SSB 3207

21(5) due to removing income tax brackets. The bill also makes conforming changes due to having a single individual income tax rate.5, as amended by the bill. The division takes effect January 1, 2025, and applies to tax years beginning on or after that date. DIVISION II —— TARGETED JOBS WITHHOLDING CREDIT. The bill makes changes to the targeted jobs withholding credit. The targeted jobs withholding credit is between a pilot project city located in a county bordering another state, the economic development authority, and an employer, where the employer receives a credit based upon a percentage of gross wages paid after retaining or creating jobs, or making an investment in the pilot project city. Under current law, a targeted jobs withholding credit agreement must create or retain jobs or an employer entering such an agreement must make a qualifying investment of $500,000 within the pilot project city. _____ bill changes the employer’s qualifying investment amount in the pilot project city from $500,000 to $1 million. The bill extends the ability of the economic development authority to enter into a targeted jobs withholding agreement from June 30, 2024, to June 30, 2027. The bill changes the annual compliance reporting to the economic development authority about the targeted jobs withholding agreement from the pilot project city to the employer. DIVISION III —— FRANCHISE TAX —— INVESTMENT SUBSIDIARIES. Under current law, for purposes of the franchise tax, a deduction is not allowed for investments in investment subsidiaries of financial institutions. However, the bill allows the portion of the financial institution’s expenses which are allocable to an investment in an investment subsidiary as a deduction if the financial institution elects to include the income and expenses of the investment subsidiary on the franchise tax return of the financial institution. For purposes of apportioning income under the bill, if an election is made to include the investment subsidiary on the financial institution’s franchise tax return, the commercial domicile of an investment subsidiary included on the return of the financial institution pursuant to the election shall be that of the financial institution rather than the investment subsidiary. The bill requires the inclusion of the income and expenses of the investment subsidiary on all subsequent returns of the financial institution so long as the investment subsidiary remains a subsidiary of the financial institution. If the financial institution requests the filing of separate returns and the director determines the filing of separate returns will more clearly disclose the taxable income of the investment subsidiary or financial institution, the financial institution may file a separate return from the investment subsidiary. The division takes effect on January 1, 2025, and applies to tax years beginning on or after that date. _____ DIVISION IV —— PROPERTY TAX PROCEDURES. on March the deadline for political subdivisions to file reports with the department of management (DOM) containing all necessary information for DOM to compile and calculate amounts required to be included in the statements mailed to property owners and taxpayers in the political subdivision. on March to the previous year’s budget amount. The bill requires county auditors to send to each property owner or taxpayer within the county by regular mail an individual statement containing information relating to property taxes no later than March 15. Under current law, this statement must be sent no later than March 20. Under current law, property tax statements sent by a county auditor to property owners and taxpayers must include an example comparing the amount of property taxes on a residential property and a commercial property with actual values of $100,000 for the current fiscal year and the amount of proposed property taxes on a residential property and a commercial property with an actual value of $100,000 for the budget year. For budgets for fiscal years beginning on or after July 1, 2025, the bill changes the amount used as an example for commercial property for the current fiscal year from $100,000 to $300,000. The bill also changes the amount used as an example for residential and commercial property in the budget year to 110 percent of the value of the property used as the current fiscal year example. Under current law, when a statement makes a comparison between the change in the amount of taxes from the current fiscal year example to the budget year example, the statement must state the percent difference between the two years. The percent difference is always stated as an absolute value regardless of whether the change is positive or negative. _____ For statements created on or after January 1, 2024, the bill instead requires statements to include the percent change between the example amounts for the current fiscal year and the budget year. Retroactive to January 1, 2024, the bill requires the property tax statements sent by a county auditor to property owners and taxpayers to include a link to DOM’s internet site where the property owner or taxpayer may view an example of the statement and a brief explanation of the information included on the statement. Under current law, each political subdivision must set a time and place for a public hearing on the political subdivision’s proposed property tax amount for the budget year and the political subdivision’s information included in the property tax statements sent to property owners and taxpayers by the county auditor. The bill requires the hearing to be set on a date on or after March of the budget year immediately preceding the budget year for which the tax is being proposed. Under current law, notice of a political subdivision’s proposed property tax public hearing must be published in a newspaper between and days prior to the public