Memorandum
Date: February 3, 2026
To: The Honorable Brad Rasmussen, Chair, Lake County Board of Supervisors
From: Susan Parker, County Administrative Officer
Ben Rickelman, Deputy County Administrative Officer
Subject: Consideration of Census Tracts to Advocate for Opportunity Zones Selection
Executive Summary:
Opportunity Zones (OZs) were made a permanent fixture of the Federal tax code with the passage of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBA) in 2025, transforming the temporary tax incentive, which was set to expire at the end of 2026, into a permanent, decennial program. Several program changes were enacted alongside permanency in the OBBA. These include at least 25% of a State's newly designated OZs, must be in rural census tracts, census tracts now only qualify if the median family income is at or below 70% (down from the previous 80%), rural funds will offer a 30% increase in step up in basis after five years (instead of the standard 10%), and the "substantial improvement" requirement for rural property is reduced to 50% of the original basis (down from 100% for urban projects). Governors need to make their recommendations for OZs selection to the Federal Government by July 1, 2026.
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