Rep. Norm Thurston — Voting Record

Bill

Number

H.B. 500 First Substitute (2023GS)

Sponsor

Rep. Christofferson, K.

Final action

House/ filed 3/3/2023

Outcome

Failed / filed without passage

Summary

What it does

• This bill:
• amends the distribution for certain local option sales taxes;
• provides the State Tax Commission with direction on how to distribute the city and town portion of the sales and use tax within a county;
• specifies the ways a county, city, or town may expend the sales and use tax revenue when a county selects the new option;
• provides requirements for changing which distribution option the county applies if the county elects to change distribution options;
• requires a city to comply with the moderate income housing plan requirements to receive a sales and use tax distribution;
• eliminates the deadline for a county to impose the local option sales and use tax; and
• makes technical changes.

Every vote on this bill

Bill text

COUNTY SALES TAX AMENDMENTS
GENERAL SESSION
STATE OF UTAH
Chief Sponsor: Kay J. Christofferson
Senate Sponsor: 
____________
LONG TITLE
General Description:
This bill amends the provision regarding local option sales and use tax distribution.
Highlighted Provisions:
This bill:
▸ amends the distribution for certain local option sales taxes;
▸ provides the State Tax Commission with direction on how to distribute the city and
town portion of the sales and use tax within a county;
▸ specifies the ways a county, city, or town may expend the sales and use tax revenue
when a county selects the new option;
▸ provides requirements for changing which distribution option the county applies if
the county elects to change distribution options;
▸ requires a city to comply with the moderate income housing plan requirements to
receive a sales and use tax distribution;
▸ eliminates the deadline for a county to impose the local option sales and use tax;
and
▸ makes technical changes.
Money Appropriated in this Bill:
None
Other Special Clauses:
None
Utah Code Sections Affected:
AMENDS:
10-9a-408
, as last amended by Laws of Utah 2022, Chapter 406
59-12-2220
, as last amended by Laws of Utah 2022, Chapter 259
Be it enacted by the Legislature of the state of Utah:
Section 1. Section 
10-9a-408
 is amended to read:
10-9a-408.
Moderate income housing report -- Contents -- Prioritization for
funds or projects -- Ineligibility for funds after noncompliance -- Civil actions.
(1) As used in this section:
(a) "Division" means the Housing and Community Development Division within the
Department of Workforce Services.
(b) "Implementation plan" means the implementation plan adopted as part of the
moderate income housing element of a specified municipality's general plan as provided in
Subsection 
10-9a-403
(2)(c).
(c) "Moderate income housing report" or "report" means the report described in
Subsection (2)(a).
(d) "Moderate income housing strategy" means a strategy described in Subsection
10-9a-403
(2)(b)(iii).
(e) "Specified municipality" means:
(i) a city of the first, second, third, or fourth class;
(ii) a city of the fifth class with a population of 5,000 or more, if the city is located
within a county of the first, second, or third class; or
(iii) a metro township with a population of 5,000 or more.
(2) (a) Beginning in 2022, on or before October 1 of each calendar year, the legislative
body of a specified municipality shall annually submit a written moderate income housing
report to the division.
(b) The moderate income housing report submitted in 2022 shall include:
(i) a description of each moderate income housing strategy selected by the specified
municipality for implementation; and
(ii) an implementation plan.
(c) The moderate income housing report submitted in each calendar year after 2022
shall include:
(i) the information required under Subsection (2)(b);
(ii) a description of each action, whether one-time or ongoing, taken by the specified
municipality during the previous fiscal year to implement the moderate income housing
strategies selected by the specified municipality for implementation;
(iii) a description of each land use regulation or land use decision made by the
specified municipality during the previous fiscal year to implement the moderate income
housing strategies, including an explanation of how the land use regulation or land use decision
supports the specified municipality's efforts to implement the moderate income housing
strategies;
(iv) a description of any barriers encountered by the specified municipality in the
previous fiscal year in implementing the moderate income housing strategies;
(v) information regarding the number of internal and external or detached accessory
dwelling units located within the specified municipality for which the specified municipality:
