Sec. 5. (a) Subject to section 8(g) of this chapter, the board may recommend that the department grant the petition or that the department approve a reduction of the delinquent tax liability in an amount less than the amount sought by the petitioner if the board determines that:

(1) the brownfield was acquired or is proposed to be acquired as a result of:

(A) sale or abandonment in a bankruptcy proceeding;

(B) foreclosure or a sheriff's sale;

(C) receivership; or

(D) purchase from a political subdivision;

(2) the plan referred to in section 2(5) of this chapter is in the best interest of the community;

(3) the waiver or reduction of the delinquent tax liability:

(A) is in the public interest; and

(B) will facilitate development or use of the brownfield;

(4) the petitioner:

(A) has not had an ownership interest in an entity that contributed; and

(B) has not contributed;

to the contaminant or contaminants on the brownfield;

(5) the department of environmental management has determined that the property is a brownfield;

(6) if the petitioner is the owner of the brownfield, the delinquent tax liability sought to be waived or reduced arose before the petitioner's acquisition of the brownfield; and

(7) no part of the delinquent tax liability can reasonably be collected from a person other than the owner of the brownfield.

(b) After the hearing and completion of any additional investigation of the brownfield or of the petitioner that the board considers necessary, the board shall:

(1) give notice, by mail, to the parties listed in section 4(1) of this chapter of the board's recommendation that:

(A) the fiscal body deny the petition; or

(B) the department:

(i) deny the petition;

(ii) waive the delinquent tax liability, subject to section 8(g) of this chapter; or

(iii) reduce the delinquent tax liability by a specified amount, subject to section 8(g) of this chapter; and

(2) forward to the department and the fiscal body a copy of:

(A) the board's recommendation; and

(B) the documents submitted to or collected by the board at the public hearing or during the course of the board's investigation of the brownfield or of the petitioner.

As added by P.L.208-2005, SEC.1.