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422B.1 Authorization---election---imposition and repeal.

1. A county may impose by ordinance of the board of supervisors local option taxes authorized by this chapter, subject to this section.

2. A local option tax shall be imposed only after an election at which a majority of those voting on the question favors imposition and shall then be imposed until repealed as provided in subsection 5, paragraph "a". If the tax is a local vehicle tax imposed by a county, it shall apply to all incorporated and unincorporated areas of the county. If the tax is a local sales and services tax imposed by a county, it shall only apply to those incorporated areas and the unincorporated area of that county in which a majority of those voting in the area on the tax favors its imposition. For purposes of the local sales and services tax, all cities contiguous to each other shall be treated as part of one incorporated area and the tax would be imposed in each of those contiguous cities only if the majority of those voting in the total area covered by the contiguous cities favors its imposition. For purposes of the local sales and services tax, a city is not contiguous to another city if the only road access between the two cities is through another state.

3. a. A county board of supervisors shall direct within thirty days the county commissioner of elections to submit the question of imposition of a local vehicle tax or a local sales and services tax to the qualified electors of the incorporated and unincorporated areas of the county upon receipt of a petition, requesting imposition of a local vehicle tax or a local sales and services tax, signed by eligible electors of the whole county equal in number to five percent of the persons in the whole county who voted at the last preceding state general election. In the case of a local vehicle tax, the petition requesting imposition shall specify the rate of tax and the classes, if any, that are to be exempt. If more than one valid petition is received, the earliest received petition shall be used.

b. The question of the imposition of a local sales and services tax shall be submitted to the qualified electors of the incorporated and unincorporated areas of the county upon receipt by the county commissioner of elections of the motion or motions, requesting such submission, adopted by the governing body or bodies of the city or cities located within the county or of the county, for the unincorporated areas of the county, representing at least one half of the population of the county. Upon adoption of such motion, the governing body of the city or county, for the unincorporated areas, shall submit the motion to the county commissioner of elections and in the case of the governing body of the city shall notify the board of supervisors of the adoption of the motion. The county commissioner of elections shall keep a file on all the motions received and, upon reaching the population requirements, shall publish notice of the ballot proposition concerning the imposition of the local sales and services tax. A motion ceases to be valid at the time of the holding of the regular election for the election of members of the governing body which adopted the motion. The county commissioner of elections shall eliminate from the file any motion that ceases to be valid. The manner provided under this paragraph for the submission of the question of imposition of a local sales and services tax is an alternative to the manner provided in paragraph "a".

4. The county commissioner of elections shall submit the question of imposition of a local option tax at a state general election or at a special election held at any time other than the time of a city regular election. The election shall not be held sooner than sixty days after publication of notice of the ballot proposition. The ballot proposition shall specify the type and rate of tax and in the case of a vehicle tax the classes that will be exempt and in the case of a local sales and services tax the date it will be imposed. The ballot proposition shall also specify the approximate amount of local option tax revenues that will be used for property tax relief and shall contain a statement as to the specific purpose or purposes for which the revenues shall otherwise be expended. If the county board of supervisors decides under subsection 5 to specify a date on which the local option sales and services tax shall automatically be repealed, the date of the repeal shall also be specified on the ballot. The rate of the vehicle tax shall be in increments of one dollar per vehicle as set by the petition seeking to impose the tax. The rate of a local sales and services tax shall not be more than one percent as set by the governing body. The state commissioner of elections shall establish by rule the form for the ballot proposition which form shall be uniform throughout the state.

5. a. If a majority of those voting on the question of imposition of a local option tax favor imposition of a local option tax, the governing body of that county shall impose the tax at the rate specified for an unlimited period. However, in the case of a local sales and services tax, the county shall not impose the tax in any incorporated area or the unincorporated area if the majority of those voting on the tax in that area did not favor its imposition. For purposes of the local sales and services tax, all cities contiguous to each other shall be treated as part of one incorporated area and the tax shall be imposed in each of those contiguous cities only if the majority of those voting on the tax in the total area covered by the contiguous cities favored its imposition. The local option tax may be repealed or the rate increased or decreased or the use thereof changed after an election at which a majority of those voting on the question of repeal or rate or use change favored the repeal or rate or use change. The election at which the question of repeal or rate or use change is offered shall be called and held in the same manner and under the same conditions as provided in subsections 3 and 4 for the election on the imposition of the local option tax. However, in the case of a local sales and services tax where the tax has not been imposed countywide, the question of repeal or imposition or rate or use change shall be voted on only by the qualified electors of the areas of the county where the tax has been imposed or has not been imposed, as appropriate.

When submitting the question of the imposition of a local sales and services tax, the county board of supervisors may direct that the question contain a provision for the repeal, without election, of the local sales and services tax on a specific date, which date shall be the end of a calendar quarter.

b. Within ten days of the election at which a majority of those voting on the question favors the imposition, repeal, or change in the rate of a local option tax, the governing body shall give written notice to the director of revenue and finance or, in the case of a local vehicle tax, to the director of the department of transportation, of the result of the election.

6. More than one of the authorized local option taxes may be submitted at a single election and the different taxes shall be separately implemented as provided in this section.

Costs of local option tax elections shall be apportioned among jurisdictions within the county voting on the question at the same election on a pro rata basis in proportion to the number of qualified electors in each taxing jurisdiction and the total number of qualified electors in all of the taxing jurisdictions.

7. Local option taxes authorized to be imposed as provided in this chapter are a local sales and services tax and a local vehicle tax. The rate of the tax shall be in increments of one dollar per vehicle for a vehicle tax as set on the petition seeking to impose the vehicle tax. The rate of a local sales and services tax shall not be more than one percent as set by the governing body.

8. In a county that has imposed a local option sales and services tax, the board of supervisors shall, notwithstanding any contrary provision of this chapter, repeal the local option sales and services tax in the unincorporated areas or in an incorporated city area in which the tax has been imposed upon adoption of its own motion for repeal in the unincorporated areas or upon receipt of a motion adopted by the governing body of that incorporated city area requesting repeal. The board of supervisors shall repeal the local option sales and services tax effective at the end of the calendar quarter during which it adopted the repeal motion or the motion for the repeal was received. For purposes of this subsection, incorporated city area includes an incorporated city which is contiguous to another incorporated city.

Section History: Recent form

85 Acts, ch 32, § 89; 85 Acts, ch 198, § 6; 86 Acts, ch 1199, § 2--;6; 89 Acts, ch 146, § 1; 89 Acts, ch 276, § 1; 90 Acts, ch 1256, § 21; 92 Acts, ch 1063, § 1; 93 Acts, ch 143, §50


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