PROPOSED
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES AMENDMENTS TO S.B. 1049
(Reference to Senate engrossed bill)
Strike everything after the enacting clause and insert:
"Section 1. Section 42-17151, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended to read:
42-17151. County, municipal, community college and school tax levy
A. On or before the third Monday in August each year the governing body of each county, city, town, community college district and school district shall:
1. Fix, levy and assess the amount to be raised from primary property taxation and secondary property taxation. This amount, plus all other sources of revenue, as estimated, and unencumbered balances from the preceding fiscal year, shall equal the total of amounts proposed to be spent in the budget for the current fiscal year.
2. Designate the amounts to be levied for each purpose appearing in the adopted budget.
3. Fix and determine a primary property tax rate and a secondary property tax rate, each rounded to four decimal places on each one hundred dollars of taxable property shown by the finally equalized valuations of property, less exemptions, that appear on the tax rolls for the fiscal year and that when extended on those valuations will produce, in the aggregate, the entire amount to be raised by direct taxation for that year.
B. The governing body of a county, city, town or community college district shall not fix, levy or assess an amount of primary property taxes in excess of the amount permitted by section 42-17051, subsection A, paragraph 7 or section 42-17005 as determined by the property tax oversight commission. In addition, if for any valuation year the net assessed valuation of the taxable property in a county, city, town or community college district increases over the valuation in the preceding year, the tax rate for the JURISDICTION applicable against the increased assessed valuation shall not increase over the rate in the preceding tax year by more than one‑half of the percentage increase in the net assessed valuation.
C. Within three days after the final levies are determined for a county, city, town or community college district, the chief county fiscal officer shall notify the property tax oversight commission of the amount of the primary property tax levied.
Sec. 2. Section 48-807, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended to read:
48-807. County fire district assistance tax; annual district budget and district tax
A. The board of supervisors of a county shall levy, at the time of levying other property taxes, a county fire district assistance tax on the taxable property in the county at a rate of not to exceed ten cents per one hundred dollars of assessed valuation. The tax levy provided for in this subsection shall be a levy of secondary property taxes and shall not be subject to title 42, chapter 17, article 2. The county treasurer shall pay to each district in the county from the proceeds of the tax an amount equal to twenty per cent of the property tax levy adopted by the district for the fiscal year in which the tax will be levied, except that:
1. The amount of assistance from the county to a fire district shall be reduced as follows:
(a) By the dollar amount that the fire district receives from the fire district assistance tax that exceeds three hundred thousand dollars from and after June 30 of each fiscal year.
(b) Except as provided in paragraph 2, if the total amount to be paid to all districts in the county under this paragraph exceeds the amount to be raised by the levy of ten cents per one hundred dollars assessed valuation, then the county treasurer shall pay an amount less than twenty per cent of the property tax levy of each district. The amount to be paid by the county treasurer to each district shall be determined by multiplying the proceeds of the county fire district assistance tax against the proportion that twenty per cent of the property tax levy of each district bears to the total of twenty per cent of the property tax levies of all fire districts in the county.
2. For fiscal years beginning from and after July 1, 1992, the amount of assistance from the county to a fire district shall not be less than the assistance provided from and after June 30, 1991 through June 30, 1992, if, for the fiscal year in which the tax will be levied, the district levies a tax, in addition to any tax levied under section 48‑806, of three dollars per one hundred dollars of assessed valuation and the assessed valuation is at least ninety per cent of the assessed valuation for the 1991 tax year. This paragraph does not apply to fire districts subject to paragraph 1, subdivision (a).
B. For the purpose of subsection A of this section, the property tax levy of the fire district shall include in lieu contributions pursuant to chapter 1, article 8 of this title but shall not include property tax levies to be applied to the payment of principal and interest on bonds issued pursuant to section 48‑806.
C. Notwithstanding subsection A of this section, if two or more fire districts merge to form a consolidated district, the last amount received by each fire district from the fire district assistance tax prior to the merger shall be combined and if the combined amount exceeds three hundred thousand dollars, the consolidated district may continue to receive that amount from the fire district assistance tax.
D. If two or more fire districts merge to form a consolidated district and the total of the amounts received by each fire district from the fire district assistance tax is less than three hundred thousand dollars, the consolidated district may continue to receive monies until its receipts total three hundred thousand dollars, as prescribed in subsection A of this section.
E. Not more than ten days after the perfection of the organization of a fire district, and thereafter not later than August 1 of each year, the chief and the secretary‑treasurer of the district, or if there is a district board, the chairman of the board, shall submit to the board of supervisors an estimate, certified by items, of the amount of money required for the equipment and maintenance of the district for the ensuing year.
F. The board, based on the budget submitted by the district, shall levy, in addition to any tax levied as provided in section 48‑806, a tax at a rate of not to exceed three dollars twenty-five cents per one hundred dollars of assessed valuation against all property situated within the district boundaries and appearing upon the last assessment roll. Notwithstanding any other law, if for any valuation year the net assessed valuation of the taxable property in the district increases over the valuation in the preceding year, the district tax rate applicable against the increased assessed valuation shall not increase over the rate in the preceding tax year by more than one-half of the percentage increase in the net assessed valuation. The levy shall be made and the taxes collected in the manner, at the time and by the officers provided by law for the collection of general county taxes.
