House Study Bill 107
HOUSE FILE
BY (PROPOSED COMMITTEE ON
LOCAL GOVERNMENT BILL
BY CHAIRPERSON GASKILL)
Passed House, Date Passed Senate, Date
Vote: Ayes Nays Vote: Ayes Nays
Approved
A BILL FOR
1 An Act concerning the issuance of certain county general
2 obligation bonds by requiring published notice and modifying
3 the ballot proposition, and including effective date,
4 validation, and retroactive applicability provisions.
5 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:
6 TLSB 1974HC 83
7 sc/rj/14
PAG LIN
1 1 Section 1. Section 331.442, subsection 2, Code 2009, is
1 2 amended to read as follows:
1 3 2. a. The board shall publish notice of the proposal to
1 4 issue the bonds, including a statement of the amount and
1 5 purpose of the bonds and a statement of the estimated cost of
1 6 the project for which the bonds are to be issued. The notice
1 7 shall be published as provided in section 331.305 with the
1 8 minutes of the meeting at which the board adopts a resolution
1 9 to call a county special election to vote upon the question of
1 10 issuing the bonds. The cost of the project, as published in
1 11 the notice pursuant to this paragraph, is an estimate and is
1 12 not intended to be binding on the board in later proceedings
1 13 related to the project.
1 14 b. Before the board may institute proceedings for the
1 15 issuance of bonds for a general county purpose, it shall call
1 16 a county special election to vote upon the question of issuing
1 17 the bonds. At the election the proposition shall be submitted
1 18 in the following form:
1 19 Shall the county of ....., state of Iowa, be authorized
1 20 to ....... (state purpose of project) at a total cost not
1 21 exceeding $... and issue its general obligation bonds in an
1 22 amount not exceeding the amount of $... for that the purpose
1 23 of ............?
1 24 Sec. 2. Section 331.447, subsection 1, paragraph b, Code
1 25 2009, is amended to read as follows:
1 26 b. The amount estimated and certified to apply on
1 27 principal and interest for any one year may only exceed the
1 28 statutory rate of levy limit, if any, by the amount that the
1 29 registered voters of the county have approved at a special
1 30 election, which may be held at the same time as the general
1 31 election and may be included in the proposition authorizing
1 32 the issuance of bonds, if an election on the proposition is
1 33 necessary, or may be submitted as a separate proposition at
1 34 the same election or at a different election. Notice of the
1 35 election shall be given as specified in section 331.305. If
2 1 the proposition includes issuing bonds and increasing the levy
2 2 limit, it shall be in substantially the following form:
2 3 Shall the county of ....., state of Iowa, be authorized
2 4 to .......... (here state purpose of project) at a total cost
2 5 not exceeding $.... and issue its general obligation bonds
2 6 in an amount not exceeding the amount of $.... for that
2 7 purpose, and be authorized to levy annually a tax not
2 8 exceeding ... dollars and ... cents per thousand dollars of
2 9 the assessed value of the taxable property within the county
2 10 to pay the principal of and interest on the bonds?
2 11 If the proposition includes only increasing the levy limit
2 12 it shall be in substantially the following form:
2 13 Shall the county of ....., state of Iowa, be authorized to
2 14 levy annually a tax not exceeding ... dollars and ... cents
2 15 per thousand dollars of the assessed value of the taxable
2 16 property within the county to pay principal and interest
2 17 on the bonded indebtedness of the county for the purpose
2 18 of ..........?
2 19 Sec. 3. VALIDATION AND RETROACTIVE APPLICABILITY == BOARD
2 20 RESOLUTION.
2 21 1. If, on the effective date of this Act, the cost of a
2 22 project authorized by ballot proposition that approved the
2 23 issuance of county general obligation bonds at an election
2 24 held prior to the effective date of this Act does not exceed
2 25 one hundred ten percent of the project cost stated on the
2 26 ballot proposition, the bond issuance amount and tax levy
2 27 authorization as stated on the ballot and the increased cost
2 28 of the project are hereby legalized and validated and, to that
2 29 extent, this Act applies retroactively to the date of the
2 30 election.
2 31 2. The board of supervisors of a county may proceed with a
2 32 project under subsection 1 only after adoption of a resolution
2 33 stating the project's compliance with the conditions of
2 34 subsection 1 and the board's intention to proceed with the
2 35 project.
3 1 Sec. 4. EFFECTIVE DATE. This Act, being deemed of
3 2 immediate importance, takes effect upon enactment.
3 3 EXPLANATION
3 4 This bill makes changes relating to issuance of certain
3 5 county general obligation bonds.
3 6 The bill modifies the ballot proposition language relating
3 7 to issuance of county general obligation bonds to remove the
3 8 requirement that the total cost of the project be stated on
3 9 the ballot, in addition to the amount of the bond issuance for
3 10 which approval is being sought at election.
3 11 The bill requires a county to publish notice of the
3 12 proposal to issue general obligation bonds that require
3 13 approval at election. The notice must be published with the
3 14 minutes of the meeting at which the board of supervisors
3 15 adopts a resolution to call a special election on issuance of
3 16 the bonds.
3 17 The bill legalizes and validates the issuance of general
3 18 obligation bonds approved at an election held prior to the
3 19 effective date of the bill, with respect to the amount of the
3 20 bond issuance stated on the ballot proposition, if the project
3 21 cost on the effective date of the bill does not exceed 110
3 22 percent of the project cost stated on the ballot proposition,
3 23 and, to that extent, the bill applies retroactively to the
3 24 date of the election. A county board of supervisors is
3 25 required to adopt a resolution stating project compliance and
3 26 its intention to proceed with the project.
3 27 The bill takes effect upon enactment.
3 28 LSB 1974HC 83
3 29 sc/rj/14