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Senate Amendment 5206

Amendment Text

PAG LIN
  1  1    Amend Senate Joint Resolution 2010 as follows:
  1  2    #1.  By striking everything after the resolving
  1  3 clause and inserting the following:
  1  4    "Section 1.  The following amendment to the
  1  5 Constitution of the State of Iowa is proposed:
  1  6    The Constitution of the State of Iowa is amended by
  1  7 adding the following new sections to new Article XIII:  
  1  8                      ARTICLE XIII
  1  9     PEOPLE'S RIGHT TO VOTE ON TAX OR FEE INCREASES
  1 10    PEOPLE'S RIGHT TO VOTE ON TAX OR FEE INCREASES.
  1 11 SECTION 1.  If all tax and fee increases adopted in a
  1 12 fiscal year would produce new annual revenue exceeding
  1 13 one percent of total state general fund revenue
  1 14 received in the preceding fiscal year, excluding
  1 15 transfers from other state funds, the increases shall
  1 16 be submitted to the electors, starting with the
  1 17 largest increase and including increases in descending
  1 18 order, except the remaining increases that total one
  1 19 percent or less.  All increases of any one tax or fee
  1 20 shall together be regarded as one increase.  An
  1 21 adopted tax or fee increase required by this article
  1 22 to be submitted to the electors shall take effect only
  1 23 if submitted to the electors at the next state general
  1 24 election and approved by a majority of the electors
  1 25 voting thereon.
  1 26    APPLICATION.  SEC. 2.  In this article:
  1 27    1.  "Local governments" includes all political
  1 28 subdivisions.
  1 29    2.  "Increase" includes, but is not limited to,
  1 30 imposing a new tax or fee; raising a rate or amount;
  1 31 repealing, reducing, or delaying an exemption,
  1 32 deduction, credit, exclusion, reduction, or indexing
  1 33 requirement; or broadening the base or scope of a tax
  1 34 or fee in any way.
  1 35    3.  "Increase" includes legislation that allows or
  1 36 requires one or more local governments, with or
  1 37 without approval by local electors, to impose or
  1 38 increase any tax on income, sales, or property, but
  1 39 excludes legislation in which the only subject matter
  1 40 is establishment of the state percentage of growth for
  1 41 school foundation aid.
  1 42    4.  "Increase" of property tax includes legislation
  1 43 that has the effect of reducing total state funds
  1 44 transferred to all local governments in a fiscal year
  1 45 in comparison with the preceding fiscal year, taking
  1 46 into account all legislation increasing or reducing
  1 47 such transfers.
  1 48    5.  "Increase" of property tax includes legislation
  1 49 that has the effect of requiring local governments to
  1 50 incur aggregate net cost increases in a fiscal year,
  2  1 after deducting increased transfers of state funds for
  2  2 the express purpose of offsetting those cost
  2  3 increases.  Such increased transfers shall be deducted
  2  4 under this subsection and not under subsection 4.
  2  5    6.  "New annual revenue" means the estimated net
  2  6 increase over the fiscal year preceding adoption in
  2  7 total state general fund revenue produced by the total
  2  8 of all tax and fee increases adopted in a fiscal year,
  2  9 less estimated refunds payable as a result of the
  2 10 increases, all as estimated for the fiscal year in
  2 11 which all such increases are adopted, as if all such
  2 12 increases and refunds were fully effective and
  2 13 entirely implemented for that full fiscal year.
  2 14 Actual amounts, if known, shall be used instead of
  2 15 estimates.  "New annual revenue" does not include
  2 16 revenue that the general assembly intends to
  2 17 appropriate for purposes of public safety or homeland
  2 18 security.
  2 19    7.  "Adopted" or "adoption" means that after 2006,
  2 20 a bill has been passed and all requirements of article
  2 21 III have been met, so that the bill would become law
  2 22 except for the requirements of this article.
