1. a. A local sales and services tax shall be imposed by a county only after an election at which a majority of those voting on the question favors imposition. The effective date shall be either January 1 or July 1 but not sooner than ninety days following the favorable election. A local sales and services tax approved by a majority vote shall apply to all incorporated and unincorporated areas of that county.
b. A local sales and services tax shall be repealed on either June 30 or December 31 but not sooner than ninety days following the favorable election, if one is held.
c. If a local sales and services tax has been imposed prior to April 1, 2000, and at the time of the election a date for repeal was specified on the ballot, the local sales and services tax may be repealed on that date, notwithstanding paragraph "b".
2. a. Upon receipt by a county board of supervisors of a petition requesting imposition of a local sales and services tax for infrastructure purposes, 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, the board shall within thirty days direct the county commissioner of elections to submit the question of imposition of the tax to the registered voters of the whole county.
b. Alternatively, the question of imposition of a local sales and services tax for school infrastructure purposes may be proposed by motion or motions, requesting such submission, adopted by the governing body of a school district or school districts located within the county containing a total, or a combined total in the case of more than one school district, of at least one-half of the population of the county, or by the county board of supervisors. Upon adoption of such motion, the governing body of a school district shall notify the board of supervisors of the adoption of the motion. The county board of supervisors shall submit the motion to the county commissioner of elections, who 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.
3. The county commissioner of elections shall submit the question of imposition of a local sales and services tax for school infrastructure purposes 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 rate of tax, the date the tax will be imposed and repealed, and shall contain a statement as to the specific purpose or purposes for which the revenues shall be expended. The content of the ballot proposition shall be substantially similar to the petition of the board of supervisors or motions of a school district or school districts requesting the election as provided in subsection 2, as applicable, including the rate of tax, imposition and repeal date, and the specific purpose or purposes for which the revenues will be expended. The dates for the imposition and repeal of the tax shall be as provided in subsection 1. The rate of tax shall not be more than one percent. The state commissioner of elections shall establish by rule the form for the ballot proposition which form shall be uniform throughout the state.
4. a. Each school district located within the county may submit a revenue purpose statement to the county commissioner of elections no later than sixty days prior to the election indicating the specific purpose or purposes for which the local sales and services tax for school infrastructure revenue and supplemental school infrastructure amount revenue will be expended. The revenues received pursuant to this chapter shall be expended for the purposes indicated in the revenue purpose statement. The revenue purpose statement may include information regarding the school district's use of the revenues to provide for property tax relief or debt reduction. A copy of the revenue purpose statement shall be made available for public inspection in accordance with chapter 22, shall be posted at the appropriate polling places of each school district during the hours that the polls are open, and be published in a newspaper of general circulation in the school district no sooner than twenty days and no later than ten days prior to the election.
b. If a revenue purpose statement is not submitted sixty days prior to the election or revenues remain after fulfilling the purpose specified in the revenue purpose statement, the revenues shall be used to reduce the following levies in the following order:
(1) Bond levies under sections 298.18 and 298.18A and all other debt levies, until the moneys received or the levies are reduced to zero.
(2) The regular physical plant and equipment levy under section 298.2, until the moneys received or the levy is reduced to zero.
(3) The voter-approved physical plant and equipment levy and income surtax, if any, under section 298.2, until the moneys received or the levy and income surtax, if any, are reduced to zero.
(4) The public educational and recreational levy under section 300.2, until the moneys received or the levy is reduced to zero.
(5) The schoolhouse tax levy under section 278.1, subsection 7, Code 1989, until the moneys received or the levy is reduced to zero.
Any money remaining after the reduction of the levies specified in this paragraph "b" may be used for any authorized infrastructure purpose of the school district.
c. Counties holding an election on the local sales and services tax for school infrastructure purposes on or after April 1, 2003, but before July 1, 2003, which approve the imposition of the tax at the election shall expend the revenues for any authorized infrastructure purpose of the school district.
5. a. The tax may be repealed or the rate increased, but not above one percent, or decreased, or the use of the revenues changed after an election at which a majority of those voting on the question of repeal, rate change, or change in use favored the repeal, rate change, or change in use. The election at which the question of repeal, rate change, or change in use is offered shall be called and held in the same manner and under the same conditions as provided in this section for the election on the imposition of the tax. However, an election on the change in use shall only be held in the school district where the change in use is proposed to occur. The election may be held at any time but not sooner than sixty days following publication of the ballot proposition. However, the tax shall not be repealed before it has been in effect for one year.
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 the tax, the county auditor shall give written notice of the result of the election by sending a copy of the abstract of the votes from the favorable election to the director of revenue. Election costs shall be apportioned among school districts within the county on a pro rata basis in proportion to the number of registered voters in each school district who reside within the county and the total number of registered voters within the county.
c. A local option sales and services tax shall not be repealed or reduced in rate if obligations are outstanding which are payable as provided in section 422E.4, unless funds sufficient to pay the principal, interest, and premium, if any, on the outstanding obligations at and prior to maturity have been properly set aside and pledged for that purpose. However, this paragraph does not apply to the repeal of the tax on December 31, 2022, as specified in section 422E.1, subsection 2.
98 Acts, ch 1130, §2, 6; 99 Acts, ch 156, §15, 16, 23; 2000 Acts, ch 1058, §37; 2001 Acts, ch 24, §50; 2002 Acts, ch 1134, §111, 115; 2003 Acts, ch 145, §286; 2003 Acts, ch 157, §2--4, 11
Amendments to subsections 1 and 3 are effective April 1, 2000, for local sales and services taxes; 99 Acts, ch 156, §15, 23
2002 amendment to subsection 5, paragraph b, unnumbered paragraph 1, takes effect January 1, 2003, and applies to elections held on or after that date; 2002 Acts, ch 1134, §115
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