college education pipeline, and community wellness, Purpose Built is creating pathways out of poverty. In cities across the country, crime rates are going down, and graduation rates and college acceptance rates are going up because of a strategic, intentional focus on place.

Tax Incentive Reform

Problem

Solution

Paystub Transparency

Problem

Solution

Buy Local: How Government Spending Can Create Jobs and Support the Economy

Problem

Solution

Narrowing Open Records Exemptions

Problem

Solution

Battlefields to Boardrooms

Problem

Solution

Government by the Numbers

Problem

Solution

Fair Fees and Fines for Vulnerable Residents

Problem

Solution

Safety for deaf/hard of hearing drivers and law enforcement officers

Problem

Solution

Remote Worker Incentive Program

Problem

Solution

Purpose Built Communities

Problem

Solution

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