  2 23    8.  This article does not apply to taxes and fees
  2 24 subject to article VII, sections 5 and 8.
  2 25    EMERGENCY.  SEC. 3.  A temporary exception to the
  2 26 preceding requirements of this article shall be
  2 27 allowed only to this extent and only if all these
  2 28 conditions are met:  (1)  the Governor requests the
  2 29 General Assembly to adopt an emergency tax increase
  2 30 for only one specified fiscal year; (2)  the request
  2 31 specifically states the nature of the emergency, the
  2 32 expenditures needed to respond to the emergency, and
  2 33 the proposed tax increase to pay for the emergency
  2 34 expenditures for that year; and (3)  a law declaring
  2 35 an emergency and providing an emergency tax increase
  2 36 in accordance with the Governor's specific request is
  2 37 passed by a vote of two-thirds of all the members
  2 38 elected to each branch of the General Assembly and is
  2 39 approved by the Governor.  Such law shall not be
  2 40 passed more than four months prior to the fiscal year
  2 41 to which it applies.  Such law must be enacted prior
  2 42 to obligating any requested emergency expenditures.
  2 43    ENFORCEMENT.  SEC. 4.  Any citizen or taxpayer may,
  2 44 within two years after a tax or fee increase is
  2 45 adopted, bring suit to enforce compliance with this
  2 46 article.  If no such suit is filed within the two-year
  2 47 period, the elector approval requirement for that tax
  2 48 or fee increase is negated.  The Supreme Court shall
  2 49 have original jurisdiction of any such suit.  The
  2 50 Supreme Court shall invalidate any increase which
  3  1 should have been, but was not, submitted to the
  3  2 electors as required by this article and shall order
  3  3 that the revenue collected in violation of this
  3  4 article be refunded or applied to reduce future taxes.
  3  5 A citizen or taxpayer who brings suit and prevails
  3  6 shall receive from the state the costs of the suit,
  3  7 including reasonable attorney fees.
  3  8    CONTINGENT EFFECTIVE DATE.  SEC. 5.  This article
  3  9 shall first take effect January 1 following the
  3 10 regular session of the General Assembly in which all
  3 11 of the following has occurred:
  3 12    1.  The General Assembly fully funds all statutory
  3 13 obligations relating to kindergarten through grade
  3 14 twelve funding.
  3 15    2.  The General Assembly fully funds all property
  3 16 tax credits provided by statute.
  3 17    3.  The General Assembly fully funds the
  3 18 implementation of all state mandates on local
  3 19 governments or, in the alternative, the General
  3 20 Assembly repeals all state mandates on local
  3 21 governments that are not fully funded by the General
  3 22 Assembly.
  3 23    IMPLEMENTATION.  SEC. 6.  This article shall be
  3 24 interpreted and implemented to achieve its purpose to
  3 25 increase the electors' control of taxes and fees.  The
  3 26 General Assembly shall enact laws to implement this
  3 27 article.
  3 28    Sec. 2.  REFERRAL AND PUBLICATION.  The foregoing
  3 29 proposed amendment to the Constitution of the State of
  3 30 Iowa is referred to the General Assembly to be chosen
  3 31 at the next general election for members of the
  3 32 General Assembly, and the Secretary of State is
  3 33 directed to cause it to be published for three
  3 34 consecutive months previous to the date of that
  3 35 election as provided by law." 
  3 36 
  3 37 
  3 38                               
  3 39 MICHAEL E. GRONSTAL 
  3 40 
  3 41 
  3 42                               
  3 43 KEITH A. KREIMAN 
  3 44 
  3 45 
  3 46                               
  3 47 JOHN P. KIBBIE 
  3 48 
  3 49 
  3 50                               
  4  1 EUGENE S. FRAISE
  4  2 SJR 2010.201 80
  4  3 sc/sh
     

Text: S05205                            Text: S05207
Text: S05200 - S05299                   Text: S Index
Bills and Amendments: General Index     Bill History: General Index

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