Representative Van Fossen

Jamie Van Fossen


The Week In Review 
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March 25, 2005
E-mail: jamie.van.fossen@legis.state.ia.us 

 Session Week 11
Fax: 563-355-9954

VAN FOSSEN PLAN WOULD STOP TAX SHIFTS AMONG PROPERTY
CLASSES AND CREATE A STATE ASSESSMENT APPEAL BOARD

Iowa House Ways and Means Chairman, Jamie Van Fossen (R-Davenport), introduced a major property tax reform measure this week

 

House Study Bill 289 was filed on Tuesday, March 22.  This bill reforms the current property tax system in three parts.

 

Prioritization of Essential Local Services

HSB 289 codifies the following property-related services as essential services:

  • law enforcement
  • fire protection service
  • street lights
  • water, sewage and sewage disposal
  • garbage pickup and garbage disposal
  • landfills
  • roads and road maintenance
  • streets and street maintenance
  • bridges and bridge maintenance
  • sidewalks and sidewalk maintenance
  • snow removal
  • local emergency management

 

The bill states that the above services must be funded first by local governments, and the services cannot be funded lower than the previous year.  For example, if a city council decides to redeploy funding from sidewalks and sidewalk maintenance to bridges and bridge maintenance and the result is lower funding for sidewalks than the previous year,  that action would then be prohibited under HSB 289.

 

Any funds remaining after essential local services are funded are used for all other services, like charitable contributions and park maintenance. 

 

Property Assessment Appeal Board

HSB 289 creates a Statewide Property Assessment Appeal Board which would serve as an intermediary step between the local board of review and the district court. 

 

The Statewide Property Assessment Appeal Board creates an additional appeal opportunity before a taxpayer is forced to take the matter to the district court.  The Appeal Board would serve as an intermediary step between the local board of review and the district court. 

The purpose of creating the Statewide Assessment Appeal Board is to allow for a consistent, fair and equitable property assessment appeals process for all classes of property across the state.

 

Assessment Limitation

HSB 289 also provides for the elimination of tax burden shift among classes of property by tying all classes of property together.  This bill ties together the assessment limitations of residential, agricultural, commercial and industrial property by limiting the percent increase of all classes to the class of property that has the lowest percent increase under the allowable 4% limit.

GROW IOWA VALUES FUND BILL: UPDATE

 

The Grow Iowa Values Fund bill (HF 794) has passed out of the Economic Growth Committee on a 20-1 vote.  Currently, it is in the House Ways and Means Committee and has been assigned a subcommittee.  The bill is modeled after the original Values Fund legislation but includes a number of new components.  Most notably, there is an extensive regional development piece that focuses on rural and isolated areas by giving them the ability to take a regional approach to economic development.  Also, this bill reworks the Regents schools’ role by specifically instructing them to commercialize and create jobs and growth in the state. 

 

The total funding in the bill is $70 million ($50 million in appropriations and $20 million in tax credits).  There has been no decision made on exactly how the new jobs tax credits will look or how the program will be funded.  Below is a breakdown of the funding levels for each of the programs and tax credits.

 

 

 Ways & Means Update

Bills introduced in committee this week:
HF 533 – A bill for an act relating to criteria and incentives under the new capital investment program and including an applicability provision.

 HF 534 – A bill for an act relating to the assessment and collection of penalty, fee, and interest charges imposed for the late payment of building code penalties, fines, and inspection and enforcement fees.

 HF 640 – A bill for an act relating to the regulation and registration of certain vessels, the operation of certain vessels by minors, inspections of certain vessels, the operation of vessels for hire or commercial vessels, providing for penalties, and appropriating the moneys collected from certain registration fee increases to the state fish and game protection fund.

 HF 670 – A bill for an act relating to the transferability of eligible housing business tax credits for new housing investment under the enterprise zone program.

 HF 721 – A bill for an act relating to state individual income tax exemptions for residents of border cities, replacement local option sales and services, withholding tax credits, and property tax, and including an effective date.

 HF 725 – A bill for an act relating to the regulation of snowmobiles, establishing fees, and providing penalties.

