Senate File 2396     


                                         SENATE FILE       
                                         BY  NOBLE


       Passed Senate, Date               Passed House,  Date             
       Vote:  Ayes        Nays           Vote:  Ayes        Nays         
                    Approved                            

                                         A BILL FOR

     1 An Act relating to the establishment of and disbursement from a
     2    property taxpayer rebate fund, providing appropriations, and
     3    including an effective date provision.
     4 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:
     5 TLSB 6096XS 82
     6 sc/nh/5

PAG LIN



  1  1    Section 1.  Section 8.54, subsections 5 and 6, Code 2007,
  1  2 are amended to read as follows:
  1  3    5.  For fiscal years in which section 8.55, subsection 2,
  1  4 results in moneys being transferred to the general fund, the
  1  5 original state general fund expenditure limitation amount
  1  6 provided for in subsection 3 shall be readjusted to include
  1  7 the moneys which are so transferred.
  1  8    6.  5.  The scope of the expenditure limitation under
  1  9 subsection 3 shall not encompass federal funds, donations,
  1 10 constitutionally dedicated moneys, and moneys in expenditures
  1 11 from state retirement system moneys, and moneys disbursed from
  1 12 the property taxpayer rebate fund pursuant to section 8.55A.
  1 13    Sec. 2.  Section 8.55, subsection 2, Code 2007, is amended
  1 14 to read as follows:
  1 15    2.  a.  The maximum balance of the fund is the amount equal
  1 16 to two and one=half percent of the adjusted revenue estimate
  1 17 for the fiscal year.  If the amount of moneys in the Iowa
  1 18 economic emergency fund is equal to the maximum balance,
  1 19 moneys in excess of this amount shall be transferred to the
  1 20 general fund property taxpayer rebate fund established in
  1 21 section 8.55A.
  1 22    b.  Notwithstanding paragraph "a", any moneys in excess of
  1 23 the maximum balance in the economic emergency fund after the
  1 24 distribution of the surplus in the general fund of the state
  1 25 at the conclusion of each fiscal year shall not be transferred
  1 26 to the general fund of the state property taxpayer rebate fund
  1 27 but shall be transferred to the senior living trust fund.  The
  1 28 total amount appropriated, reverted, or transferred, in the
  1 29 aggregate, under this paragraph, section 8.57, subsection 2,
  1 30 and any other law providing for an appropriation or reversion
  1 31 or transfer of an appropriation to the credit of the senior
  1 32 living trust fund, for all fiscal years beginning on or after
  1 33 July 1, 2004, shall not exceed the amount specified in section
  1 34 8.57, subsection 2, paragraph "c".
  1 35    Sec. 3.  NEW SECTION.  8.55A  PROPERTY TAXPAYER REBATE
  2  1 FUND.
  2  2    1.  a.  A property taxpayer rebate fund is created in the
  2  3 state treasury.  The property taxpayer rebate fund shall be
  2  4 separate from the general fund of the state and shall not be
  2  5 considered part of the general fund of the state.  The moneys
  2  6 in the property taxpayer rebate fund are not subject to
  2  7 section 8.33 and shall not be transferred, used, obligated,
  2  8 appropriated, or otherwise encumbered except as provided in
  2  9 this section.  Notwithstanding section 12C.7, subsection 2,
  2 10 interest or earnings on moneys deposited in the property
  2 11 taxpayer rebate fund shall be credited to the fund.  Moneys in
  2 12 the property taxpayer rebate fund may be used for cash flow
  2 13 purposes during a fiscal year provided that any moneys so
  2 14 allocated are returned to the property taxpayer rebate fund by
  2 15 the end of that fiscal year.
  2 16    b.  In addition to the amounts transferred to the property
  2 17 taxpayer rebate fund pursuant to section 8.55, subsection 2,
  2 18 the general assembly shall annually appropriate for deposit to
  2 19 the fund an amount equal to the product of the balance in the
  2 20 fund as of the previous June 30 times the consumer price
  2 21 index.  For purposes of this paragraph, "consumer price index"
  2 22 means the consumer price index for the midwest region, as
  2 23 published in the federal register by the United States
  2 24 department of labor, bureau of labor statistics.
  2 25    c.  In addition to the amounts transferred to the property
  2 26 taxpayer rebate fund pursuant to section 8.55, subsection 2,
  2 27 and the amounts appropriated pursuant to paragraph "b", the
  2 28 general assembly, for any fiscal year, may appropriate moneys
  2 29 to the fund.
  2 30    2.  a.  There is appropriated for a fiscal year in which
  2 31 the fund balance reaches at least fifty million dollars to the
  2 32 director of revenue the total sum in the fund to be used as
  2 33 provided in paragraph "c".
  2 34    b.  By September 15 of the fiscal year, the director of
  2 35 revenue shall notify the county treasurer in each county that
  3  1 an appropriation pursuant to paragraph "a" was made.
  3  2    c.  By October 15 of the fiscal year, the county treasurers
  3  3 shall certify to the department of revenue the amount of
  3  4 property taxes collected in the previous fiscal year.  By
  3  5 November 15 of the fiscal year, the department shall issue to
