(a) General
Provisions. --
This section takes
effect December 31, 2016, or as otherwise stated herein. Its preferred
interpretation shall reasonably restrain most of the growth of government. All
provisions are self-executing and severable and supersede conflicting state Constitutional,
state statutory, or other state or local provisions. Other limits on district
revenue, spending, and debt may be weakened only by future voter approval.
Individual or class action enforcement suits may be filed and shall have the
highest civil priority of resolution. Successful plaintiffs are allowed costs
and reasonable attorney fees, but a district is not unless a suit against it be
ruled frivolous. Revenue collected, kept, or spent illegally since four full
fiscal years before a suit is filed shall be refunded with ten percent annual
simple interest from the initial conduct. Subject to judicial review, districts
may use any reasonable method for refunds under this section, including
temporary tax credits or rate reductions. Refunds need not be proportional when
prior payments are impractical to identify or return. When annual district
revenue is less than annual payments on general obligation bonds, pensions, and
final court judgments, subdivision (1), subsection (d) and subsection (g) shall
be suspended to provide for the deficiency.
(b) Definitions.--
“Ballot issue” means a
measure referred to popular vote in an election, pursuant to subsection (d) of
this section.
“District” means the
state or any local government, excluding enterprises.
“Emergency” excludes
economic conditions, revenue shortfalls, or district salary or fringe benefit
increases.
“Enterprise” means a
government-owned business authorized to issue its own revenue bonds and
receiving under ten percent of annual revenue in grants from all West Virginia
state and local governments combined.
“Fiscal year spending”
means all district expenditures and reserve increases except, as to both, those
for refunds made in the current or next fiscal year or those from gifts,
federal funds, collections for another government, pension contributions by
employees and pension fund earnings, reserve transfers or expenditures, damage
awards, or property sales.
“Inflation” means the
percentage change in the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics Consumer
Price Index for Charleston, West Virginia, all items, all urban consumers, or
its successor index.
“Local growth” for a nonschool
district means a net percentage change in actual value of all real property in
a district from construction of taxable real property improvements, minus
destruction of similar improvements, and additions to, minus deletions from,
taxable real property. For a school district, it means the percentage change in
its student enrollment.
(c) Election
Provisions--.
(1) Ballot issues shall
be decided in a state general election, biennial local district election, or on
the first Tuesday in November of odd-numbered years. Except bonded debt, or
charter or Constitutional provisions, districts may consolidate ballot issues
and voters may approve a delay of up to four years in voting on ballot issues.
District actions taken during such a delay shall not extend beyond that period.
(2) At least 30 days
before a ballot issue election, districts shall submit notice of an election to
be held pursuant to this section to the Secretary of State, who shall
immediately issue a press release regarding the notice and make such notice
available to the public. Except for district voter-approved additions, notices
shall include only:
(A) The election date,
hours, ballot title, text, and local election office address and telephone
number.
(B) For proposed
district tax or bonded debt increases, the estimated or actual total of
district fiscal year spending for the current year and each of the past four
years, and the overall percentage and dollar change.
(C) For the first full
fiscal year of each proposed district tax increase, district estimates of the
maximum dollar amount of each increase and of district fiscal year spending
without the increase.
(D) For proposed
district bonded debt, its principal amount and maximum annual and total
district repayment cost, and the principal balance of total current district
bonded debt and its maximum annual and remaining total district repayment cost.
(E) Two summaries, up to
five hundred words each, one for and one against the proposal, of written
comments filed with the election officer by forty-five days before the
election. No summary shall mention names of persons or private groups, nor any
endorsements of or resolutions against the proposal. Petition representatives
following these rules shall write this summary for their petition. The election
officer shall maintain and accurately summarize all other relevant written
comments.
(3) Except by later
voter approval, if a tax increase or fiscal year spending exceeds any estimate in paragraph (C), subdivision (2) of this
subsection for the same fiscal year, the tax increase is thereafter
reduced up to one hundred percent in proportion to the combined dollar excess,
and the combined excess revenue refunded in the next fiscal year. District
bonded debt shall not issue on terms that could exceed its share of its maximum
repayment costs in paragraph (D), subdivision
(2) of this subsection. Ballot titles for tax or bonded debt increases
shall begin, “SHALL (DISTRICT) TAXES BE INCREASED (FIRST, OR IF PHASED IN,
FINAL, FULL FISCAL YEAR DOLLAR INCREASE) ANNUALLY...?” OR “SHALL (DISTRICT)
DEBT BE INCREASED (PRINCIPAL AMOUNT), WITH A REPAYMENT COST OF (MAXIMUM TOTAL
DISTRICT COST), ...?”
(d) Required
Elections.--
Starting November 8, 2016,
a district shall submit to the voters in the district, for ratification or rejection,
the following measures, which must be approved by voters before such measures
may go into effect:
(1) Unless otherwise
provided in subsections (a) or (f), any new tax, tax rate increase, mill levy
above that for the prior year, valuation for assessment ratio increase for a
property class, or extension of an expiring tax, or a tax policy change
directly causing a net tax revenue gain to any district.
(2) Except for
refinancing district bonded debt at a lower interest rate or adding new
employees to existing district pension plans, creation of any multiple-fiscal
year direct or indirect district debt or other financial obligation whatsoever
without adequate present cash reserves pledged irrevocably and held for
payments in all future fiscal years.
