Authority: means a regional megasite authority created pursuant to this chapter. See Tennessee Code 64-6-102
Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
Lease: A contract transferring the use of property or occupancy of land, space, structures, or equipment in consideration of a payment (e.g., rent). Source: OCC
Megasite: means a site certified as being suitable and available for development for significant economic and industrial investment as provided in §. See Tennessee Code 64-6-102
Project: means all or any part of, or any interest in, any land and building, including an office building, any facility or other improvement on the land and all real and personal properties located either on a megasite or off a megasite deemed necessary in connection with the megasite, whether or not now in existence, that are suitable for any industrial or commercial enterprises or any combination of the land, buildings, facilities, improvements or real or personal properties located at the megasite. See Tennessee Code 64-6-102
State: when applied to the different parts of the United States, includes the District of Columbia and the several territories of the United States. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
Trustee: A person or institution holding and administering property in trust.
written: includes printing, typewriting, engraving, lithography, and any other mode of representing words and letters. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
(1) The authority is declared to be performing a public function on behalf of the participating municipalities and to be a public instrumentality of the municipalities. Accordingly, the authority and all properties at any time owned by the authority, the income and revenues from the properties and all bonds issued by the authority and the income from the bonds shall be exempt from all taxation in the state.(2) For purposes of the Securities Act of 1980, compiled in title 48, chapter 1, part 1, bonds issued by the authority shall be deemed to be securities issued by a public instrumentality or a political subdivision of the state.(b)(1) A participating municipality in which a portion of a megasite is located may delegate to the authority the power to negotiate and enter into, with an authority’s lessees, payments in lieu of ad valorem taxes; provided, that the authorization shall be granted only upon a finding that the payments are deemed to be in furtherance of the authority’s public purposes as defined in this chapter. No contract, lease, understanding, or other agreement of any kind, including any renewal or extension of the agreement, entered into by the authority to which such power has been delegated shall permit payment in lieu of taxes to be waived or otherwise not assessed for a period of greater than twenty (20) years from the date of the contract, lease, understanding or other agreement, unless both the commissioner of economic and community development and the comptroller of the treasury have made a written determination that the agreement is in the best interest of the state. The authority shall attach to each agreement an analysis of the costs and benefits of the agreement, in such manner and under such conditions as shall be prescribed by the commissioner of economic and community development or the commissioner’s designee. The legislative body of a participating municipality making the delegation may, in its sole discretion, require the authority to submit any such agreement to the applicable legislative body for its approval.(2) If the project is located within the corporate limits of a municipality, then payments shall be shared between the incorporated municipality and the county in which the megasite is located, proportionate to their property tax levies in effect on the date of execution of the agreement for payments in lieu of taxes.(3) The trustee shall bill and collect all payments in lieu of taxes based on the agreement and the apportioned taxes.(c) An agreement for payment in lieu of taxes shall contain such terms and conditions as the authority may determine, which may include, but shall not be limited to, provisions to:
(1) Defer and subordinate or defer or subordinate payment of all or a portion of the payment in lieu of taxes to such future time as the authority may determine; and(2) Require interest to accrue on such deferred amount.(d)(1) Before October 1 of each year, each lessee of the authority shall submit to the state board of equalization an annual report containing:
(A) A list of all the real and personal property owned by the authority and its associated entities and subsidiaries;(B) The value of each listed property as estimated by the lessee;(C) The date and term of the lease for each listed property;(D) The amount of payments made in lieu of property taxes for each listed property;(E) The date each listed property is scheduled to return to the regular tax rolls; and(F) A calculation of the taxes that would have been due for each listed property if the properties were privately owned or otherwise subject to taxation.(2) Each lessee of the authority shall be responsible for the timely completion and filing of the report and failure to timely complete and file the report shall subject the lessees to a penalty; provided, that no lessee shall be liable that has provided the state board of equalization with the information required by this section insofar as may be pertinent to property leased by the lessee from the authority. The penalty for late filing shall be fifty dollars ($50.00) for each day the report is late up to a maximum of five hundred dollars ($500), and the maximum penalty shall accrue interest at the rate of one and one-half percent (1.5%) per month, plus any cost of collection.