G. The county treasurer shall keep the money received from such taxes in a separate fund known as the "fire district fund" of the town or settlement for which collected. Any surplus remaining in the fund at the end of the fiscal year shall be credited to the fire district fund of the town or settlement for which collected for the succeeding fiscal year.
H. When a fire district has adopted a budget and the board of supervisors has levied a fire district tax as provided in subsection F of this section and the district has insufficient money in its fund with the county treasurer to operate the district, the elected chief and the secretary‑treasurer, or if there is a district board, the chairman of the board, on or after August 1 of each year, may draw warrants for the purposes prescribed in section 48‑805 on the county treasurer, payable on November 1 of that year or on April 1 of the succeeding year. The aggregate amounts of the warrants may not exceed ninety per cent of the taxes levied by the county for the district's current fiscal year. If the treasurer cannot pay a warrant for lack of funds in the fire district fund, the warrant shall be endorsed, be registered, bear interest and be redeemed as provided by law for county warrants, except that the warrants are payable only from the fire district fund. END_STATUTE
Sec. 2. Section 48-3620, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended to read:
48-3620. Certification and levy of taxes; limitation
A. The district shall annually, not less than fifteen days before the first day of the month in which the county board of supervisors is required by law to levy county taxes, certify to the board of supervisors:
1. The amount of taxes to be levied in each year on the taxable real property in the district as it considers necessary or appropriate to pay the expenses of administering the district and maintaining and operating the district's flood control system, to carry out its regulatory functions and to carry out any of the objects and purposes of this article of common benefit to the district. The maintenance and operation tax proceeds not used for current expenses of maintenance and operation may either be paid into a reserve to be accumulated for such purpose or may be used for extending, improving and constructing the flood control system including acquiring rights-of-way.
2. The amount of taxes to be levied in each year on all taxable real property in each zone or in any of the zones into which the district has been divided, according to the benefits derived or to be derived by the respective zones, to pay the cost and expenses of carrying out any of the objects or purposes of this article of special benefit to the respective zones, including acquiring, constructing, maintaining, operating, extending, repairing or otherwise improving any or all flood control works or improvements in the respective zones and including acquiring rights-of-way. No revenues derived from any of the several zones from the taxes levied under this section may be expended for acquiring, constructing, maintaining, operating, extending, repairing or otherwise improving any works or improvements located in any other zone, except under section 48‑3620.01.
3. The amount of secondary property taxes necessary to be levied to pay the principal and interest falling due during the ensuing year on, or to provide a sinking fund for, any bonds issued pursuant to section 48‑3619.
B. The taxes collected pursuant to this section shall be paid to the district treasurer and used solely for the purpose for which they were levied.
C. The board of supervisors at the time of levying general county taxes shall levy and cause to be collected in the manner prescribed by law for county taxes a property tax or taxes on the taxable real property in the district, zone or zones sufficient to provide the amounts set forth in subsection A of this section.
D. If the district fails to certify to the board of supervisors any of the amounts of taxes necessary to be levied as required by this section, the board of supervisors shall ascertain the amount which should have been certified and shall levy the tax sufficient to produce such amount.
e. Notwithstanding any other law, if for any valuation year the net assessed valuation of the taxable property in the district increases over the valuation in the preceding year, the district tax rate applicable against the increased assessed valuation shall not increase over the rate in the preceding tax year by more than one-half of the percentage increase in the net assessed valuation.
E. F. If a district is located in a county having a population of less than six hundred thousand persons according to the most recent United States decennial census, beginning with the 1993 tax year, the aggregate taxes levied in any year under this article by the district for the purposes listed in subsection A, paragraph 1 of this section shall not exceed twenty per cent of the county primary property tax rate exclusive of the county equalization assistance for education rate or fifty cents per one hundred dollars of assessed valuation, whichever is greater. The aggregate taxes levied for any year under this article on property in a zone for the purposes listed in subsection A, paragraph 2 of this section in a district located in a county having a population of less than six hundred thousand persons according to the most recent United States decennial census, if added to the aggregate taxes, if any, levied for the purposes listed in subsection A, paragraph 1 of this section, shall not exceed twenty per cent of the county primary property tax rate exclusive of the county equalization assistance for education rate or fifty cents per one hundred dollars of assessed valuation, whichever is greater. The taxes levied under this article in a district located in a county having a population of less than six hundred thousand persons according to the most recent United States decennial census may exceed the limits prescribed by this subsection if approved by a majority of the qualified electors of the district voting in a regular general election held pursuant to title 16, chapter 2, article 2 or at a special election held pursuant to title 16, chapter 2, article 3. The ballot for the election shall specifically state the proposed rate and the fiscal year or years in which the excess tax levies are proposed to be assessed.
Sec. 3. Section 48-3903, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended to read:
48-3903. Tax levies
A. The board of directors, after a county free library is established, shall annually levy in the same manner and at the same time as other county secondary property taxes are levied a county free library district tax sufficient to establish the district and to insure ensure the payment of salaries, maintenance and upkeep and other necessary expenses of the county free library district. The tax shall be levied and collected upon all taxable property in the county, and upon including all taxable property within incorporated cities and towns in the county.
B. Notwithstanding any other law, if for any valuation year the net assessed valuation of the taxable property in the county increases over the valuation in the preceding year, the district tax rate applicable against the increased assessed valuation shall not increase over the rate in the preceding tax year by more than one-half of the percentage increase in the net assessed valuation."