HOUSE BILL NO. 1799 103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY
INTRODUCED BY REPRESENTATIVE MATTHIESEN.
4103H.01I JOSEPH ENGLER, Chief Clerk
AN ACT To amend chapter 67, RSMo, by adding thereto one new section relating to reductions of local tax rates.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the state of Missouri, as follows:
Section A. Chapter 67, RSMo, is amended by adding thereto one new section, to be 2 known as section 67.111, to read as follows: 67.111. 1. This section shall be known and may be cited as the "Taxation 2 Oversight and Reduction Act". 3 2. As used in this section, the following terms mean: 4 (1) "Combined property tax rate", the total real or personal property tax rate, 5 or both, set by a political subdivision that levies real or personal property taxes, or both, 6 excluding any tax rate set to pay the interest and principal on outstanding bonds or for 7 debt service purposes, that is necessary to finance and balance the political subdivision's 8 annual budget; 9 (2) "Local election authority", a political subdivision's election authority as 10 established in section 115.015; 11 (3) "Taxpayer", a resident of a political subdivision in which a question is 12 submitted under this section. 13 3. A taxpayer may submit a petition to the local election authority with 14 jurisdiction over a political subdivision for the reduction of the political subdivision's 15 combined property tax rate as provided in this section. 16 4. Reductions of the combined property tax rate occurring under this section 17 shall be subject to the following limitations:
EXPLANATION — Matter enclosed in bold-faced brackets [thus] in the above bill is not enacted and is intended to be omitted from the law. Matter in bold-face type in the above bill is proposed language. HB 1799 2
18 (1) No reduction shall exceed five percent of the combined property tax rate in 19 effect on the day the question is submitted to the voters, except that if the maximum 20 authorized levy is more than five percent higher than the current tax rate ceiling, the 21 reduction percentage submitted to the voters may be equal to the percentage necessary 22 to reduce the maximum authorized levy to be equal with the current tax rate ceiling; 23 (2) No reduction shall be submitted to the voters of the political subdivision more 24 frequently than four years from the date of the last question submitted to the voters 25 under this section; and 26 (3) No reduction shall apply to any portion of a combined property tax rate that 27 is set to pay the interest and principal on outstanding bonds or for debt service 28 purposes. 29 5. (1) A taxpayer who desires to seek a reduction of the taxpayer's political 30 subdivision's combined property tax rate under this section shall notify the political 31 subdivision's local election authority in person that the taxpayer intends to submit a 32 petition under this section. The taxpayer shall provide the local election authority with 33 a copy of the proposed petition. Upon notification, the local election authority shall: 34 (a) Notify the taxpayer that signatures are required to accompany the petition; 35 (b) Calculate the minimum required number of signatures the taxpayer needs to 36 submit with the petition; 37 (c) Calculate the total costs for verifying the minimum required number of 38 signatures; 39 (d) Provide the taxpayer with written or electronic verification of the number of 40 signatures required to be submitted with the petition to have the question placed on the 41 ballot; and 42 (e) Notify the taxpayer of the date by which the taxpayer shall submit the 43 petition and the signatures for the question to be placed on the ballot. 44 (2) A taxpayer who submits a petition under this section shall, at the same time 45 the taxpayer submits a petition for verification, submit signatures of registered voters in 46 the political subdivision in which the taxpayer seeks a reduction of the combined 47 property tax rate. The minimum required number of signatures accompanying the 48 petition shall be equal to five percent of the number of registered voters who voted in the 49 most recent election of members for the political subdivision's governing body. Each 50 signature shall be accompanied by a legible listing of each signer's printed name and 51 place of residence as contained in the precinct register maintained by the local election 52 authority with jurisdiction over the signer's place of residence. HB 1799 3
53 (3) No signature submitted with a petition shall be counted under this section 54 unless the local election authority verifies that the signature is the signature of a 55 registered voter of the political subdivision in which the question will be on the ballot. 56 (4) Each local election authority in this state shall establish and post notice of a 57 reasonable fee per signature that the local election authority may charge for the costs of 58 verifying signatures under this section. The fee shall not exceed fifty cents per 59 signature. The total amount of the costs for verifying the signatures shall not exceed the 60 product of the minimum required number of signatures under subdivision (2) of this 61 section multiplied by the fee per signature established by the local election authority. 62 (5) At the same time the taxpayer submits a petition with signatures, the 63 taxpayer shall remit to the local election authority the costs for verifying the 64 accompanying signatures. 65 6. (1) If a local election authority receives signatures and a petition to submit the 66 question of whether to reduce a political subdivision's combined property tax rate under 67 this section and verifies that each signature and the petition satisfies all requirements of 68 this section, the local election authority shall submit the question of whether to reduce 69 the combined property tax rate as provided by the petition to the registered voters of the 70 political subdivision on the next general municipal election day as established in section 71 115.121. 72 (2) The question submitted shall be in substantially the following form: "Shall _ 73 _____ (insert political subdivision name) reduce the total tax rate levied and imposed in 74 ______ (insert political subdivision name) by ______ (insert percentage) percent?". 75 (3) If a majority of the registered voters of the political subdivision voting on the 76 question approve the reduction of the combined property tax rate, the political 77 subdivision shall reduce the combined property tax rate by the percentage approved by 78 the registered voters voting on the question. If a majority of the registered voters of the 79 political subdivision voting on the question reject the reduction of the combined 80 property tax rate, no reduction as described in the petition shall occur. ✔
Statutes affected: