REFERENCE TITLE: intergovernmental public transportation authority; taxation
State of Arizona
House of Representatives
Fifty-third Legislature
First Regular Session
2017
HB 2230
Introduced by
Representative Shooter
AN ACT
Amending sections 28-9102, 28-9103, 28-9121, 28-9122 and 28-9142, Arizona Revised Statutes; amending title 28, chapter 26, article 3, Arizona Revised Statutes, by adding section 28-9144; amending section 42-6106, Arizona Revised Statutes; relating to intergovernmental public transportation authorities.
(TEXT OF BILL BEGINS ON NEXT PAGE)
Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of Arizona:
Section 1. Section 28-9102, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended to read:
START_STATUTE28-9102. Formation
A. An intergovernmental public transportation authority may be organized as provided by this section in any county with a population of two hundred thousand persons or less. the authority may be organized and configured as follows:
1. The county board of supervisors may organize the authority with boundaries coterminous with the boundaries of the county.
B. 2. The governing body of one or more incorporated cities or towns may petition the county board of supervisors to establish anthe authority consisting of the area within the incorporated boundary of the municipality or municipalities.
C. 3. If the organizing municipalities are not contiguous, the unincorporated areas between the organizing municipalities must also be included in the authority with the approval of the county board of supervisors. The board of supervisors shall establish the boundaries of the unincorporated area to be included in the authority.
D. 4. Incorporated cities and towns in different counties, each of which meet the population limit prescribed by this subsection A , may petition their respective county boards of supervisors to establish a joint authority consisting of the combined areas within their respective municipal boundaries and including any intervening unincorporated areas in the counties.
E. B. The board of supervisors shall hold at least one hearing on the petition in one of the petitioning municipalities to determine public support for the authority and whether establishing the authority would be in the public interest. In the case of petitioning municipalities in different counties, the board of supervisors of each county shall hold separate hearings and each board shall make its determination separately.
F. C. If the board of supervisors determines that establishing the authority would serve the public convenience, necessity, safety or welfare, the board of supervisors shall establish the authority by a resolution that includes a description of the boundaries of the authority. In the case of an authority in different counties, the county boards of supervisors shall establish the authority by an intergovernmental agreement.
G. D. If an authority is established under this chapter, any university that is under the jurisdiction of the Arizona board of regents and that is located in a municipality in the authority, any community college district that is located in a municipality in the authority, or any Indian nation that has a boundary within a county in which an authority is established, may become a member of the authority by intergovernmental agreement. END_STATUTE
Sec. 2. Section 28-9103, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended to read:
START_STATUTE28-9103. Corporate existence; rights and immunities; official name
A. An authority is a corporate body and a political, tax‑levying public improvement and taxing subdivision of this state that may act in its official corporate name and has all of the rights and immunities of municipal corporations that are granted by the constitution and statutes of this state, including immunity of its property from taxation.
B. The initial board of directors of the authority shall adopt the official name of the authority that shall contain the words "intergovernmental public transportation authority". END_STATUTE
Sec. 3. Section 28-9121, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended to read:
START_STATUTE28-9121. Organization; board of directors
A. The executive director of the regional council of governments shall function as organizing director of the authority until replaced by a permanent general manager by the initial board of directors.
B. A board of directors shall govern the authority, and the governing bodies of the participating governmental entities shall appoint the board of directors. The board of directors shall consist of at least five and not more than nine members apportioned as follows:
1. The county board of supervisors shall appoint one member if any part of the authority is located in an unincorporated area of the county. If the authority is located in more than one county, each county board of supervisors shall appoint one member of the board of directors.
2. If a university is a member of the authority pursuant to section 28‑9102, subsection G D, the president of the university shall appoint one member of the board of directors.
3. If a community college district is a member of the authority pursuant to section 28‑9102, subsection G D, the president or chancellor of the community college district shall appoint one member of the board of directors.
4. If an Indian nation is a member of the authority pursuant to section 28‑9102, subsection G D, the highest elected official of the Indian nation shall appoint one member of the board of directors.
5. The remaining membership shall be apportioned among the participating municipalities according to their respective populations.
C. Members of the board serve for five yearfive‑year terms ending on January 1 of the appropriate year, except that:
1. The members of the initial board serve for terms of two, three, four and five years, determined by lot. Succeeding members serve full five yearfive‑year terms in staggered rotation.
2. The appointing governmental entity may remove any of its appointive members for cause.
D. The board shall elect a chairperson and other officers from among its members and shall prescribe by rule their functions and terms and conditions of appointment. END_STATUTE
Sec. 4. Section 28-9122, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended to read:
START_STATUTE28-9122. Administrative powers and duties
A. The board shall:
1. Determine its organizational and procedural structure, adopt, amend and repeal bylaws and rules consistent with the requirements of this chapter and prescribe a system of accounts.
2. Employ a general manager and other employees as may be necessary and prescribe the duties, terms and conditions of employment. The general manager serves at the pleasure of the board. All employees shall be selected on the exclusive basis of merit according to their qualifications.
3. Manage, set policy and conduct the business and affairs of the authority.
4. Enter into contracts, including intergovernmental agreements.
5. Provide for payment of all debts and appropriate claims against the authority from the appropriate funds.
6. Issue an annual report on or before December 1 containing a full account of its transactions, activities and finances for the preceding fiscal year and other facts and recommendations. The board shall transmit copies of the report to each member municipality, university and county, to the secretary of state, to the Arizona state library, archives and public records and, on request, to any member of the public.
B. The board may:
1. Delegate any powers and duties under this section to the general manager.
2. Sue and be sued.
3. Adopt a seal for the authority to be used to attest to documents.
4. Retain outside professional services, including legal counsel.
5. Acquire suitable offices, furnishings and necessary equipment, supplies and other personal property.
6. If the authority's boundaries are coterminous with the county boundaries, approve a request to the county board of supervisors for an election to approve the levy of a county transportation excise tax as authorized by section 42-6106.
6. 7. Perform all other acts necessary to carry out the purposes of this chapter.
C. The board may not exercise the power of eminent domain.
D. Immediately on organization, the board shall initiate proceedings to determine the application of federal voting laws to the authority and shall take any necessary action to comply with the applicable federal laws.END_STATUTE
Sec. 5. Section 28-9142, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended to read:
START_STATUTE28-9142. Public transportation authority fund
A. The authority treasurer shall maintain a public transportation authority fund consisting of all monies received by the authority, including:
1. Monies appropriated or paid to the authority from municipalities, member universities and the county.
2. Monies received by the authority from the federal government or this state.
3. Grants, gifts and other donations from any source.
4. Revenues collected by the authority as fares and other proceeds from operating the public transportation system.
5. Monies received from the county transportation excise tax as provided in section 42‑6106.
B. Monies in the fund may be used for any lawful purpose of the authority.
C. The authority treasurer may invest any unexpended monies in the fund as provided in title 35, chapter 2, including in the local government investment pool, if authorized by the state treasurer. Interest and other income from investments shall be credited to the fund.
D. The authority treasurer shall invest the monies to mature at the times when the fund assets will be required for the purposes of this article. If the liquid assets in the fund become insufficient to meet the authority's obligations, the board of directors shall:
1. Direct the authority treasurer to liquidate sufficient securities to meet all of the current obligations.
2. Immediately notify the auditor general of the insufficiency. The auditor general shall investigate and audit the circumstances surrounding the depletion of the fund and report the findings to the board.
E. if a county transportation excise tax is approved for the authority by the qualified electors voting at a countywide election, the department of revenue shall collect all tax monies pursuant to section 42‑6106 and deposit the monies monthly pursuant to section 42-5014 in the public transportation authority fund. The beneficial interest in the fund is the authority that levies the tax, and neither this state nor the county has any beneficial interest, either legal or equitable, in the fund except for the repayment of election expenses.
E. F. The board shall cause an annual audit to be conducted of the fund by an independent certified public accountant within one hundred twenty days after the end of the fiscal year. The board shall immediately file a certified copy of the audit with the auditor general. The auditor general may make further audits and examinations as necessary, but if the auditor general takes no official action within thirty days after the audit is filed, the audit is considered to be sufficient. The board shall pay all fees and costs of the certified public accountant and auditor general under this subsection from the fund. END_STATUTE
Sec. 6. Title 28, chapter 26, article 3, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended by adding section 28-9144, to read:
START_STATUTE28-9144. Election on intergovernmental public transportation authority excise tax
A. The board of directors of an authority with boundaries coterminous with the county boundaries, by resolution certified to the county board of supervisors, may request that the issue of levying a county transportation excise tax pursuant to section 42-6106 be submitted to the qualified electors at a countywide special election or placed on the ballot at a countywide general election. Within six months after receiving a certified copy of the resolution, the county board of supervisors shall either call a special election or place the issue on the ballot of a general election, subject to the requirements of this section.
B. In addition to any other requirements prescribed by law, the county board of supervisors shall prepare and print a publicity pamphlet concerning the ballot question and mail one copy of the pamphlet to each household containing a registered voter in the county. The mailings may be made over a period of days but shall be mailed for delivery before the earliest date registered voters may receive early ballots for the election. The publicity pamphlet shall contain:
1. The date of the election.
2. The location of the individual household's polling place and the time the polls will be open.
3. A summary of the principal provisions of the issue presented to the voters, including the rate of the county transportation excise tax, the number of years the tax will be in effect and the projected annual and cumulative amount of revenues to be raised.
4. The form of the ballot.
5. Any arguments for or against the ballot measure. Affirmative arguments, arranged in the order in which the elections director received them, shall be placed before the negative arguments, which shall also be arranged in the order in which they were received.
C. Not later than ninety days before the date of the election, a person may file with the county election officer an argument that is not more than three hundred words in length and that either advocates for or opposes the ballot measure, subject to the following requirements:
1. The person who files the argument shall pay to the election officer a publication fee prescribed by the board of supervisors. Payment of the fee required by this paragraph, or reimbursement of the payor, constitutes sponsorship of the argument.
2. If the argument is sponsored by one or more individuals, the argument shall be signed by each sponsoring individual.
3. If the argument is sponsored by one or more organizations, the argument shall be signed by two executive officers of each organization.
4. If the argument is sponsored by one or more political committees, the argument shall be signed by each committee's chairperson or treasurer.
5. The names of persons who have signed arguments and the names of sponsoring organizations or political committees shall appear with the argument in the pamphlet. The person or persons signing the argument shall also give their residence or post office address and a telephone number, which shall not appear in the pamphlet.
D. In addition to any other ballot requirements prescribed by law, the election officer shall cause the following to be printed on the official ballot:
1. The designation of the measure as follows: "Relating to intergovernmental public transportation authority excise (sales) taxes".
2. Instructions directing the voter to the full text of the official and descriptive titles containing the summary as printed in the sample ballot and posted in the polling place.
3. The question submitted to the voters as follows:
Do you favor the levy of a transaction privilege (sales) tax for public transportation purposes in ____________ county? YES __________ NO __________
(A "YES" vote has the effect of imposing a transaction privilege (sales) tax in __________ county for ________ years to provide funding for public transportation projects.)
(A "NO" vote has the effect of rejecting the transaction privilege (sales) tax for public transportation purposes in __________ county.)
E. For the ballot question to be approved, the proposed transaction privilege tax must be approved by a majority of the qualified electors voting on the measure.
F. Except as otherwise provided by this section, the election under this section shall be conducted as nearly as practicable in the manner prescribed for general elections in title 16.
G. The county election officer shall account for costs specifically incurred with respect to the ballot issue under this section. END_STATUTE
Sec. 7. Section 42-6106, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended to read:
START_STATUTE42-6106. County transportation excise tax
A. If approved by the qualified electors voting at a countywide election, the regional transportation authority in any county, or an intergovernmental public transportation authority with boundaries coterminous with the county boundaries, shall levy and the department shall collect a transportation excise tax up to the rate authorized by this section in addition to all other taxes.
B. The tax shall be levied and collected:
1. At a rate of not more than ten per centpercent of the transaction privilege tax rate prescribed by section 42‑5010, subsection A in effect on January 1, 1990 to each person engaging or continuing in the county in a business taxed under chapter 5, article 1 of this title.
2. At a rate of not more than ten per centpercent of the rate prescribed by section 42‑5352, subsection A.
3. On the use or consumption of electricity or natural gas by retail electric or natural gas customers in the county who are subject to use tax under section 42‑5155, at a rate equal to the transaction privilege tax rate under paragraph 1 of this subsection applying to persons engaging or continuing in the county in the utilities transaction privilege tax classification.
C. Any subsequent reduction in the transaction privilege tax rate prescribed by chapter 5, article 1 of this title shall not reduce the tax that is approved and collected as prescribed in this section. The department shall collect the tax at a variable rate if the variable rate is specified in the ballot proposition. The department shall collect the tax at a modified rate if approved by a majority of the qualified electors voting.
D. The net revenues collected under this section:
1. In counties with a population exceeding four hundred thousand persons, shall be deposited in the regional transportation fund pursuant to section 48‑5307.
2. In counties with a population of four hundred thousand or fewer persons, shall be deposited in the public transportation authority fund pursuant to section 28‑9142 or the regional transportation fund pursuant to section 48‑5307 or shall be allocated between both funds.
3. in intergovernmental public transportation authorities, shall be deposited in the public transportation authority fund pursuant to section 28‑9142.
E. The tax shall be levied under this section beginning January 1 or July 1, whichever date occurs first after approval by the voters, and may be in effect for a period of not more than twenty years. END_STATUTE