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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE |
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State
Rep. Matt Bradford |
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House passes bill to expand Business In Our Sites program
HARRISBURG, May 25 – The state House today passed legislation (H.B. 2399) authored by state Rep. Matt Bradford that would expand Pennsylvania's Business In Our Sites program.
Bradford said the Commonwealth Financing Agency, which currently administers BIOS, recently surveyed its local partners and created an inventory of projects that could take advantage of the BIOS program if capital becomes available.
Bradford's bill would provide the CFA with authority to securitize repayments of existing BIOS loans to allow the agency to use repayment monies to fund additional projects.
"By allowing the CFA to securitize loan repayments, my legislation would inject an additional $100 million into the BIOS program for use toward economic development projects throughout Pennsylvania," Bradford said.
Business In Our Sites originally provided $300 million through grants and loans to public organizations that worked with abandoned industrial sites in order to refurbish them, build new buildings and return them to productive use.
Bradford said redevelopment projects in former industrial communities like Norristown are suited for BIOS.
The legislation now moves to the Senate for consideration.