  3  6 the county treasurer of each county an amount equal to the pro
  3  7 rata percentage of the total amount certified by all the
  3  8 treasurers and the amount certified for that county.
  3  9    d.  The county treasurer shall apply the amount received as
  3 10 either a credit on the property taxes due the following March
  3 11 or shall issue a rebate check to each property taxpayer no
  3 12 later than the following April 15.  Each property taxpayer in
  3 13 the county shall receive a credit or rebate in an amount equal
  3 14 to the pro rata percentage of the property taxes paid by the
  3 15 taxpayer in the previous fiscal year and the total amount of
  3 16 property taxes certified in the county for that fiscal year.
  3 17    3.  a.  In addition to the appropriation made in subsection
  3 18 2, the moneys in the property taxpayer rebate fund may be used
  3 19 for cash flow purposes pursuant to an appropriation made by
  3 20 the general assembly.  The appropriation shall be made in
  3 21 accordance with this subsection only for the fiscal year in
  3 22 which the appropriation is made.  The moneys shall only be
  3 23 appropriated by the general assembly for nonrecurring
  3 24 emergency expenditures and shall not be appropriated for
  3 25 payment of any collective bargaining agreement or arbitrator's
  3 26 decision negotiated or awarded under chapter 20.  Except as
  3 27 provided in section 8.58, the property taxpayer rebate fund
  3 28 shall be considered a special account for the purposes of
  3 29 section 8.53 in determining the cash position of the general
  3 30 fund of the state for the payment of state obligations.
  3 31    b.  Except as provided in subsection 2, an appropriation
  3 32 shall not be made from the property taxpayer rebate fund
  3 33 unless the appropriation is in accordance with all of the
  3 34 following:
  3 35    (1)  The appropriation is contained in a bill or joint
  4  1 resolution in which the appropriation is the only subject
  4  2 matter of the bill or joint resolution.
  4  3    (2)  The bill or joint resolution states the reasons the
  4  4 appropriation is necessary.
  4  5    c.  In addition to the requirements of paragraph "b", an
  4  6 appropriation shall not be made from the property taxpayer
  4  7 rebate fund unless the bill or joint resolution is approved by
  4  8 vote of at least two=thirds of the members of both chambers of
  4  9 the general assembly and is signed by the governor.
  4 10    Sec. 4.  Section 8.58, Code 2007, is amended to read as
  4 11 follows:
  4 12    8.58  EXEMPTION FROM AUTOMATIC APPLICATION.
  4 13    To the extent that moneys appropriated under section 8.57
  4 14 do not result in moneys being credited to the general fund
  4 15 under section 8.55, subsection 2, moneys Moneys appropriated
  4 16 under section 8.57 and moneys contained in the cash reserve
  4 17 fund, rebuild Iowa infrastructure fund, environment first
  4 18 fund, and Iowa economic emergency fund, and property taxpayer
  4 19 rebate fund shall not be considered in the application of any
  4 20 formula, index, or other statutory triggering mechanism which
  4 21 would affect appropriations, payments, or taxation rates,
  4 22 contrary provisions of the Code notwithstanding.
  4 23    To the extent that moneys appropriated under section 8.57
  4 24 do not result in moneys being credited to the general fund
  4 25 under section 8.55, subsection 2, moneys Moneys appropriated
  4 26 under section 8.57 and moneys contained in the cash reserve
  4 27 fund, rebuild Iowa infrastructure fund, environment first
  4 28 fund, and Iowa economic emergency fund, and property taxpayer
  4 29 rebate fund shall not be considered by an arbitrator or in
  4 30 negotiations under chapter 20.
  4 31    Sec. 5.  EFFECTIVE DATE.  This Act takes effect January 1,
  4 32 2009.
  4 33                           EXPLANATION
  4 34    This bill establishes a property taxpayer rebate fund.
  4 35 Moneys in the economic emergency fund in excess of the limit
  5  1 of the fund and after payment of certain amounts to the senior
  5  2 living trust fund are to be deposited into the property
  5  3 taxpayer rebate fund.  Present law requires such excess to be
  5  4 deposited into the state general fund.
  5  5    The bill also provides that an appropriation shall be made
  5  6 to the fund annually in an amount equal to the product of the
  5  7 balance in the fund on the previous June 30 times the consumer
  5  8 price index.  The bill defines "consumer price index".  The
  5  9 bill also provides that the general assembly may make further
  5 10 appropriations to the fund in its discretion.
  5 11    Once the balance of the property taxpayer rebate fund
  5 12 reaches $50 million, the fund is to be rebated to the property
  5 13 taxpayers based on property taxes paid in the previous year.
  5 14    The bill allows the general assembly to make an
  5 15 appropriation from the fund for cash flow purposes but only if
  5 16 the appropriation is for nonrecurring emergency expenditures,
  5 17 made for the fiscal year in which the appropriation is made,
  5 18 is the only subject matter of the bill, and is approved by at
  5 19 least two=thirds of the members of each house and signed by
  5 20 the governor.
  5 21    The bill takes effect January 1, 2009.
  5 22 LSB 6096XS 82
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