(e) Emergency
Reserves. --
To use for declared
emergencies only, each district shall reserve for 2017 one percent or more, for
2019 two percent or more, and for all later years three percent or more of its
fiscal year spending excluding bonded debt service. Unused reserves apply to
the next year's reserve.
(f) Emergency Taxes.--
This subsection grants
no new taxing power. Emergency property taxes are prohibited. Emergency tax
revenue is excluded for purposes of subdivision (3), subsection (c) and subsection
(g), even if later ratified by voters. Emergency taxes shall also meet all of
the following conditions:
(1) A two-thirds
majority of the members of each house of the state Legislature or of a local
district board declares the emergency and imposes the tax by separate recorded
roll call votes.
(2) Emergency tax
revenue shall be spent only after emergency reserves are depleted, and shall be
refunded within one hundred and eighty days after the emergency ends if not
spent on the emergency.
(3) A tax not approved
on the next election date sixty days or more after the declaration shall end
with that election month.
(g) Spending Limits.--
(1) The maximum annual
percentage change in state fiscal year spending equals inflation plus the
percentage change in state population in the prior calendar year, adjusted for
revenue changes approved by voters after 2016. Population shall be determined
by annual federal census estimates and such number shall be adjusted every
decade to match the federal census.
(2) The maximum annual
percentage change in each local district's fiscal year spending equals
inflation in the prior calendar year plus annual local growth, adjusted for
revenue changes approved by voters after 2016 and reductions pursuant to
subdivision (2) subsection (h) and subsection (i) of this section.
(3) The maximum annual
percentage change in each district's property tax revenue equals inflation in
the prior calendar year plus annual local growth, adjusted for property tax
revenue changes approved by voters after 2016 and reductions pursuant to
subdivision (2) subsection (h) and subsection (i) of this section.
(4) If revenue from
sources not excluded from fiscal year spending exceeds these limits in dollars
for that fiscal year, the excess shall be refunded in the next fiscal year
unless voters approve a revenue change as an offset. Initial district bases are
current fiscal year spending and 2015 property tax collected in 2016.
Qualification or disqualification as an enterprise shall change district bases
and future year limits. Future creation of district bonded debt shall increase,
and retiring or refinancing district bonded debt shall lower, fiscal year
spending and property tax revenue by the annual debt service so funded. Debt
service changes, reductions, subsection (a) and subdivision (3), subsection (c)
refunds, and voter-approved revenue changes are dollar amounts that are
exceptions to, and not part of, any district base. Voter-approved revenue
changes do not require a tax rate change.
(h) Revenue Limits.--
(1) New or increased
transfer tax rates on real property are prohibited. No new state real property
tax or local district income tax shall be imposed. Neither an income tax rate
increase nor a new state definition of taxable income shall apply before the
next tax year. Any income tax law change after July 1, 2016, shall also require
all taxable net income to be taxed at one rate, excluding refund tax credits or
voter-approved tax credits, with no added tax or surcharge.
(2) Each district may enact
cumulative uniform exemptions and credits to reduce or end business personal
property taxes.
(3) Regardless of
reassessment frequency, valuation notices shall be mailed annually and may be
appealed annually, with no presumption in favor of any pending valuation. Past
or future sales by a lender or government shall also be considered as
comparable market sales and their sales prices kept as public records. Actual
value shall be stated on all property tax bills and valuation notices and, for
residential real property, determined solely by the market approach to
appraisal.
(i) State Mandates.--
Except for public
education through grade twelve or as required of a local district by federal
law, a local district may reduce or end its subsidy to any program delegated to
it by the state Legislature for administration. For current programs, the state
may require ninety days notice and that the adjustment occur in a maximum of
three equal annual installments.
Resolved further, That in accordance with the provisions of article
eleven, chapter three of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, such
proposed amendment is hereby numbered "Amendment No. 1" and
designated as the "Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights" and the purpose of the
proposed amendment is summarized as follows: “To amend the State Constitution
by limiting annual growth in state and local government entity spending;
limiting government entity revenue; establishing a formula for limits on
government entity spending and revenue; requiring state and local government
entities to issue refunds to taxpayers if state spending exceeds spending or
revenue limits; exempting certain sources of revenue from spending limits;
allowing a cause of action for enforcement of limits on government entity revenue;
requiring a government entity, when revenue is refunded as the result of a
lawsuit, to pay interest on revenue illegally kept for any period within four
years before a suit was filed; defining terms; requiring a government entity to
submit proposals for the following measures to popular vote before such
measures may go into effect: new taxes, tax rate increases, mill levy increase,
valuation for assessment ratio increase for a property class, extension of
expiring tax, or any other tax policy change causing a net tax revenue gain;
requiring a government entity, before entering into a financial obligation
without adequate present cash reserves held irrevocably for future payments, to
submit such proposed measures to popular vote; establishing election procedures
for elections required by the new provisions; requiring a government entity to
issue taxpayer refunds if an entity publishes incorrect estimates to voters
regarding the fiscal impact of proposed measures; requiring government entities
to reserve a percentage of funds for declared emergencies; establishing certain
exemptions for emergency taxes; prohibiting emergency property taxes;
establishing procedures for imposing emergency taxes; establishing revenue
limits and restrictions; and allowing local government entities to end
subsidies to any program required by state statutory law.