(A) issued a building permit to construct; or
(B) issued a business license to rent;
(vi) a description of how the market has responded to the selected moderate income
housing strategies, including the number of entitled moderate income housing units or other
relevant data; and
(vii) any recommendations on how the state can support the specified municipality in
implementing the moderate income housing strategies.
(d) The moderate income housing report shall be in a form:
(i) approved by the division; and
(ii) made available by the division on or before July 1 of the year in which the report is
required.
(3) Within 90 days after the day on which the division receives a specified
municipality's moderate income housing report, the division shall:
(a) post the report on the division's website;
(b) send a copy of the report to the Department of Transportation, the Governor's
Office of Planning and Budget, the association of governments in which the specified
municipality is located, and, if the specified municipality is located within the boundaries of a
metropolitan planning organization, the appropriate metropolitan planning organization; and
(c) subject to Subsection (4), review the report to determine compliance with
Subsection (2).
(4) (a) The report described in Subsection (2)(b) complies with Subsection (2) if the
report:
(i) includes the information required under Subsection (2)(b);
(ii) demonstrates to the division that the specified municipality made plans to
implement:
(A) three or more moderate income housing strategies if the specified municipality
does not have a fixed guideway public transit station; or
(B) subject to Subsection 
10-9a-403
(2)(b)(iv), five or more moderate income housing
strategies if the specified municipality has a fixed guideway public transit station; and
(iii) is in a form approved by the division.
(b) The report described in Subsection (2)(c) complies with Subsection (2) if the
report:
(i) includes the information required under Subsection (2)(c);
(ii) demonstrates to the division that the specified municipality made plans to
implement:
(A) three or more moderate income housing strategies if the specified municipality
does not have a fixed guideway public transit station; or
(B) four or more moderate income housing strategies if the specified municipality has a
fixed guideway public transit station;
(iii) is in a form approved by the division; and
(iv) provides sufficient information for the division to:
(A) assess the specified municipality's progress in implementing the moderate income
housing strategies;
(B) monitor compliance with the specified municipality's implementation plan;
(C) identify a clear correlation between the specified municipality's land use
regulations and land use decisions and the specified municipality's efforts to implement the
moderate income housing strategies; and
(D) identify how the market has responded to the specified municipality's selected
moderate income housing strategies.
(5) (a) A specified municipality qualifies for priority consideration under this
Subsection (5) if the specified municipality's moderate income housing report:
(i) complies with Subsection (2); and
(ii) demonstrates to the division that the specified municipality made plans to
implement:
(A) five or more moderate income housing strategies if the specified municipality does
not have a fixed guideway public transit station; or
(B) six or more moderate income housing strategies if the specified municipality has a
fixed guideway public transit station.
(b) The following apply to a specified municipality described in Subsection (5)(a)
during the fiscal year immediately following the fiscal year in which the report is required:
(i) the Transportation Commission may give priority consideration to transportation
projects located within the boundaries of the specified municipality in accordance with
Subsection 
72-1-304
(3)(c); and
(ii) the Governor's Office of Planning and Budget may give priority consideration for
awarding financial grants to the specified municipality under the COVID-19 Local Assistance
Matching Grant Program in accordance with Subsection 
63J-4-802
(6).
(c) Upon determining that a specified municipality qualifies for priority consideration
under this Subsection (5), the division shall send a notice of prioritization to the legislative
body of the specified municipality, the Department of Transportation, and the Governor's
Office of Planning and Budget.
(d) The notice described in Subsection (5)(c) shall:
(i) name the specified municipality that qualifies for priority consideration;
(ii) describe the funds or projects for which the specified municipality qualifies to
receive priority consideration;
