HF 2121 (LSB 5408YH (3) 87)

HOUSE FILE 2121

BY  HEARTSILL

A BILL FOR

An Act establishing a voter-approved county senior services property tax levy.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:

    Section 1.  NEW SECTION.  331.424D  Senior services property tax levy —— petition —— election.
   1.  a.  The board, upon receipt of a petition as provided in section 331.306 requesting imposition of the levy under this section, shall, at an election held on a date specified in section 39.2, subsection 4, paragraph “a”, submit to the registered voters of the county the question as to whether the board shall be authorized to levy on all taxable property within the county a tax not to exceed thirty cents per one thousand dollars of assessed value to be used for the purpose of contracting with persons to provide senior services within the county for a period of time not to exceed ten years after the date of the election at which the levy was authorized.
   b.  The election shall not be held sooner than sixty days after publication of notice of the ballot proposition. The ballot proposition shall specify a maximum levy rate that may be imposed by the board, not to exceed the limitation in paragraph “a”, and, if requested in the petition, specify a date that the authorization to impose the levy shall automatically be repealed, but not later than ten years after the date of the election. The cost of the election shall be borne by the county. If a majority voting on the question approves authorization of imposition of the levy, the board may impose the levy.
   2.  Taxes levied under this section are in addition to any other moneys the county may wish to spend for such purposes, are not subject to the levy rate limitations of section 331.423, and shall not be deducted from the maximum rates of taxes authorized to be levied by the county pursuant to section 331.423.
   3.  a.  If a levy under this section is authorized at election, the authorization may be terminated in the same manner by petition election at any time before expiration of the period of time for which the levy was authorized.
   b.  Following the petition and approval at election under subsection 1 or a prior extension under this paragraph, the board of supervisors may, by resolution, and in lieu of the petition required under subsection 1, direct the county commissioner of elections to submit to the registered voters of the county the question of whether to extend the period of time authorized to impose the levy for a period of time ending not later than ten years after the end of the current authorized period. For an extension approved by the voters under this paragraph to be valid, the election shall be held prior to expiration of the current authorized period.
   4.  Revenues resulting from the levy under this section shall be deposited in the county’s general fund but shall not be used for a purpose other than senior services and shall not be transferred to any other fund of the county as provided in rules promulgated by the county finance committee created in section 333A.1.
   5.  For the purposes of this section, “senior services” includes the following services if provided to individuals fifty-five years of age or older:
   a.  Adult day services, as defined in section 231D.1.
   b.  Chronic disease self-management and fall prevention services. 
   c.  Personal care assistance.
   d.  Home-delivered meals, congregate meals, and nutrition assessments and counseling. 
   e.  Personal emergency response services.
   f.  Fiscal management assistance.
   g.  Transportation assistance. 
   h.  Social and recreational facilities and activities.
    Sec. 2.  Section 403.19, subsection 2, paragraph a, Code 2018, is amended to read as follows:
   a.  That portion of the taxes each year in excess of such amount shall be allocated to and when collected be paid into a special fund of the municipality to pay the principal of and interest on loans, moneys advanced to, or indebtedness, whether funded, refunded, assumed, or otherwise, including bonds issued under the authority of section 403.9, subsection 1, incurred by the municipality to finance or refinance, in whole or in part, an urban renewal project within the area, and to provide assistance for low and moderate income family housing as provided in section 403.22. However, except as provided in paragraph “b”, taxes for the regular and voter-approved physical plant and equipment levy of a school district imposed pursuant to section 298.2 and taxes for the instructional support program of a school district imposed pursuant to section 257.19, taxes for the payment of bonds and interest of each taxing district, taxes for the senior services levy under section 331.424D, and taxes imposed under section 346.27, subsection 22, related to joint county-city buildings shall be collected against all taxable property within the taxing district without limitation by the provisions of this subsection.
EXPLANATION
The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with
the explanation’s substance by the members of the general assembly.
   This bill establishes a county senior services property tax levy that may be imposed by the county board of supervisors following receipt of a petition and majority approval at election by the voters of the county. The levy may not exceed 30 cents per $1,000 of assessed value and must be used for the purpose of contracting with persons to provide senior services within the county. The maximum period of time that imposition of the levy may be authorized is 10 years after the date of the election at which the levy was authorized.
   The bill provides that taxes levied under the bill are in addition to any other moneys the county may wish to spend for senior services and are not subject to the general county services and rural county services levy rate limitations. The levy authorization may be terminated in the same manner by petition election at any time before expiration of the period of time for which the levy was authorized. The bill also establishes procedures for extending the levy authorization.
   The bill defines “senior services” to include the following services if provided to individuals 55 years of age or older: (1) adult day services; (2) chronic disease self-management and fall prevention services; (3) personal care assistance; (4) home-delivered meals, congregate meals, and nutrition assessments and counseling; (5) personal emergency response services; (6) fiscal management assistance; (7) transportation assistance; and (8) social and recreational facilities and activities. The bill allows such senior services to be provided by the county or provided by a person with whom the county has contracted.
   The bill excludes the county senior services levy from the division of revenue under Code section 403.19 (tax increment financing). Under the bill, the senior services property tax levy is not divided and paid into the municipality’s special fund for the payment of urban renewal indebtedness but instead is required to be levied, collected, and paid to the county in the same manner as all other property taxes.