WHO WILL WATCH NEW AZ COMMERCE AUTHORITY?

posted by Michael Chihak

The structure of the new Arizona Commerce Authority is such that it will be in control of private businesspeople, while operating under the sanction of the state government. Gov. Jan Brewer is ceding her executive control of the old state Department of Commerce to the authority.

The authority will raise money from the private sector and have control over a number of significant financial tools, including a state-funded pool of up to $25 million that will serve as a "deal-closing" fund. It would help attract businesses to the state by offering incentives to get them to sign on.

Additionally, the authority will oversee the certification of tax-credit eligibility for businesses that create "quality jobs." The legislation defines such a job as one that pays more than the median income in the county where it is being created.

Businesses creating such jobs will be eligible for tax credits of up to $3,000 a year for three years for up to 400 new jobs.

A key question is how the members of the authority will avoid being in conflict of interest when they are considering the tax-credit certification for businesses that may themselves be investors in the authority.

Commerce Authority Director Don Cardon has pledged transparency and openness in operations. Brewer will need to assure state residents, including as it turns out several members of her own Republican Party in the Legislature, that the authority will operate totally above board.