(iii) specify the fiscal year during which the specified municipality qualifies for priority
consideration; and
(iv) state the basis for the division's determination that the specified municipality
qualifies for priority consideration.
(6) (a) If the division, after reviewing a specified municipality's moderate income
housing report, determines that the report does not comply with Subsection (2), the division
shall send a notice of noncompliance to the legislative body of the specified municipality.
(b) The notice described in Subsection (6)(a) shall:
(i) describe each deficiency in the report and the actions needed to cure each
deficiency;
(ii) state that the specified municipality has an opportunity to cure the deficiencies
within 90 days after the day on which the notice is sent; and
(iii) state that failure to cure the deficiencies within 90 days after the day on which the
notice is sent will result in ineligibility for funds under Subsection (7).
(7) (a) A specified municipality is ineligible for funds under this Subsection (7) if the
specified municipality:
(i) fails to submit a moderate income housing report to the division; or
(ii) fails to cure the deficiencies in the specified municipality's moderate income
housing report within 90 days after the day on which the division sent to the specified
municipality a notice of noncompliance under Subsection (6).
(b) The following apply to a specified municipality described in Subsection (7)(a)
during the fiscal year immediately following the fiscal year in which the report is required:
(i) the executive director of the Department of Transportation may not program funds
from the Transportation Investment Fund of 2005, including the Transit Transportation
Investment Fund, to projects located within the boundaries of the specified municipality in
accordance with Subsection 
72-2-124
(5); and
(ii) the Governor's Office of Planning and Budget may not award financial grants to the
specified municipality under the COVID-19 Local Assistance Matching Grant Program in
accordance with Subsection 
63J-4-802
(7).
(c) Upon determining that a specified municipality is ineligible for funds under this
Subsection (7), the division shall send a notice of ineligibility to the legislative body of the
specified municipality, the Department of Transportation, 
the State Tax Commission,
 and the
Governor's Office of Planning and Budget.
(d) The notice described in Subsection (7)(c) shall:
(i) name the specified municipality that is ineligible for funds;
(ii) describe the funds for which the specified municipality is ineligible to receive;
(iii) specify the fiscal year during which the specified municipality is ineligible for
funds; and
(iv) state the basis for the division's determination that the specified municipality is
ineligible for funds.
(8) In a civil action seeking enforcement or claiming a violation of this section or of
Subsection 
10-9a-404
(4)(c), a plaintiff may not recover damages but may be awarded only
injunctive or other equitable relief.
Section 2. Section 
59-12-2220
 is amended to read:
59-12-2220.
County option sales and use tax to fund a system for public transit --
Base -- Rate. 
(1) Subject to the other provisions of this part and subject to the requirements of this
section, [
beginning on July 1, 2019,
] the following counties may impose a sales and use tax
under this section:
(a) a county legislative body may impose the sales and use tax on the transactions
described in Subsection 
59-12-103
(1) located within the county, including the cities and towns
within the county if:
(i) the entire boundary of a county is annexed into a large public transit district; and
(ii) the maximum amount of sales and use tax authorizations allowed pursuant to
Section 
59-12-2203
 and authorized under the following sections has been imposed:
(A) Section 
59-12-2213
;
(B) Section 
59-12-2214
;
(C) Section 
59-12-2215
;
(D) Section 
59-12-2216
;
(E) Section 
59-12-2217
;
(F) Section 
59-12-2218
; and
(G) Section 
59-12-2219
;
(b) if the county is not annexed into a large public transit district, the county legislative
body may impose the sales and use tax on the transactions described in Subsection
59-12-103
(1) located within the county, including the cities and towns within the county if:
(i) the county is an eligible political subdivision as defined in Section 
59-12-2219
; or
(ii) a city or town within the boundary of the county is an eligible political subdivision
as defined in Section 
59-12-2219
; or
(c) a county legislative body of a county not described in Subsection (1)(a) may impose
the sales and use tax on the transactions described in Subsection 
59-12-103
(1) located within
the county, including the cities and towns within the county, if there is a public transit district