hearing. Retroactive to January 1, 2024, the bill provides that failure of a newspaper to publish a required notice will not be considered a failure of a political subdivision to provide required notice if notice of the public hearing was provided to each property owner and each taxpayer within the political subdivision in property tax statements sent by a county auditor to property owners and taxpayers and the political subdivision can demonstrate that to the county auditor that the political subdivision provided sufficient time for the newspaper to publish the notice. Retroactive to January 1, 2024, the bill no longer requires a political subdivision to maintain past property tax statements on its internet site. _____ political subdivision that maintains a social media account to post notice of the proposed property tax public hearing on the social media account on a date no later than the date of publication of the notice. Under current law, notice posted to social media needed to be posted on the same day as the publication of the notice. Retroactive to January 1, 2024, the bill requires, on or before April of each year, each extension council of each extension district of the state to prepare annually a budget for the next fiscal year and to hold a meeting to estimate the amount of money required to be raised by taxation for financing the county agricultural extension education program. Under current law, the budget must be prepared and the meeting must be held on or before March of each year. Retroactive to January 1, 2024, the bill requires certification of a school board of directors’ intent to participate in the instructional support program for a budget year, the method of funding, and the amount to be raised to be made to DOM no later than April of the base year. Under current law, certification must be made to DOM no later than April of the base year. Retroactive to January 1, 2024, the bill requires, on or before April of each year, a county board of supervisors, with the assistance of the county engineer, to adopt and submit to the department of transportation for approval the county secondary road budget for the next fiscal year. Under current law, a county board of supervisors must adopt and submit the county secondary road budget on or before April of each year. The bill specifies that pursuant to the general grant of home rule power conferred by the Constitution of the State of Iowa and if not inconsistent with the laws of the general assembly, a county that has designated more than one city to be a county seat may consolidate or reduce the number of county seats by ordinance. _____ First Extraordinary Session, chapter 52, which in part required Lee County to maintain a district court at Fort Madison and the city of Keokuk, required the clerk of district court to keep an office at Fort Madison and the city of Keokuk, and required the sheriff of Lee County to keep an office at Fort Madison and the city of Keokuk. The provisions related to county seats are effective upon enactment. The bill allows a county to collect taxes for a fiscal year for which no budget has been certified for the county, but the bill prohibits the county from distributing any funds collected until the county certifies its budget and transmits the certified budget to the county auditor. The bill limits taxes levied by a county whose budget is certified after April to the taxes levied for the previous fiscal year subject to applicable levy rate limits in Code chapter 331 (county home rule implementation); however, the amount cannot exceed the amount the county could collect based on property assessments for the fiscal year for which the county failed to certify property taxes. DOM may waive the limitation for a county if DOM finds, after a showing of evidence by the county, that failure to certify the budget by April was caused by any combination of a newspaper failing to publish a notice of hearing after the county gave the newspaper sufficient time to publish the notice; a verifiable public emergency or weather-related event which forced the cancellation of a public hearing; an illness or unexpected vacancy of one or more board members causing a lack of a quorum necessary to hold a required public hearing; or a failure of state software or a state process. The bill creates similar provisions for a city that does not certify its budget by April 30. The provisions in the bill relating to a county or city failing to certify its budget by April are effective upon enactment. Under current law, a homeowner is allowed a homestead tax exemption if the property owner is years of age or older. _____ detailed in the bill, the names, addresses, and dates of birth of individuals allowed a homestead tax exemption that are maintained by a county recorder, county treasurer, county assessor, city assessor, or other governmental body if the information was obtained for purposes of allowing a homestead tax exemption. Each fiscal year, county auditors are required to make a report to DOM, on forms provided by DOM, of the valuation by class of property for each taxing district in the auditor’s respective county using data transmitted to the auditor by assessors on an abstract of real property. The bill requires assessors to transmit and maintain data in the abstract of real property in a manner that is compatible with software used by the county auditor and that allows the county auditor to use the data to file valuation reports to DOM. The bill also requires county auditors to report the valuations and revaluations as instructed by DOM.75 percent.10 per $1,000 of assessed valuation are effective upon enactment. Under current law, a municipality with a population equal to or greater than 15,000 that is using the division of taxes from tax increment financing for the purpose of public improvements related to housing is limited to tax collections for that purpose for a maximum of fiscal years. The bill allows a municipality of any size to extend such tax collections for an additional three years if the project for which revenue is being divided began before January 1, 2018, and all governing bodies of taxing districts affected by the division of revenue approve the extension. 