AB 291 Text on Washoe County - "Excuse for Special tax law "

AB 291 Text on Washoe County
Violates Article 4, Sections 20 and 21. Such intended violation is noted in bold, below.

Full text of AB 291, Click Here.- "Excuse for Special tax law "

Sec. 23. The legislature hereby finds and declares that:

1. The increased use of the railroad lines in and through the urban areas of Washoe County has caused:

(a) Extensive traffic problems for the drivers of private automobiles as well as commercial vehicles who need reasonable access to these urban areas on a daily basis;

(b) Serious difficulties for emergency vehicles including fire-fighting equipment as well as ambulances which need immediate access to all portions of the county; and

2. A general law cannot be made applicable to the problem addressed by section 24 of this act because of the economic and geographical diversity of the local governments of this state, the unique growth patterns in those local governments and the special conditions experienced in Washoe County related to the increased use of the railroad lines in and through the urban areas of the county.

Sec. 24. 1. The board of county commissioners of Washoe County may by ordinance, but not as in a case of emergency, impose a tax upon the retailers at the rate of not more than one-eighth of 1 percent of the gross receipts of any retailer from the sale of all tangible personal property sold at retail, or stored, used or otherwise consumed in the county if the board:

(a) Imposes a tax on the rental of transient lodging pursuant to section 19 of this act in the maximum amount allowed by that section; and

(b) Receives a written commitment from one or more other sources for the expenditure of not less than one-half of the total cost of a project for the acquisition, establishment, construction or expansion of railroad grade separation projects in Washoe County.

2. An ordinance enacted pursuant to subsection 1 may not become effective before a question concerning the imposition of the tax is approved by a two-thirds majority of the members of the board of county commissioners.

3. An ordinance enacted pursuant to subsection 1 must specify the date on which the tax must first be imposed which must occur on the first day of the first month of the next calendar quarter that is at least 60 days after the date on which a two-thirds majority of the board of county commissioners approved the question.

4. An ordinance enacted pursuant to subsection 1 must include provisions in substance as follows:

(a) Provisions substantially identical to those contained in chapter 374 of NRS, insofar as applicable.

(b) A provision that all amendments to chapter 374 of NRS after the date of enactment of the ordinance, not inconsistent with this section, automatically become a part of an ordinance enacted pursuant to subsection 1.

(d) A provision that the county shall contract before the effective date of the ordinance with the department of taxation to perform all functions incident to the administration or operation of the tax in the county.

(e) A provision that exempts from the tax the gross receipts from the sale of, and the storage, use or other consumption in a county of, tangible personal property used for the performance of a written contract:

(1) Entered into on or before the effective date of the tax; or

(2) For the construction of an improvement to real property for which a binding bid was submitted before the effective date of the tax if the bid was afterward accepted,

if under the terms of the contract or bid the contract price or bid amount cannot be adjusted to reflect the imposition of the tax.

5. No ordinance imposing a tax which is enacted pursuant to subsection 1 may be repealed or amended or otherwise directly or indirectly modified in such a manner as to impair any outstanding bonds or other obligations which are payable from or secured by a pledge of a tax enacted pursuant to subsection 1 until those bonds or other obligations have been discharged in full.

6. All fees, taxes, interest and penalties imposed and all amounts of tax required to be paid to the county pursuant to this section must be paid to the department of taxation in the form of remittances payable to the department of taxation.

7. The department of taxation shall deposit the payments with the state treasurer for credit to the sales and use tax account in the state general fund.

8. The state controller, acting upon the collection data furnished by the department of taxation, shall monthly:

(a) Transfer from the sales and use tax account to the appropriate account in the state general fund a percentage of all fees, taxes, interest and penalties collected pursuant to this section during the preceding month as compensation to the state for the cost of collecting the taxes. The percentage to be transferred pursuant to this paragraph must be the same percentage as the percentage of proceeds transferred pursuant to paragraph (a) of subsection 3 of NRS 374.785 but the percentage must be applied to the proceeds collected pursuant to this section only.

(b) Determine for the county an amount of money equal to any fees, taxes, interest and penalties collected in or for the county pursuant to this section during the preceding month, less the amount transferred to the state general fund pursuant to paragraph (a).

(c) Transfer the amount determined for the county to the intergovernmental fund and remit the money to the county treasurer.

9. The county treasurer shall deposit the money received pursuant to subsection 8 in the county treasury for credit to a fund to be known as the railroad grade separation projects fund. The railroad grade separation projects fund must be accounted for as a separate fund and not as a part of any other fund.

10. The money in the railroad grade separation projects fund, including interest and any other income from the fund must only be expended by the board of county commissioners for the payment of principal and interest on notes, bonds or other securities issued to provide money for the cost of the acquisition, establishment, construction or expansion of one or more railroad grade separation projects.

Sec. 25. 1. The legislative auditor shall:

(a) Conduct a performance audit of the Southern Nevada Water Authority;

(b) Prepare a final written report of the audit before January 18, 1999;

(c) Present the final written report to the senate standing committee on taxation and assembly standing committee on taxation of the 70th session of the Nevada legislature; and

(d) After presenting the final written report in accordance with paragraph (c), present the final written report to the legislative commission and the audit subcommittee of the legislative commission.

2. To the extent that the provisions of NRS 218.737 to 218.890, inclusive, are consistent with the requirements of this section, those provisions apply to the audit conducted pursuant to this section. For the purposes

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URL for Assembly Bill 291 before Senate Amendments -

http://www.leg.state.nv.us/69th/97bills/AB/AB291_EN.HTM