 HF 733 – A bill for an act relating to the port authorities including providing for the establishment, control, and dissolution of port authorities and providing for certain powers, limitations, and requirements including issuing revenue bonds and pledge orders, charging fees, entering into contracts and agreements, employing persons and peace officers, and providing for the use of revenues and exemption from property taxes.

 HF 750 – A bill for an act relating to deer population management and providing penalties and appropriations.  

 HF 755 – A bill for an act relating to wild animals, by providing for their regulation, providing for fees and appropriations, and providing for penalties.  

 HF 756 – A bill for an act relating to the regulation of all-terrain vehicles, establishing fees, and providing penalties.

HF 763 – A bill for an act relating to cemeteries and cemetery regulation, providing administration and enforcement procedures, establishing requirements for interment rights agreements and reporting, establishing and appropriating fees, and providing penalties.

HF 766 – A bill for an act relating to the acceptance of empty beverage containers and the payment and retention of the refund value by dealers of beverages and redemption centers.

 HF 773 – A bill for an act relating to eligibility of certain members of the armed forces of the United States, the reserve forces of the United States, and the Iowa national guard for the military service tax credit and exemption and providing an effective and an applicability date.

HF 783 – A bill for an act relating to persons commercially cleaning toilet units and private sewage disposal facilities by providing regulations, fees, and civil penalties, and making appropriations.

 HF 790 – A bill for an act making changes relating to the practice of pharmacy, establishing and appropriating fees, and providing penalties.

 HF 791 – A bill for an act relating to the recognition and licensing of professional employer organizations and providing for penalties.

 HF 794 – A bill for an act relating to economic development, business, workforce, and regulatory assistance and tax credits, and to state developmental, research, and regulatory oversight, making appropriations, and including effective date and applicability provisions.  

 HF 795 -- A bill for an act relating to an inheritance tax credit for transferring a portion of an inheritance to an entity for capital investment, programming, including education, performance, and access, in arts and culture and providing a penalty.

 HF 796 – A bill for an act relating to tax credits for equity investments in qualifying businesses or community-based seed capital funds.  

 HSB 287--  A study bill exempting certain environmental test laboratory services from the state sales and use taxes.

 HSB 289--  A study bill relating to property taxation by requiring funding of essential services by cities and counties, modifying property assessment guidelines, creating a property assessment appeal board to hear appeals of the actions of local boards of review, tying together the assessment limitations of certain classes of property, and including a retroactive applicability date provision. 

 HSB 290--  A study bill authorizing the rebate of state sales tax to the owner or operator of a sanctioned automobile racetrack facility. 

 HSB 291--  A study bill relating to a sales tax holiday for purchases of certain computers during certain times. 

Bills passed out  of committee this week:
 HF 750 – A bill for an act relating to deer population management and providing penalties and appropriations.  
 

   Week in Review Archives

2005 Session
03-18-05
03-11-05
03-04-05
02-25-05
02-18-05
02-11-05
02-04-05
01-28-05
01-21-05
01-14-05

2004 Session
09-07-04
04-28-04
04-16-04
04-09-04
04-02-04
03-26-04
03-19-04
03-12-04 Rep
03-05-04
02-27-04
02-20-04
02-13-04
02-06-04
01-30-04
01-23-04
01-16-04

2003 Session
06-04-03 Special Session
05-30-03 Special Session
05-02-03
04-25-03
04-18-03
04-11-03
04-04-03
03-28-03
03-21-03
03-14-03
03-07-03
02-28-03
02-21-03
02-14-03
02-07-03
01-31-03
01-17-03
01-24-03

2002 Session
05-28-02 Special Session II 
05-10-02 Special Edition
04-22-02 Special Session I
04-12-02
04-05-02
03-29-02
03-22-02
03-15-02

03-08-02

03-01-02
02-22-02
02-15-02
02-08-02

02-01-02
01-25-02
01-18-02

2001 Session
05-04-01
04-27-01
04-20-01
04-13-01
04-06-01

03-30-01

03-23-01
03-16-01
03-09-01
03-02-01
02-23-01
02-16-01
02-09-01
02-02-01
01-26-01
01-19-01

01-12-01

2000 Session
04-28-00
04-21-00
04-14-00
04-07-00
03-31-00
03-24-00
03-17-00
03-10-00
03-03-00
02-25-00