2023 Iowa Acts, chapter 71, requires the director of DOM to annually prepare and file with the general assembly by December a report specifying the updated population thresholds and detailing the use of certain bond issuance procedures including the usage of such procedures by counties and cities based on the population-based limitations and the amount of bonds issued for each such usage. This requirement takes effect on July 1, 2024. The bill changes the date for the DOM director to file the report to January 1. DIVISION V —— COMPENSATION OF ELECTED COUNTY OFFICIALS. Under current law, each county has a county compensation board that prepares a recommended compensation schedule for elected county officers that the county board of supervisors then reviews. Current law provides procedures and limitations that both the county compensation board and board of supervisors must adhere to in determining the final compensation schedule. The bill allows a board of supervisors to vote to establish a county compensation board. The county compensation board shall be composed as provided under current law. The board of supervisors may also vote to dissolve a county compensation board. The board of supervisors shall carry out the duties as the county compensation board if the board of supervisors has not established or has dissolved a county compensation board. In setting the salary of the county sheriff, the bill requires the board of supervisors to set the sheriff’s salary so that it is comparable to salaries paid to professional law enforcement administrators and command officers of state public safety officers and city chiefs of police employed by cities of similar populations to the county. The bill requires the county compensation board to provide documentation to the board of supervisors demonstrating how the county compensation board determined the recommended compensation schedule. _____ compensation schedule recommended by the county compensation board or from reducing the amount of the recommended compensation schedule unless the amount of salary increase proposed for each elected county officer is reduced by an equal percentage. The bill allows the board of supervisors to set compensation lower than the compensation set forth in the current compensation schedule, but provides that the proposed compensation for a position may be reduced when the position is reduced to part-time. The bill makes conforming changes. DIVISION VI —— COUNTY AND CITY PROPERTY TAXES.10 per $1,000 of assessed property value or a levy rate calculated based on the city’s actual property tax dollars certified for levy for the current fiscal year, the total assessed valuation of property in the city, and the amount of growth in the total assessed valuation of property in the city from the current fiscal year to the upcoming fiscal year.10 per $1,000 of assessed property value, whichever is greater. If the city’s growth exceeds percent, but is less than percent, then the levy rate is the city’s levy rate for the previous year divided by 103 percent and then multiplied by 1,000. If the city’s growth is equal to or exceeds percent, then the levy rate is the city’s levy rate for the previous year divided by 103 percent and then multiplied by 1,000.95 per $1,000 of assessed property value or a calculated levy rate for rural county services.75 percent but is less than percent; 102 percent if growth is equal to or exceeds percent but is less than percent; or 103 percent if growth is equal to or exceeds percent. This division of the bill applies to taxes and budgets for fiscal years beginning on or after July 1, 2025. DIVISION VII —— PROPERTY TAX ASSESSMENT LIMITATIONS. Public utility companies operating under Code chapter 428 and pipeline companies operating under Code chapter 438 are assessed by the department of revenue (IDOR) for property tax purposes on all property, real and personal, owned by the company and used in the operation of the company’s specified utility. The valuation determined by IDOR is then reported and apportioned to the local taxing districts and the value is taxed in the same manner as other property within the applicable taxing districts. The bill removes public utility company property assessed under Code chapter 428 and pipeline company property assessed under Code chapter 438 from the calculation of the assessment limitation for other centrally assessed utility company property. The bill also reduces the percentage of actual value at which property valued by IDOR pursuant to Code chapters 428 and 438 is assessed by percent each year until January 1, 2029. For assessments on or after January 1, 2029, property valued by IDOR pursuant to Code chapters 428 and 438 will be assessed at percent. The division applies to assessment years beginning on or after January 1, 2025. DIVISION VIII —— TAXPAYER RELIEF FUND. _____ the prior fiscal year, there is transferred from the taxpayer relief fund (TRF) to the GF an amount equal to the difference, not to exceed an amount necessary to increase the GF ending balance for the fiscal year to percent of the adjusted revenue estimate, as defined for purposes of the GF expenditure limitation. The bill strikes this provision, and instead provides that if the actual net revenue for the GF for a fiscal year is less than the net GF appropriation for the fiscal year, as defined in the bill, there is transferred from the TRF to the GF an amount equal to percent of the difference.54(5)(b)). These provisions are repealed July 1, 2029. DIVISION IX —— CORRECTIVE PROVISION.1.