within the boundary of the county.
(2) For purposes of Subsection (1) and subject to the other provisions of this section, a
county legislative body that imposes a sales and use tax under this section may impose the tax
at a rate of .2%.
[
(3) A county imposing a sales and use tax under this section shall expend the revenues
collected from the sales and use tax for capital expenses and service delivery expenses of:
]
[
(a) a public transit district;
]
[
(b) an eligible political subdivision, as that term is defined in Section 
59-12-2219
; or
]
[
(c) another entity providing a service for public transit or a transit facility within the
county as those terms are defined in Section 
17B-2a-802
.
]
(3) (a) The commission shall distribute sales and use tax revenue collected under this
section as determined by a county legislative body as described in Subsection (3)(b).
(b) If a county legislative body imposes a sales and use tax as described in this section,
the county legislative body may elect the sales and use tax revenue distribution as described in
Subsection (4), (5), (6), or (7), depending on the class of county, and presence and type of a
public transit district in the county.
(4) If a county legislative body imposes a sales and use tax as described in this section,
and the entire boundary of the county is annexed into a large public transit district, and the
county is a county of the first class, the commission shall distribute the sales and use tax
revenue as designated by the county, as follows:
(a) .2% sales and use tax revenue collected within the county to a public transit district
described in Subsection (11); or
(b) (i) .10% to a public transit district as described in Subsection (11);
(ii) .05% to the cities and towns as provided in Subsection (8); and
(iii) .05% to the county legislative body.
(5) If a county legislative body imposes a sales and use tax as described in this section
and the entire boundary of the county is annexed into a large public transit district, and the
county is a county not described in Subsection (4), the commission shall distribute the sales
and use tax revenue as designated by the county as follows:
(a) .2% sales and use tax revenue collected within the county to a public transit district
or other entity as described in Subsection (11); or
(b) (i) .10% to a public transit district or other entity as described in Subsection (11);
(ii) .05% to the cities and towns as provided in Subsection (8); and
(iii) .05% to the county legislative body.
(6) (a) If the entire boundary of a county that imposes a sales and use tax as described
in this section is not annexed into a single public transit district, but a city or town within the
county is annexed into a single public transit district, the commission shall distribute the sales
and use tax revenue collected within the county as provided in Subsection (6)(b) or (c).
(b) For a city, town, or portion of the county described in Subsection (6)(a) that is
annexed into the single public transit district, or an eligible political subdivision, the county
legislative body may request that the commission distribute:
(i) .2% sales and use tax revenue collected within the portion of the county that has a
public transit service as described in Subsection (11); or
(ii) the sales and use tax revenue collected within the public transit district of the
county as follows:
(A) .05% to a public transit provider as described in Subsection (11);
(B) .075% to the cities and towns as provided in Subsection (8); and
(C) .075% to the county legislative body.
(c) For a city, town, or portion of the county described in Subsection (6)(a) that is not
annexed into a single public transit district in the county, the commission shall distribute the
sales and use tax revenue collected within the portion of the county that is not annexed as
follows:
(i) .08% to the cities and towns as provided in Subsection (8); and
(ii) .12% to the county legislative body.
(7) For a county without public transit that is not described in Subsection (4), (5), or
(6), that imposes a sales and use tax as described in this section, the commission shall
distribute the sales and use tax revenue collected within the county as follows:
(a) .08% to the cities and towns as provided in Subsection (8); and
(b) .12% to the county legislative body;
(8) (a) Subject to Subsections (8)(b) and (c), the commission shall make the
distributions required by Subsections (4)(b)(ii), (5)(b)(ii), (6)(b)(ii)(B), (6)(c)(i), and (7)(a) as
follows:
(i) 50% of the total revenue collected under Subsections (4)(b)(ii), (5)(b)(ii),
(6)(b)(ii)(B), (6)(c)(i), and (7)(a) within the counties that impose a tax under Subsections (4)
