Bills have been introduced this year in Arizona (S.B. 1701), Connecticut (Proposed Bill 6176), Illinois (H.B. 95 and H.B. 145), Hawaii (S.B. 531/H.B. 16), New York (A. 3718), and Rhode Island (S. 46).

And Florida Rep. Anna Eskamani (D) told Tax Notes February 3 that she is drafting a bill for introduction this year. Eskamani introduced H.B. 917 last year, which died in the House Workforce Development and Tourism Subcommittee.

The legislation is part of a national bipartisan campaign, spearheaded by lobbyist Dan Johnson, owner of Progressive Public Affairs. It seeks to end the practice of using tax incentives to lure businesses over state lines by preventing states that join the compact from offering or providing company-specific tax incentives or grants to encourage businesses to relocate from other member states.

The legislation would also create a national board that would suggest revisions and improvements to the agreement.

Pat Garofalo, director of state and local policy at the American Economic Liberties Project, who is helping with the campaign, said he hopes the issue will gain more support this year. Acknowledging that most legislators are focused on the COVID-19 pandemic, he said that joining the compact would be an easy way for states to free up money that otherwise would be tied up in economic development incentives.

The use of tax incentives to lure jobs over state lines is a serious public policy problem that persists despite evidence showing that corporate subsidies don’t work, Garofalo continued.

“The reason that this problem persists despite all that evidence is that these things are very good politically, so the only way to truly get rid of them, short of something happening at the federal level, is for states to band together and do it at once,” he said.