HF 615 – Rural Improvement Zones
HF 622 – Vehicle rental fees
HF 626 – Future Repeal of State Board of Tax Review
FLOOR ACTION:
HF 615 updates the Rural Improvement Zone (RIZ) law, which allows for the creation of benefitted lake districts in certain rural counties. The bill is a compromise between county boards of supervisors and RIZ districts. Changes include:
- Clarifying that the county board of supervisors has the option to approve the establishment of an RIZ, and requiring the submission of a professional engineers report with findings on 13 criteria thresholds. Current law only states that the board of supervisors shall approve a petition for the creation of an RIZ.
- Allowing for water quality as an approved expenditure by the RIZ for improvements associated with the district.
- Extending the timeline for a public hearing from 30 days to 60 days from the filing of a petition.
- Requiring a financial report of an RIZ and allowing for their extension for another 20 years.
- Providing for the allocation of the increment revenue from the district between the RIZ and the county. For an RIZ district established prior to July 1, 2014, the base will be protected at a minimum of 60 percent. This means the RIZ district cannot have more than 40 percent of the total valuation allocated. For an RIZ established after July 1, 2004, their base value is less than 40 percent of the value of the total zone used to calculate the assessed value. Thus, these RIZs will receive not more than 60 percent of the value of the total zone for the first 10 years. Once the district has existed for 10 years, the base will be protected at a higher level of 50 percent. This means the RIZ district cannot constitute more than 50 percent of the value of the total zone, and they are limited to that amount from that point forward. [4/29: 50-0]
COMMITTEE ACTION:
HF 622 makes changes to the advertised price of rental cars in Iowa. Current law requires all fees and charges to be included in the advertising prices, except for mandatory charges (e.g., taxes and airport fees). This requirement includes the vehicle recovery fee, which is the fee collected by the rental car company on each vehicle rental to cover the costs of state license, title and registration requirements. The bill would allow rental companies to exclude the vehicle license recovery fee from the advertised price, which would conform Iowa law to that of surrounding states. Instead of being included in the bundled advertised price, the vehicle license recovery fee would be disclosed to the customer when the reservation is made. [4/28: short form (Quirmbach “no”; Behn, Schultz absent)]
HF 626 would provide quicker resolution to tax appeals. The legislation is the result of a Department of Revenue study that found inefficiencies and potential conflicts in the appeal process. Currently, the taxpayer can appeal a review of an Administrative Law Judge’s ruling to the director of the Department of Revenue. After that step, the taxpayer can proceed to the State Board of Tax Review or to district court. If the taxpayer chooses to appeal to the State Board of Tax Review and is not satisfied, the taxpayer still has the option to go to district court. This bill eliminates the State Board of Tax Review from the process and provides a quicker path to the resolution of the tax appeal.
The bill also contains language relating to the future sunset of the Property Assessment Appeal Board (PAAB), which is where property taxpayers can appeal the assessment of their properties after they contest a case with the local board of review. In 2013, the Legislature made some process changes to PAAB to help reduce the backlog of claims with the board. At that time, the Legislature approved a five-year extension of PAAB until July 1, 2018, to allow for a review of those process changes. The House had voted to remove the 2018 sunset of PAAB. The Senate Ways & Means Committee adopted an amendment to extend the sunset by three years. With the amendment, the new sunset and review for PAAB will be in 2021. [4/28: short form (Behn, Schultz absent)]