through (7) shall be distributed to the unincorporated areas, cities, and towns within those
counties on the basis of the percentage that the population of each unincorporated area, city, or
town bears to the total population of all of the counties that impose a tax under this section; and
(ii) 50% of the total revenue collected under Subsections (4)(b)(ii), (5)(b)(ii),
(6)(b)(ii)(B), (6)(c)(i), and (7)(a) within the counties that impose a tax under Subsections (4)
through (7) shall be distributed to the unincorporated areas, cities, and towns within those
counties on the basis of the location of the transaction as determined under Sections 
59-12-211
through 
59-12-215
.
(b) (i) Population for purposes of this Subsection (8) shall be determined on the basis
of the most recent official census or census estimate of the United States Census Bureau.
(ii) If a needed population estimate is not available from the United States Census
Bureau, population figures shall be derived from an estimate from the Utah Population
Estimates Committee created by executive order of the governor.
(c) If the Housing and Community Development Division within the Department of
Workforce Services determines that a city is ineligible for funds under Subsection
10-9a-408
(7), the commission shall distribute the distribution that city would have received
under Subsection (8)(a) to cities and towns to which Subsection 
10-9a-408
(7) does not apply.
(9) If a public transit service is organized after the date a county legislative body first
imposes a tax under this section, a change in a distribution required by this section may not
take effect until the first distribution the commission makes under this section after a 90-day
period that begins on the date the commission receives written notice from the public transit
district that the public transit district has been organized.
(10) (a) Except as provided in Subsection (10)(b), a county, city, or town that received
distributions described in Subsections (4)(b)(ii), (4)(b)(iii), (5)(b)(ii), (5)(b)(iii), (6)(b)(ii)(B),
(6)(b)(ii)(C), (6)(c), and (7) may only expend those funds for a purpose described in Section
59-12-2212.2
.
(b) A county of the first class receiving the county distribution described in Subsection
(4)(b)(iii) may only use the distribution as provided in Subsection (10)(a), except that a county
legislative body may use up to .02% of the .05% to provide services to individuals with a
mental or behavioral health condition, including:
(i) evaluation and diversion from incarceration to mental and behavioral health
treatment;
(ii) assistance in transitioning from incarceration, including housing stability; and
(iii) other related services.
(11) The following entities may expend revenue the commission distributes to that
entity only for capital expenses and service delivery expenses:
(a) a public transit district;
(b) an eligible political subdivision, as that term is defined in Section 
59-12-2219
; or
(c) another entity providing a service for public transit or a transit facility within the
county as those terms are defined in Section 
17B-2a-802
.
[
(4)
] 
(12) (a)
 Notwithstanding Section 
59-12-2208
, a county legislative body may, but
is not required to, submit an opinion question to the county's registered voters in accordance
with Section 
59-12-2208
 to impose a sales and use tax under this section.
(b) Notwithstanding Section 
59-12-2208
, if a county legislative body described in
Subsection (4), (5), or (6) seeks to change the distribution of sales and use tax revenue as
described in Subsection (4), (5), or (6), the county legislative body may change the allocation
by adopting a resolution specifying the change in distribution.
[
(5) (a) Notwithstanding any other provision in this section, if a county wishes to
impose a sales and use tax under this section, the county legislative body shall pass the
ordinance to impose a sales and use tax under this section on or before June 30, 2023.
]
[
(b) The county legislative body may not pass an ordinance to impose a sales and use
tax under this section on or after July 1, 2023.
]
[
(c) Notwithstanding the deadline described in Subsection (5)(a), any sales and use tax
imposed under this section on or before June 30, 2023, may remain in effect.
]
[
(6)
] 
(13)
 (a) Revenue collected from a sales and use tax under this section may not be
used to supplant existing General Fund appropriations that a county has budgeted for
transportation or public transit as of the date the tax becomes effective for a county.
(b) The limitation under Subsection [
(6)(a)
] 
(13)(a)
 does not apply to a designated
transportation or public transit capital or reserve account a county may have established prior to
the date the tax becomes effective.